Washington State head coach Mike Leach has had a rather colorful collegiate coaching career. After first being hired at Texas Tech, Leach was released from his duties for a mistreatment incident involving WR Adam James.
Now, Leach has found a home at Washington State University and athletic director Mike Loos has rewarded him and his coaching staff with a raise. Washington State qualified for its first bowl game since 2003 under Leach, falling to Colorado State 48-45, and subsequently increased his annual salary by $500,000. Loos will also contribute $500,000 to be spread among the rest of the coaching staff.
Leach will now be among the conference’s highest paid coaches just below Washington’s Chris Petersen ($3.25 million) and UCLA’s Jim Mora ($3.25 million), while earning a base salary of $2.75 million per season. It’s without a doubt Leach has earned his raise, as the Cougars have gone 9-16 during his first two seasons after he inherited a team that had gone 9-40 over the previous four.
