Washington State Head Football Coach Potential Candidates

Washington State Names

Mike Bellotti, former Oregon AD and Head Football Coach

·         Pretty well established that Bellotti wants back in the game, but most agree that Bellotti has his sights set on UCLA or Arizona State.

·         If things fall through and it doesn’t look like he is going to get either of these jobs then look for him to make a run at the Wazzou job

·         Excellent football coach that built a program at Oregon based on the fundamentals…they played great defense, were solid on special teams, made best hire in football bringing in Chip Kelly as OC back in 2005.

·         Bill Moos, AD at Washington State was the AD at Oregon who hired Bellotti as head coach at Oregon

Mike Leach, former Texas Tech Head Football Coach

·         This is an obvious name that will be involved with every head coaching search

·         Washington State would be thrilled to get their hands on him and would bring definite credibility to a program that has been stagnant for many, many years

·         There are reasons why he is never given an opportunity, he has an  interesting personality and seems to be dismissed from contention from every job once AD’s start to research him and ask other people questions

·         This is the type of job that Leach would excel at considering the location.  He needs a quirky place that his outlandish personality doesn’t stick out

Rich Ellerson, Head Coach Army

·         Ellerson is from Arizona and spent eight years as an assistant at Arizona

·         Former head coach at Cal Poly where he won 3 conference championships in eight years and had only one losing season

·         Runs triple option offense that could scare off potential suitors; however, with Paul Johnson having success at Georgia Tech, look for people to give Ellerson a legitimate look.

·         He has accomplished making Army relevant again after leading them to a bowl game and winning the Armed Forces bowl in 2010.

·         It was rumored that Ellerson interviewed very well for Washington job when it was given to Steve Sarkisian in 2009.

Ken Niumatalolo, Head Coach Navy

·         Hawaii native who took over for Paul Johnson in 2008 as head coach at Navy

·         Runs the double slot option offense that Paul Johnson is having success with at Georgia Tech….for those doubters, these guys really know this offense and it would work at the major level

·         31-21 career record and a 10 win season in 2009

·         One negative is the 4-7 record that Navy had this year, but he is very well respected around the country and should definitely be given an interview

Dave Christensen, Head Coach Wyoming

·         Washington native who played at University of Washington

·         Well revered as top offensive mind in college football that pioneered Missouri’s spread offensive attack that led them to national prowess.

·         Has done a fantastic job turning around stagnant Wyoming program leading them to 7 wins this season leading them to two straight bowl games after the program had only reached a bowl game once in the last 10 seasons

Troy Calhoun, Head Coach Air Force

·         Oregon native

·         Highly respected coach who has turned down more lucrative jobs in the past (Tennessee) to remain at his alma mater which is Air Force

·         Former NFL assistant who does run the option attack at Air Force, but if he were to get hired at a BCS school look for Calhoun to bring in a pro-style offense as he OC for the Houston Texans and worked under Mike Shanahan at Denver for three years

·         Calhoun has never won less than 8 games in a season until this year where they sit at 7 wins on the season awaiting to see if he can lead his team to their 5^th straight bowl appearance

Sonny Dykes, Head Coach Louisiana Tech

·         Was well respected around the PAC-12 while OC at Arizona for three seasons

·         Texas native who could open up some recruiting lines from the state

·         Had a great season this year, leading Louisiana Tech to an 8-4 record and birth in the Poinsettia Bowl

·         Considered top offensive mind in football, he has worked extensively for Mike Leach

Jim McElwain, OC/QB Coach Alabama

·         Montana native who spent 15 years in the state of Washington playing quarterback then coaching for Eastern Washington

·         A great pro-style offensive mind who hasn’t exactly lit it up with results at Alabama, but when Nick Saban hires you as his offensive coordinator and hangs onto you for multiple seasons….you are a great coach

·         One note that I will never forget about McElwain is in 2007 while he was at Fresno State they played Georgia Tech in a bowl game.  Georgia Tech’s defense under Jon Tenuta was one of the best in the country and was extremely aggressive and blitzed on every down.  McElwain took an undermanned offense and stayed in a five wide receiver set to limit Tenuta’s ability to blitz him and shelled Tech’s defense for 40 points.  I was not the only person to take notice as Nick Saban hired him as his OC about three weeks later.

Mark Helfrich, OC/QB Coach Oregon

·         Oregon native who has spent five seasons at Arizona State and the last three seasons as OC of the high powered spread option attack at Oregon

·         Well respected around the west coast as an offensive mind who learned mostly under Dirk Koetter

·         Comes from a pro-style offensive background that he ran as OC at Colorado, but appears to be very involved in the Oregon offense even though it is obvious that Chip Kelly still calls most of the plays

Robin Pflugard, Head Coach Montana

·         Five year Washington State assistant who is an Oregon native.

·         Has won 16 games in two seasons after taking over for Bobby Hauck at Montana

·         Worked under Bellotti at Oregon from 2006-2008 while Moos was still the athletic director at Oregon

·         Excellent recruiting ties up and down the west coast

Ron Caragher, Head Coach San Diego

·         California native who spent nine seasons as assistant at UCLA after playing QB for the program

·         Has had three 9 win seasons (including this season following two losing seasons) in five years as head coach at San Diego after taking over for Jim Harbaugh