Grinch leaves WSU for Buckeyes
By DYLAN GREENE, Evergreen sports editor
January 4, 2018
WSU football defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is leaving
Pullman and joining the coaching staff at Ohio State University, sources told
ESPN.
Grinch will take the Buckeyes 10th assistant coach position
and be the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State, ESPN reports.
On Jan. 9, a new NCAA rule will go into effect allowing each
Division I football program to add a 10th assistant coach.
Being closer to home and family factored into Grinch’s
decision to take the job in Columbus, Ohio, sources told The Seattle Times.
Grinch’s hometown of Grove City is about a 15-minute drive from Columbus.
Grinch’s mother is sick, which could have played a role in
his decision to join Ohio State and move closer to where he grew up, according
to The Seattle Times.
Grinch informed WSU players of his impending departure after
rumors surfaced in the middle of December connecting him to Ohio State, and he
was honest with the players on the WSU defense about his reasons for leaving,
sources told The Seattle Times.
Grinch made $600,000 at WSU this year and was due for a
$25,000 raise in 2018, The Seattle Times reported.
In his three seasons at WSU, the Cougars defense improved
nationally in total defense each year and ranked 16th in 2017. The WSU defense
also accumulated 103 tackles for loss in 2017, the second-most in school
history.
Grinch’s departure comes a day after rush linebackers coach
Roy Manning left WSU to join University of California, Los Angeles staff as a
special teams coordinator. The Cougars now have two defensive coaching
positions to fill.
Associate Director of Athletics Bill Stevens declined to
comment on Grinch’s departure.
……………………
From Seattle Times 1/4/2017 UW’s new men’s basketball coach Mike
Hopkins said in a news conference about:
=UW-WSU matchup: 'It's a rivalry game. It's a different
game. I'm excited to experience it for the first time and be a part of it and
it'll be a great challenge for us.'
(Saturday’s 1 p.m. game at Washington State, which will his
first taste of the in-state rivalry with the Cougars. UW enters 11-4 and 1-1
Pac-12 while WSU is 8-6, 0-2.)
= (On WSU) “I think they not only take a lot of threes, they
can make a lot of threes. It’s a team who beat St. Mary’s, San Diego State.
They are a team where I’ve seen, down 20 points fight all the way back to
winning the game by double-digits. Those are dangerous teams. Obviously they’ve
got some really good players. They’ve got a coach who has won a lot of games,
he’s got a lot of experience. And when it’s a rivalry game, it’s a different
game. I’m excited to experience it for the first time and be a part of it and
it’ll be a great challenge for us. We’ve seen three-point shooting teams, goes
back to earlier in the year, it’s given us a lot of experience against it.
Should be a great challenge.”
=(On UW-WSU basketball game having an intensity similar to
the football’s Apple Cup) “I’m learning as I’m going, and rivalry is great.
It’s great for the sport, it’s great for the state. It’s great for the kids. I
was a part of one at Syracuse for a long time with Georgetown. It makes the
atmosphere just great. Going to the Apple Cup here in football, just to see the
intensity, the drama building up to it, was a lot of fun. You see what kids are
made of in those moments. That’s what makes those types of games a whole lotta
fun.”
::::::::::::::::::::::::::;
Seen & Heard on Planet Coug: We Love LA Edition
Alex Grinch listed in Ohio State directory
From COUGFANcom 1/4/2018
WITH ROY MANNING REPORTEDLY LEAVING for the UCLA special
teams job, and radio silence from Manning, the Cougars look to be in need of
not only a new outside linebackers coach but also a recruiter who can produce
for Washington State in the talent-rich Los Angeles Basin area.
Looking at it strictly from a recruiting angle, Vince Amey
could be a logical candidate. He worked his way up the ladder at Arizona before
becoming the defensive line coach two seasons ago. He's from the Bay Area but he knows LA. With Rich Rodriguez fired this week, he might
be among those who could garner an interview.
Donnie Henderson is someone else who knows the LA area. His experience is decidedly on the NFL side
but he was reported last month to be headed to ASU as Herm Edwards' new
defensive coordinator, it didn't come to fruition.
Another potential candidate who might have made sense: TJ
Rushing, who spent the past two seasons at ASU on Todd Graham's staff. But he
was just hired at Memphis. Ron Gould at
Stanford also has strong Los Angeles-area recruiting connections.
Mike Leach runs a notoriously tight-lipped ship when it
comes to staffing but the new 10th assistant in college football can officially
start performing duties on Jan. 9, next Tuesday. Sure, WSU could decide to take its time in
officially filling that position, and also the positions open by the
not-yet-official departures of Manning and Alex Grinch.
But choosing to wait beyond this Tuesday would also mean
falling behind the Joneses. Several schools tight now have their full staffs,
including the 10th assistant coach, all ready to roll when recruiting opens
back up Jan. 12. The regular period Signing Day is Feb. 7.
INCYMI, “SI has learned UCLA is hiring Washington State
assistant coach Roy Manning as the Bruins’ new special teams coordinator,”
Sports Illustrated's Bruce Feldman reported.
(Manning did not respond to a CF.C request for comment).
ElevenWarriors.com also produced a screen grab today,
showing Grinch listed in the Ohio State directory. His job title is currently
listed as Director-Football Operations. Click here. Feldman today reported Grinch will be coming
in as the Buckeyes' co-defensive coordinator.
Cougar alum and KJR-Radio host Ian Furness, in light of
WSU's blowout loss in the Holiday Bowl, wasn't pleased to hear about the
Manning-to-UCLA report -- on top of Grinch's reported departure ahead of the
game.
SPEAKING OF RECRUITING, six Cougars are expected to start
classes on Monday (see related story below). Included among them is Max Borghi,
who arrives to WSU today after the Cougs beat out Stanford during a tense final
recruiting stretch in December. Here are Borghi's highlights in the Colorado 5A
state title game.
……………
Mike Leach doubles down on 'inept, lazy' media and injuries
'I don’t want to empower poor and inept and lazy journalists
with story material'
COUGFANcom – 1/4/2018
MIKE LEACH TOLD USA TODAY there are two reasons he kept
secret Luke Falk's broken wrist on his non-throwing hand this season. The first, he said, had in part to do with
his disinclination to "empower poor and inept and lazy journalists."
“I don’t want to empower poor and inept and lazy journalists
with story material,” Leach said. “They just want to talk about scores and
injuries. What comes out of these stories is, 'So and so is injured. So his
team has all these excuses to lose, because the whole thing is riding on
X-number of injured players. So therefore they can’t win.' ... I don’t want that
mentality floating around our team in any way shape, form or fashion.
“Then, the other thing is, whatever weaknesses or
vulnerabilities that we have as a team, I can’t possibly fathom why I would
have any interest in revealing that to my opponent," said Leach.
INCYMI, Falk broke his left wrist in Week Two vs. Boise
State and played every game thereafter with the wrist in a cast and covered by
a black glove, having been cleared medically to play. The cast was cut off
after each game so reporters in the post-game media gatherings wouldn’t
inquire. Approximately two weeks after the Apple Cup it became clear surgery
was needed immediately due to Falk's deteriorating ability to move the wrist,
and the wrist wasn't sufficiently healed in time to play in the bowl game.
Leach also took issue with the media's coverage of a video
that went viral during bowl week. During a Holiday Bowl presser, the WSU coach
was seen blowing on a cup of hot coffee.
The Washington Post's story headline: Mike Leach strenuously cools his
coffee, wins news conference.
“Next time we have a press conference, I would be more than
happy to go up there, get a hot cup of coffee and cool it off for them,” he
said. “That’s a courtesy I’m willing to provide, and I’d be happy to do that.
But the fact they found me blowing on my coffee more fascinating than the
questions that they ask I find kind of telling.
Leach said he thinks his 2018 squad can be better than the
2017 team, noting returning players at wide receiver and other positions. He's
also bullish on QB Tyler Hilinski.
“I think he’s really good,” Leach said. “I think he’s got
great potential, and I’m excited to see how he plays with 100 percent of the
reps.”
Asked about his 2-8 record in Apple Cups and bowl games,
Leach replied; “A starting point would be to play a lot worse teams.”
“We’ve gone to (three) straight bowls. We’ll go to a bowl
again next year, and we’ll do it for a longer period of time than has ever been
done in the history of the school. I don’t know how you can attempt to diminish
what we’ve accomplished with something like that.”
Multiple reports last month, including this one in Sports
Illustrated, had Leach agreeing to terms to become the next head coach at
Tennessee. The AD was fired and
Tennessee eventually hired Jeremy Pruitt.
Leach declined to comment on what happened with Tennessee in the USA
Today article.
“I really can’t. Most of it is water under the bridge now,”
Leach said.
For the USA Today piece, click here:
……………..
Mike Leach isn’t commenting on what happened with Tennessee
He is defending his policy on injuries though
By Chet Broberg Coug Center Jan 5, 2018, 5:00am PST
Washington State’s football season may be over but Head
Coach Mike Leach never leaves the limelight. Coming off a resounding Holiday
Bowl loss, Leach gave an interview to the USA Today while in Key West, Florida
to discuss, and not discuss, topics concerning him and the program.
It is unlikely we will ever know what exactly happened
between him and Tennessee. Reports conflict on how far along the deal got
before falling through and Leach isn’t going to provide any details himself. He
referred to that story as “water under the bridge.” It does not sound as if
Leach is a man set on spending the rest of his days on the Palouse.
When asked about struggles in bowls and apple cups the head
coach deflected responsibility. Leach said the the first thing to help improve
results at the end of the year would be to play worse teams. A claim
unsubstantiated by his record against FCS teams.
Leach was also given an opportunity to defend his policy on
information about injuries. He is not a fan of “inept and lazy” journalists
pointing to injuries as a reason for losses and would prefer to minimize the
information that opponents have about his team.
Insults aside, I think it makes perfect sense to keep your
opponent from knowing which players are healthy.
#
