Bringing an end to nearly a month of riding the coaching carousel, Washington State University is expected to announce a contract extension for football coach Mike Leach today, according to a CougCenter source. The exact details, in terms of salary and contract length, are not known.
Leach had been at the center of the last Tennessee Volunteers head coaching rumor prior to John Currie’s firing early this month. He had also been rumored to be of interest to athletic directors in other searches as well, including the Arkansas Razorbacks. The extension follows reports that the school had offered Leach one before Tennessee came calling but no agreement was reached, which university president Kirk Schulz confirmed to The Seattle Times.
Schulz also told the Times that he would be meeting with Leach and hoped it would “lead to an announcement of a contract extension for the coach in the near future”.
It seems we will get just that later today.
The expected announcement follows contract extensions for three other WSU coaches during John Johnson’s brief tenure as interim athletic director. Volleyball coach Jen Greeny, soccer coach Todd Shulenberger, and track and field coach Wayne Phipps all agreed to extensions with the school through 2023. With Ernie Kent locked down through 2022 and an extension for Mike Leach beyond the end of the 2021 when his current deal is set to expire, Johnson has been busy making sure whoever the new athletic director is won’t have to worry about hiring coaches.
The status of defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, though, is still up in the air. Grinch had reportedly interviewed with multiple schools more than a week ago and is reportedly up for the new tenth assistant coach position with the Ohio State Buckeyes.