The Battle of the Palouse rivalry has a rich history going all the way back to 1894, but there is one brand-new component for the 2013 edition — the coaches.
Idaho coach Paul Petrino (0-3) enters the border battle in his fourth game at Idaho while Washington State coach Mike Leach (5-10) is in the fourth game of his second season at the Cougar helm.
Although Leach’s squad has managed a solid 2-1 start to the 2013 season, but a 2-1 start didn’t end well for the team last season. Washington State also started 2-1 in 2012 before finishing the season 3-9.
Petrino is yet to win a football game at Idaho but his team showed improvement in a 45-35 loss against Northern Illinois last Saturday.
Slow return
The 2013 season is Paul Petrino’s first as head football coach of a Division I program, but Idaho’s 33rd head football coach is not new to the Palouse. Petrino served as an assistant from 1992-94 under then head coach John L. Smith. Petrino coached running backs, receivers and special team during his first gig as a Vandal coach but his teams never faced the Cougars during that span.
Before Idaho, Petrino was an assistant at his alma mater, Carroll College. He served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Carroll College from 1990-91.
Previously, Petrino was quarterback for the Fighting Saints from 1985-88 where he helped the team to four Frontier Conference championships. He also set 16 school records, earned Kodak All-American honors and was named Football Gazette NAIA Division II Player of the Year for his senior season in 1988.
After his gigs at Carroll College and Idaho, Petrino took over the special teams and wide receiver coaching positions at Utah State.
After leaving the Aggies, Petrino saw coaching success at Louisville where he helped the Cardinals to No. 1 in the nation in passing offense in 1998 and No. 2 in 1999 as the wide receivers coach.
After a brief stint as quarterbacks coach at Southern Mississippi, Petrino was back at Louisville as the offensive coordinator in 2003. His teams averaged 41.1 points per game during his span as offensive coordinator from 2003-06.
Petrino’s offense and Leach’s Texas Tech Red Raider offense were the only two programs to rank in the top 10 nationally in total offense during each of those three years.
Leach has long been known for his porlific offenses but his most improved unit his 2013 Cougar team might be his defense.
“They beat USC because of their defense,” Petrino said of WSU. “Their defensive line basically just got after their offensive line all game.”
Petrino’s success at Louisville led him to an opportunity in the NFL where he served as the wide receivers coach for the Atlanta Falcons in 2007 — a breakout year for Roddy White.
Back in the college ranks, Petrino served as an assistant at Arkansas, Illinois and then back at Arkansas in 2012 as the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Three of Petrino’s receivers were drafted in 2012.
After one season back at Arkansas, Petrino took his first head coaching job at Idaho after more than 20 years as an assistant.
Petrino has respect for the team across the border as the two teams head into their first football matchup in recent history.
“They’re going to be a real good football team for a few years to come with coach Leach coaching them,” Petrino said.
Air raiding the Palouse
Mike Leach is in his second year now at Washington State, and he’s not only making his team better on the field, but he’s also coaching up the fans a bit as well. His latest tips came on Monday at his weekly press conference where Leach offered up a little dating advice.
“Try to pick somewhere where there’s not salad, because girls will try to show off like all they eat is salad,” Leach said. “Try to put them somewhere, where they’re in position where they have to put real food in their mouth.”
Giving out dating advice is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Mike Leach. The man has been on countless adventures. He’s hunted bears and killed one for an outdoor TV show. He might just be the most interesting man in the world and he resides just west of the border, at Washington State University.
Leach is one of the few coaches in college football who never played the sport in college. He was actually a rugby player at BYU. From BYU, he went on to study law at Pepperdine University, where he eventually earned his Juris Doctor degree.
It wasn’t until 1987, a year after he graduated from Pepperdine, that Leach decided to pursue a coaching career in football.
His first big break came in 1989, when he landed a job as an offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan, and got a chance to coach under the legend Hal Mumme.
It was there, at Iowa Wesleyan where the daunting “Air Raid” offense was born. The two went on to Valdosta State and then on to Kentucky to break multiple school and NCAA passing records at each school respectively.
After a quick pit stop at Oklahoma, to be Bob Stoops’ offensive coordinator, Texas Tech came calling in 2000 and hired Leach to take over a struggling Red Raider program that was in dire need of some help.
Leach virtually turned around the program overnight and led the Red Raiders to 10 bowl games in 10 seasons.
Following a controversy in 2009, Leach allegedly locked wide receiver Adam James, son of former ESPN anchor Craig James, in an electrical closet because of a concussion he had suffered. Leach was fired shortly after the incident.
On Nov. 30, 2011, Leach received another chance at being a Division I coach when he was hired at WSU.
The Cougars went through their struggles in Leach’s first season with the program, ultimately going 3-9. Despite missing his first bowl game as a head coach, and rumors spreading that he was on the move to a different school, Leach has stuck around to see this thing through.
Leach has the Cougars rolling to start the 2013 season and is off to a 2-1 record heading into the Battle of the Palouse with wins over USC and Southern Utah. WSU suffered a tight loss to Auburn in the season opener.
Stephan Wiebe and Korbin McDonald can be reached at [email protected]