Undoubtedly, this has been an unprecedented few weeks for Cougar football. The program lost its offensive and defensive coordinators, several players, and most recently, its head coach.
The program’s future could have various outcomes with the roster and the staff up in the air. Washington State athletic director, Anne McCoy recently announced that a search firm will be selecting the future head coaching job, but also said there is no timeline on the search.
With the program rebuild looming, here is a hypothetical plan that could allow the Cougars to succeed next year and moving forward. The bottom line for the Cougs is the program needs consistency moving forward.
In this new era of college football, the only way a team can win in Pullman is to have a coaching staff and players who want to be here.
While the program structure in place during Mike Leach’s tenure on the Palouse is admirable, it seems nearly impossible to achieve in Pullman now with the new era of college football.
Gone are the days of being able to lock in players for four years, and that is probably for the best. While that removes the element of forced development, like in the Leach era, using a similar strategy in modern college football still has some validity.
A recent hypothetical NIL package valued near $1 million was put in place to try to entice former WSU quarterback John Mateer to stay in Pullman. While this effort failed, the program could use that money and future funds to yield a competitive roster.
For example, if the program used half of that money to attract experienced offensive linemen from the portal, that could make a huge impact immediately. While success is never a sure thing, the value that comes with an experienced offensive line can not be put into words.
The acquisition of these experienced linemen could help expedite the development of younger linemen as well, helping to create a pseudo-developmental program.
The sad reality of college football today is that elite skill players cost a fortune and instead of spending that fortune on a few players, the program could spread the wealth and focus on the front line. This emphasis would allow for consistency up front, making it easier to rotate skill players in and out as teams will inevitably change players via the transfer portal and graduation.
A future focused on the front five could allow Washington State to remain relevant in the current era of college football and potentially contend for championships in the new Pac-12.
While this approach would not be as flashy as most fans would want, if Coug fans want to win, then flash should not matter at all.
This may be tough for some fans to hear, as the high-flying air raid offense could (and should) be on its way out with a new coaching hire.
Sorry, but to win in today’s college football, the Cougars may need to go under center every once and a while and rely on the big boys to produce success and hype.
