Ken Wilson officially announced as new linebackers coach at WSU

Continuing his apparent offseason strategy of hiring assistants who are most likely overqualified for their positions, Mike Leach has officially added longtime Nevada assistant Ken Wilson to coach the linebackers.

Wilson coached at Nevada for 19 seasons, the last five as associate head coach and linebackers coach under Chris Ault, who retired after last season. He also was defensive coordinator for three years during his tenure. The connection here is WSU running backs coach Jim Mastro, who coached at Nevada with Wilson for seven seasons.

"Ken brings tremendous experience to our coaching staff along with an attitude and expectation for success derived from his time at Nevada," Leach said in a news release. "He is a great recruiter and teacher on the field and will step in immediately and make a positive impact on our program."

Wilson joins former Missouri assistant Dave Yost as additions to the staff. Yost was the offensive coordinator and associate head coach under Gary Pinkel before stepping down at the end of last season, citing burnout. They replace Jeff Choate, who left to become defensive coordinator at UTEP, and Eric Morris, who left to become offensive coordinator at Texas Tech.

Fans always get anxious when assistants leave, wondering whether the staff will weaken. If this staff isn't stronger now, it's not for lack of trying.