Kirby Moore’s Coaching Staff Starting to Take Shape

Now that our beloved Washington State Cougars have concluded a rather remarkable season with a 7-6 record and a bowl game victory, it’s time to turn our attention to 2026. Namely, who’s going to lead this squad?

We know Kirby Moore is the head man as a first time head coach, and we learned this week about some of his assistants coming to Pullman.

Defensive Coordinator, Trent Bray

Bray is a Pullman native, having graduated from Pullman High School in 2002 before playing linebacker at Oregon State. He coached linebackers and coordinated the Oregon State defense before becoming head coach in 2024. Things didn’t go well for him as the head man, as Bray was fired this past season after an 0-7 start. He was 5-14 overall and may be best remembered for his halftime interview in a game against Fresno State when he lambasted his special teams (earmuffs for the kids on this one):

Let’s hope he’s a better defensive coordinator.

Offensive Coordinator, Matt Miller

Miller has been on the Boise State staff since 2020 as the wide receivers coach. He was promoted to co-offensive coordinator ahead of this past season. He has big game and big time experience, helping the Broncos to the College Football Playoff in 2024 and was part of an offensive staff that helped the Broncos rank eighth in the nation in offense.

Offensive Line Coach, Jack Abercrombie

Abercrombie comes from Missouri, where he was the Tigers’ assistant offensive line coach. He has experience coaching the offensive line at smaller schools.

Tight Ends Coach (we think), Durham Cato

Cato coached tight ends at Missouri most recently, as well as at Washington in 2020 and 2021.

Defensive Line Coach, Andrew Browning

Browning comes from Cal, where he’s coached the defensive line for seven seasons. He also has Boise State roots as a player and coach.

Other: Brad Larrondo

Larrondo is expected to fill a front office-type role at WSU. Larrondo was the CEO of Missouri’s NIL outlet, called Every True Tiger Brands, which tells you where we are with college football nowadays. WSU President Betsy Cantwell has made it clear that WSU’s NIL efforts aren’t where they need to be. Is Larrondo the guy to elevate WSU’s NIL bank account? We’ll see!

As we know, hiring the right staff is as big a decision any head coach will make. Moore is a first-time head coach, so he doesn’t have the pedigree—yet—to attract high-end assistants, and WSU’s standing in the college football world nowadays also prevents high-end assistants from moving their families our way. But on the other hand, this is a great opportunity for good coaches to get experience. If they perform well, they’ll move on to bigger jobs, which is a good thing. Part of me likes new blood on the sidelines instead of retreads who’ve coached at 10 different schools.

Coaching a position group is one thing, but being a good recruiter is the other side of the coin. How these coaches recruit will also go a long way in their career development and the success of WSU football. Let’s hope Moore hit some home runs with these hires, and perhaps the still-to-come assistants will be just as successful.