In WSU introduction, coach Kirby Moore avoids loyalty talk and touts an ‘exciting brand of football’

PULLMAN – On the day he was introduced at Washington State, where he’s now the program’s 36th head football coach, Kirby Moore wore a tan suit and a warm smile. He said he’s thrilled to be returning to his home state. And he had been woken up far earlier than he would like, he joked, which tends to happen when you have a 9-month-old.

Moore may not be a long talker, but he’s thoughtful, and he understands the responsibility he’s accepting with the Cougars’ program. A native of nearby Prosser, he grew up going to WSU games, including the 2012 Apple Cup. As a kid, he met the Cougars coaches who helped this program blossom, from Bill Doba to Mike Price and others.

That means Moore, who worked the previous three seasons as Missouri’s offensive coordinator, understands that the WSU football program has not been graced with much loyalty in recent years.

He’s replacing Jimmy Rogers, who espoused loyalty, only to bolt for the next rung on the ladder less than a calendar year later. His predecessor was Jake Dickert, who did the same after three full seasons at the helm.

So, Moore made no promises at his introductory news conference Tuesday. Instead, he said, it’s not about words he uses.

“It’s really people,” said Moore, a first-time head coach. “We’ve got grandparents in Palouse. We’ve got aunts in Pullman, aunts in Spokane. My parents just built a house in the Tri-Cities. So there’s some incredible memories for my kids, and I look forward to that happening for a number of years.”

Will Moore stay at WSU until the sands of time shift and college football swings on its axis again? There’s no telling, not with the way things are changing in this ecosystem. But on Tuesday, Moore sang a different tune than the coaches who had come before him, offering a taste of exciting offense and a sturdy defense and a special teams unit complete with the team’s best players.

“I look forward to helping our players build a positive culture while chasing their personal best,” Moore said. “Everyone’s personal best is gonna look a little bit different. I want to help our guys chase two dreams: a life with football and a life without football. While we’re doing that, we have to develop an elite edge while competing for championships. Right now, I look forward to building a staff that resembles and connects and embraces the Pac-12 footprint. We need everyone pushing in the same direction in Cougar nation. We will have an attacking brand of football, an exciting brand of football.”

Moore is taking over at a critical juncture for WSU. The Cougars just completed their second and final regular season competing adrift of a traditional conference structure. Next season, WSU will play in the new-world Pac-12, which includes new members Colorado State, Texas State, Fresno State, Utah State, San Diego State and Boise State – where Moore played his college ball, where he played with brother Kellen, now the head coach of the New Orleans Saints.

Perhaps more importantly, Moore will be the face of a program trying to catch up on the fundraising front. The Cougs need to raise an additional $5 million in NIL funds, university President Elizabeth Cantwell said in a message on social media earlier this week. To stay ahead of the new conference, the team needs to distribute about $7 million in NIL funds, according to interim Athletic Director Jon Haarlow, who led the search that landed on Moore.

Can Moore help the program meet those goals? Right now, maybe the more pressing question is if he can retain a few of the WSU players who have announced they plan to enter the transfer portal when it opens on Jan. 2.

In that department, the good news for Moore and the Cougars was that about 20 players attended Tuesday’s news conference. That included two players who are portal-bound, wide receiver Tony Freeman and linebacker Anthony Palano, as well as a few younger players with remaining eligibility: defensive end Isaac Terrell, defensive tackle Bryson Lamb, tight end Trey Leckner, running back Maxwell Woods and tight end Beau Baker.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 12 players had announced they’re planning to enter the portal. Moore has already chatted with a few of them, he said, and he was planning to sit down with a few more on Tuesday evening. Moore described those conversations as “very receptive.”

“ ‘This is where we’re at. Hey, this is my situation. This is where we’re at moving forward,’ ” Moore said. “I want to make sure I’m helping them as well, whatever they’re looking for and whatever’s in their best self interest.”

Whoever is a part of next year’s WSU team, Moore said, will shape his offense. At Missouri, he played a key role in establishing a rushing offense that ranked eighth nationally this year. But in 2022, when he was Fresno State’s offensive coordinator, the Bulldogs had a prolific quarterback – which prompted him to center things around the pass.

That’s what makes it tricky to wrangle what kind of football Moore’s first Cougar team will play, at least on offense. Some of that will be dictated by his coaching staff, which Moore said will “get closer” to coming together by the end of this week. But at the very least, this seems clear: With Moore at the top of the program, the offense that made the Cougars famous may be returning to the Palouse, where their new coach grew up visiting.

“It’s a mix,” Moore said, “and it’s got to fit, ‘hey, here’s our top five skill guys,’ and if you’ve got three receivers in the top four, well, we should be pretty spread out. Or vice versa, if we’ve got two tight ends in the top three players, we should be in a little bit bigger sets. So we gotta make sure it correlates with our personnel.”