With Tracy Claeys’ resignation, what’s next for Mike Leach and Washington State?

Well, how was that for a Friday news dump? In case you just awoke from a coma, Tracy Claeys resigned as WSU’s defensive coordinator, the school announced yesterday. Claeys went to Twitter last night to clear up a few things:

As for what this all means for the football team going forward, that depends on your perspective. Judging by some comments yesterday, many Coug fans are ready to escape to their bunker and wait out Armageddon. Others might see this as a positive wake up call to the defense, a squad that desperately needs one. Sometimes coaching changes do that, for many reasons.

We have no idea how this will play out, but we might get a good idea in a week when the Cougs head to Tempe to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils.

From a macro level, where do the Cougs go for their defensive coordinator? For now, Roc Bellantoni and Darcel McBath will tag team. A list of potential replacements is difficult to come up with, mostly because I have almost zero knowledge of defensive coordinators out there. Remember, Alex Grinch was a name that came way out of nowhere, and that worked out well.

Mike Leach has expressed his fascination with the way Rocky Long coaches defense. Perhaps Leach looks for somebody with Long’s style. I have no idea, I’m relying on people smarter than me to come up with names.

After the season other coaches inevitably become available, so names that we’re not thinking of now will start to crop up. The coaching carrousel season is one of my favorites, so I can’t wait!

In the meantime, who are your choices for WSU’s next defensive coordinator?

Links

Washington State defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys resigns after 0-2 start in Pac-12 play | The Spokesman-Review
Washington State defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys has resigned, Cougars coach Mike Leach announced in a school release Friday.

Washington State defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys resigns
Washington State defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys has resigned amid the team's struggles on the defense.

Washington State Cougars defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys resigns | The Seattle Times
Washington State's defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys has resigned, coach Mike Leach announced Friday.

Washington State DC Tracy Claeys resigns
Washington State gave up 50 points in the second half in a 67-63 loss to UCLA in Week 4.

Volleyball

Get Your Bye Week Fix

With no Wazzu game today, what’s a Coug fan to do? Lucky for you, the handy 506sports.com offers a nice schedule of the day’s games. While you’re there, check out the NFL maps for Sunday. You’ll notice either the NFL or CBS figured out where Minshew Mania started, because for the second week in a row, much of eastern Washington gets the Jacksonville-Carolina game.

Here’s the schedule grid:

And here are your national college football links:

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