Not only do I feel Washington State got the best candidate for their position, I think Leach picked a great destination for his next head coaching stop. Leach will score points and win games in Pullman and will consistently put people in the stands with his exciting offense. Here are a list of obvious assistant coach candidates that Leach is probably targeting. I believe that Jim Mastro, Robert Anae, Eric Russell, and Mike Fanoga make perfect sense and are the most likely to be a part of this new staff at Washington State.
Brian Mitchell, DC/DB Coach East Carolina
· Waco, TX native who played cornerback for BYU from 1987-1990
· After a couple of seasons in the NFL, Mitchell spent 11 seasons as an assistant at BYU
· Mitchell spent four seasons under Leach at Texas Tech as CB coach
· He has spent the last two seasons as DC at East Carolina under former Texas Tech DC Ruffin McNeill
Lincoln Riley, OC/QB Coach East Carolina
· Texas native who spent four seasons as a student assistant under Leach at Texas Tech
· He then served as offensive graduate assistant then inside receivers coach for two seasons before being named OC/QB coach at East Carolina
· In his first season as OC, he engineered a top 20 offense in the nation
Clay McGuire, RB Coach/STC East Carolina
· Crane, TX native who played H-back in Texas Tech’s offense from 2000-2003
· Former GA at Texas Tech and special teams coordinator as well
· 2nd season as RB Coach/STC at East Carolina
Brandon Jones, OL Coach East Carolina
· Jones grew up in Texas, but moved to Oregon while in high school
· Jones played in 22 games at center for Texas Tech from 2002-2005
· Offensive graduate assistant working with the offensive line in 2007 and 2008 for Texas Tech
· Jones spent 2009 as offensive line coach at Sam Houston State before accepting OL Coaching job at East Carolina where he is in his second season
Dennis Simmons, OR Coach East Carolina
· Memphis, TN native who was a three year starter at OLB for BYU from 1992-1995
· Administrative assistant and graduate assistant at BYU for a couple seasons
· Spent 10 seasons involved with the Texas Tech football program including the final two as outside receivers coach
· Completing his second season at East Carolina
Duane Price, OLB Coach East Carolina
· Former Texas Tech defensive back from 1995-1998
· Spent six seasons coaching at A&M Consolidated in College Station, TX
· Spent 2009 working under Leach as defensive graduate assistant and retained by Tuberville working with defensive backs through the spring of 2010
· Completing his second season as OLB coach at East Carolina
Landon Hoefer, Offensive Graduate Assistant East Carolina
· Former WR at Texas Tech who decided to end his playing career early in order to start his coaching career as a defensive intern under Tommy West in 2009 at Memphis
· In his 2nd season as offensive graduate assistant at East Carolina
Sonny Cumbie, Inside Receivers Coach Texas Tech
· Former Texas Tech QB under Leach who spent time in AFL before becoming inside receivers coach at Texas Tech last season
Kliff Kingsbury, Co-OC/QB Coach Houston
· Former Texas Tech QB under Leach who has done a fantastic job calling plays for Houston who’s first loss of the season came yesterday
Seth Littrell, OC/RB Coach Arizona
· Arizona’s offense has been productive since Littrell took over the play calling duties last year
· Experience in the PAC 12 is a definite plus for Littrell
· Played FB for Oklahoma in 2000 when Mike Leach was the OC
· Worked for Leach for four seasons as his RB Coach
Jim Mastro, TE/F-Backs Coach UCLA
· Played at Cal Poly while Mike Leach was there as a student…they remain friends
· Long time Nevada assistant who has a lot of experience with an innovative spread offense (Pistol)
· His west coast ties (especially California) bode well for a position on Leach’s staff
David Nichol, Outside Receivers Coach Arizona
· Former student assistant and graduate assistant under Leach at Texas Tech
· Has spent the last four seasons at Arizona, spending the last three as outside receivers coach
Eric Morris, Offensive Graduate Assistant Houston
· Former WR at Texas Tech under Leach who has spent the last two seasons as offensive quality control and graduate assistant at Houston
Robert Anae, Offensive Line Coach Arizona
· Hawaii native who spent 2000-2004 as Mike Leach’s offensive line coach at Texas Tech
· Anae has also coached at UNLV, Boise State, Hawaii, and is a graduate of BYU also spending six years as their offensive coordinator
· He most recently spent the last season at Arizona as offensive line coach
Matt Moore, Offensive Line Coach Texas Tech
· Moore is a Georgia native who played for Leach at Valdosta State from 1991-1994
· Moore also was hired by Leach in 2007 to coach the Texas Tech offensive line where he has been the last five seasons
· Also coached at Troy under the same type of system
Ty Linder, Offensive Graduate Assistant Texas Tech
· Played for Leach at Texas Tech from 2004-2007 at OLB
· Has mostly worked with the special teams units at Texas Tech the last four seasons being a quality control and graduate assistant
Mike Fanoga, Defensive Line Coach Lane College
· Veteran assistant coach who is Samoan, which helps greatly recruiting Samoan descent kids to come to Washington State
· Has worked with Leach at Iowa Wesleyan, Valdosta State, and Kentucky
· Longtime Hal Mumme disciple
Darrell Patterson, LB Coach/STC Rice
· Worked with Leach at Kentucky and has coached on the west coast before spending two seasons at Stanford
Trey Haverty, S Coach TCU
· Haverty played WR for Texas Tech under Leach from 2001-2004 and was an All-American
· Spent three seasons as defensive graduate assistant at TCU before spending 2010 as defensive coordinator at Millsaps College in Mississippi
Eric Russell, TE Coach/STC Tennessee
· Worked for Leach as STC at Texas Tech in 2009
· Russell is an Idaho native who went to junior college at Spokane Falls CC in Washington
· Spent 13 seasons at North Texas
· With all the movement on the Tennessee coaching staff expected, Russell is a good possibility to join Leach in Pullman
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