UPDATED:
Mon., Jan. 8, 2018, 8:26 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson Spokane
S-R
PULLMAN –
Mike Leach returned to a familiar place to find the next leader of Washington
State’s defense.
Tracy
Claeys, the ex-Minnesota coach whose team beat the Cougars in the 2016 Holiday
Bowl thanks to spectular play on the defensive side of the ball, was hired
Monday evening as WSU’s new defensive coordinator.
Claeys,
whose last stop was in the Big Ten Conference, replaces Alex Grinch, who left
the Cougars for the Big Ten, officially accepting an assistant position Monday
morning with Urban Meyer’s staff at Ohio State. Grinch’s exact role with the
Buckeyes is still to be determined.
“Alex did
a great job with our defense,” Leach said Monday in a text message to The
Spokesman-Review. “We wish him and his family the best, as they go back home to
Ohio.”
Hours
later, the WSU coach spoke just as highly of Grinch’s replacement – a 24-year
coaching veteran who’s spent 15 years in college football as a defensive
coordinator with stints at Minnesota, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois and
Emporia State.
“Tracy
comes highly recommended as a tremendous teacher, strategist, and a player’s
coach with an impressive body of work that has withstood the test of time,”
Leach said in a WSU press release. “We are fortunate to have him at Washington
State University.”
Said
Claeys in the press release: “I would like to thank Coach Leach and Washington
State University for the opportunity to coach the Cougs! I am looking forward
to getting to Pullman, working with a great staff and getting to know the
players.”
Claeys’ work
is all too familiar to Cougar fans – and perhaps even a bit aggravating.
Minnesota’s
defense limited WSU to a single touchdown in the ’16 Holiday Bowl and that came
in the final 20 seconds of the fourth quarter. The Golden Gophers suffocated
WSU’s Air Raid offense, holding the Cougars to 303 total yards and limiting the
ground game to 39 rushing yards on 23 carries.
But the
bowl win came amid sexual assualt allegations that resulted in the suspension
of 10 Minnesota players. In support of their teammates who they believed were
falsely accused, a number of other players boycotted team activities and
threatened to skip the Holiday Bowl. They ended their protest in time to suit
up for the game in San Diego.
Claeys,
who was vocal in his support of the player protest, was fired on Jan. 3, 2017,
despite leading the Golden Gophers to a 9-4 record. He then took a hiatus from
college football during the 2017 season.
In an
editorial piece in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Claeys expressed remorse for
using social media to support the players’ boycott.
“This was
too complex and important an issue to address in a 140-character message,”
Claeys wrote. “It generated more questions than it answered and likely created
more problems than it solved.”
In an
external review filed by Dorsey & Whitney law firm, Claeys was blamed for
demonstrating “weak leadership,” although the coach displayed regret in the
editorial, writing “Could it have been handled more smoothly? Maybe. Could it
have gone much worse? Without a doubt.”
The piece
was titled “I’d do some things differently, but we accomplished much.”
Many of
those accomplishments came in Claeys’ short time as the head honcho in
Minneapolis.
In two
seasons as a head coach/interim head coach, Claeys led Minnesota to an 11-8
record and won both of his bowl games – the 2016 Holiday Bowl vs. WSU and the
2015 Quick Lane Bowl against Central Michigan.
Claeys
replaced ex-Minnesota coach Jerry Kill, who left the program midway through the
2015 season because of health problems. The Golden Gophers under Claeys made
similar strides to the ones WSU made under Grinch.
In 2016,
the Golden Gophers ceded an average of 22.1 points – the lowest total since it
allowed 21.9 in 2003. In 2011, Claeys’ debut season as defensive coordinator,
Minnesota allowed 31.7 points, but since then the most it has allowed in a
season is 24.2 points.
Before he
was hired as the interim coach at Minnesota in 2015, Claeys was the Golden
Gophers’ defensive coordinator for four-plus seasons. He’s also been a DC at
Northern Illinois (2008-10), Southern Illinois (2001-07) and Emporia State
(1999-2000).
It isn’t
the first time Leach has gone to the 2016 Minnesota staff for help on defense.
Only a few
weeks after the Holiday Bowl loss to the Golden Gophers, WSU hired ex-Minnesota
defensive line coach Jeff Phelps to lead the same position group in Pullman.
Phelps’ first season in charge of the Cougars’ D-line was a major success. WSU
finished 20th in the FBS with 2.85 sacks per game and the Cougars were tied for
ninth nationally with 7.9 tackles-for-loss per game.
Phelps
worked under Claeys for six years at Minnesota and was his D-line coach at
Northern Illinois for two years before that.
Jeffrey
Phelps
@PhelpsDLCoach
Life is
good!
4:41 PM -
Jan 8, 2018
4 4 Replies
5 5 Retweets 185 185 likes
Twitter
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Claeys is
the first of three hires Leach is expected to make this offseason. WSU is also
in the market for a new outside linebackers coach, with Roy Manning’s departure
to become Chip Kelly’s special teams coordinator at UCLA. Manning hasn’t been
announced by the Bruins yet, but posted a farewell message on Twitter Monday.
Roy
Manning
@CoachRoyM
Wanted to
thank @wsucougfb for 3 of the most exciting years of my coaching career. I’ll
always appreciate the coaches, players, and fans for the opportunity and
memories made! It was a hell of a ride! 💯
4:39 PM -
Jan 8, 2018 · Los Angeles, CA
109 109 Replies 67 67 Retweets 1,045 1,045 likes
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Leach is
also expected to hire someone with a defensive background to fill the 10th
assistant coaching position on his staff.
……………
Ohio State
announces hire of Washington State defensive coordinator Alex Grinch
UPDATED:
Mon., Jan. 8, 2018, 4:47 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson S-R of Spokane
PULLMAN –
Washington State is officially in the market for a new defensive coordinator.
Ohio State
on Monday made Alex Grinch’s hire official, announcing in a press release the
Cougars’ DC would be joining Urban Meyer’s staff in Columbus. Grinch’s official
title has yet to be determined and “his specific responsibilities will be
announced at a later date,” according to the press release.
Reports
from Sports Illustrated’s Bruce Feldman, ESPN’s Chris Low and others stated
that Meyer intends to make Grinch a co-defensive coordinator, alongside current
Buckeyes DC Greg Schiano.
“I am very
impressed with his body of work while at Washington State, as many others
were,” Meyer said in the university press release, “and am happy he chose to
come home to Ohio to become a part of our Buckeye coaching staff.”
A native
of Grove City, Ohio, Grinch graduated from Mount Union College in 2002 after
four years as a standout defensive back for the NCAA Division III program in
Alliance, Ohio.
Grinch
came to WSU three years ago from Missouri, where he was a safeties coach, and
has since led a revolution of the Cougars defense. In 2017, WSU was seventh
nationally in pass efficiency defense, ninth with 28 turnovers forced and
allowed just 11 touchdown passes, fifth-fewest nationally. The Cougars pitched
multiple shutouts in the same season for the first time since 1981, blanking
both Montana State and Colorado, and finished the season ranked 16th nationally
in total defense.
Grinch was
nominated three times for the Broyles Award, the honor given to the nation’s
top assistant coach.
Cougars
coach Mike Leach wished Grinch well in a text message to The Spokesman-Review
Monday morning: “Alex did a great job with our defense,” Leach said. “We wish
him and his family the best, as they go back home to Ohio.”
Grinch’s
spot is one of three Leach will have to fill this offseason. The WSU coach will
also replace outside linebackers coach Roy Manning, who’s reportedly leaving to
become the special teams coach at UCLA. Leach is also expected to add a 10th
assistant coach to his current staff and the coach has hinted at bringing on
someone with experience on defens
………………….
Cougs name
ex-Minnesota coach as defensive coordinator
Tracy
Claeys led Gophers to Holiday Bowl win over WSU in 2016 before getting fired
By Dale
Grummert
Lewiston
Trib
Jan 9,
2018
For the
second time in a year, Washington State has hired a member of the Minnesota
coaching staff that developed a winning game plan against the Cougars in the
2016 Holiday Bowl.
This time,
they've tabbed the boss.
Tracy
Claeys, head coach of that 2016 Minnesota team, will join Mike Leach's staff as
defensive coordinator, the Cougars announced in a news release Monday evening.
The
announcement came hours after Ohio State acknowledged the acquisition of Alex
Grinch, who has overseen a defensive revival at WSU as unit coordinator the
past three seasons. The Buckeyes said Grinch will fill the 10th assistant's
role that the NCAA begins allowing today, but the school declined to name his
exact role.
Claeys was
released as Minnesota coach shortly after the Gophers' 17-12 upset win over WSU
in the 2016 Holiday Bowl.
The firing
stemmed from a sequence of events before the bowl, specificially Claeys'
response to a team-wide revolt after 10 players were suspended in connection to
accusations of sexual assault. When players organized a boycott of the bowl
game to protest the suspensions, Claeys expressed support for the move via
social media, though he later helped dissuade players from the boycott.
"Tracy
comes highly recommended as a tremendous teacher, strategist, and a player's
coach with an impressive body of work that has withstood the test of
time," Leach said in the WSU news release. "We are fortunate to have
him at Washington State University."
Claeys,
49, posted an 11-8 record with back-to-back bowl victories after taking over
the Minnesota program in November 2015. He succeeded Jerry Kill, who resigned
for health reasons.
Claeys had
been a part of the Minnesota coaching staff since 2011, serving as defensive
coordinator before adding the title of associate head coach prior to the 2014
season.
He now
reunites with Jeff Phelps, who coached with Claeys at Minnesota from 2011 to
2016 before joining Leach's staff as defensive-line coach a year ago.
"I
would like to thank Coach Leach and Washington State University for the
opportunity to coach the Cougs," Claeys said in a statement. "I am
looking forward to getting to Pullman, working with a great staff and getting
to know the players."
In 2016,
his first full season as head coach, Claeys guided the Gophers to a 9-4 record,
a 5-4 mark in Big Ten play. The nine wins were the most for the school since
2003 and were the second-most since 1905.
Minnesota's
defense allowed an average of 22.1 points in 2016. Five years earlier, in
Claeys' first season as defensive coordinator, Minnesota allowed 31.7 points,
but since then the most it has allowed in a season is 24.2.
Prior to
Minnesota, Claeys spent three seasons at Northern Illinois and seven years at
Southern Illinois, all as the defensive coordinator.
He started
his coaching career at Santa Fe Trail High in 1994. He joined Kill in 1995 at
Saginaw Valley State, where he coached the defensive line. Claeys became Kill's
defensive coordinator at Emporia State in 1999. He remained in that capacity
when Kill took over at Southern Illinois in 2001 and Northern Illinois in 2008.
Claeys, a
Kansan who attended both Kansas and Kansas State, graduated with a degree in
mathematics education in 1994 from Kansas State. He did not play college
football.
The
Cougars still need to hire a replacement for defensive assistant Roy Manning,
who recently left for UCLA, and they still need to fill the new 10th
assistant's spot.
……………….
WSU season
filled with roller coaster of emotions
6-0 start
to season for WSU football was wiped away after two blowout road losses,
inconsistent play
By JACKSON
GARDNER, Evergreen columnist
Jan the 9th
of 2018
In the
wild ride of 2017’s football season, victories heralded a promising direction
for WSU football while gut-wrenching losses gave fans doubt for the future. We
can reach one conclusion: last season brought both the highest of highs and the
most disappointing of lows to the Cougars.
WSU Head
Coach Mike Leach expressed a similar reflection on the 2017 season following
the loss to Michigan State University in the Holiday Bowl.
“The one
thing that is indisputable is we had a tremendous season,” Leach said. “We had
a better season than most people expected, probably a few games short of what we
as a team expected … but it was a very good season for us, and one we have
plenty of space to improve on.”
Certainly,
WSU dropping four of its final seven games leaves a bitter taste in the
Cougars’ mouths, but it doesn’t take away from the accomplishments the 9-4 club
brought to Pullman.
Never
before had the WSU football program achieved a perfect 7-0 record at Martin
Stadium, with three of those wins against ranked opponents. In addition to the
wins, fans continued to fill Martin Stadium in abundance. The Cougars averaged
32,000 in attendance per home game, the most of any season in the Mike Leach
era.
Despite
their success at home, on the road the Cougars struggled to achieve the same
production on both sides of the ball. At home, WSU averaged nearly 37 points
per game while holding their opponents to an average of about 17 points. In
away games the team averaged just 24 points and allowed their opponents to
score an average of 34 points.
In
addition to their lack of success on the road, the Cougars’ season was hampered
by a wrist injury to senior quarterback Luke Falk’s non-throwing hand in the
second game of the season against Boise State University. Falk played through
the injury for the entire season before doctors determined he needed surgery to
prevent long-term damage, keeping him from competing in the Holiday Bowl.
It wasn’t
easy to identify Falk’s wrist injury because of the record-breaking season he
still achieved. He became the Pac-12 all-time leader in career completions,
total offense and passing touchdowns in his final season.
With the
Cougars now focused on the 2018 season, they will have to move forward without
Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch and Rush Linebacker Coach Roy Manning.
Grinch is
expected to accept the co-defensive coordinator position at Ohio State
University this week. Manning accepted a position on the University of California,
Los Angeles, coaching staff.
But the
2018 recruiting class — regarded as the best recruiting class in Mike Leach’s
tenure — gives WSU a lot to anticipate. Five of the early signees will enroll
early, including four-star quarterback Cammon Cooper.
Among
other signees who will enroll early are running back Max Borghi, linebacker
Kendrick Catis, wide receiver Rodrick Fisher and defensive tackle Jonathan
Lolohea.
WSU will
now shift its focus to next season and hope it ends the way the 2017 year
started.
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