WSU Baseball: Has Donnie Marbut already been extended?

As WSU baseball wraps up its season this weekend, the Cougars will miss the postseason again -- they're just 23-28 overall and 13-14 in the Pac-12 -- which means it stands to reason that coach Donnie Marbut's seat could at least be getting warm.

Earlier today, a report surfaced at collegead.org stating that athletics director Bill Moos had announced on something called "the Morning News" that Marbut's contract had been extended. Moos has the option to roll over what is currently a two-year contract, so this would be a one-year extension to keep it at two years.

The report might well be true, but this is odd for a number of reasons. 

First, Moos has a long standing policy of not commenting on the status of his coach until the season is over. He did that even when he knew he was going to fire Paul Wulff. He also reiterates at every turn that no decision will be made about a coach's future until he can sit down with the coach after the end of the season.

And yet, he announced on an obscure Pullman radio show -- apparently, this is actually a KQQQ report -- that he's made a decision with three games to go? And nobody noticed until this report surfaced?

It's also worth noting that the athletic department spokesperson for the baseball team, Craig Lawson, isn't confirming the extension. This, from an email to me: "Nothing will be finalized until after the season regarding a Marbut contract. I should have details early next week."

You can read that however you want, I suppose. But it sounds an awful lot like what Moos has said whenever he's been asked about a coach before the end of the season -- including about coaches he would eventually fire.

Stay tuned?