'It feels great to be home': Washington State introduces new football coach Kirby Moore

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Dec. 17—PULLMAN — In front of a large crowd of Cougar supporters, staff members, football players and media members, Washington State announced the hire of the 36th coach in the football program's history, Kirby Moore.

Moore walked through the hallway in the Alger Family Club Room at Gesa Field filled with WSU cheerleaders and photographers and was introduced in front of the crowd with a Cougar jersey with the number 36 on it, with "Moore" on the back of the jersey.

Both Moore and Washington State interim athletic director Jon Haarlow spoke to the public.

Moore's first words in front of the group were, "It feels great to be home."

The perfect fit for WSU

Moore was born in Prosser, Wash., and grew up going to WSU spring practices during his spring breaks when he was a child. He went with his father, Tom, a former Prosser High School football head coach, and brother, Kellen, who is the current head coach of the New Orleans Saints in the NFL.

In high school, Kirby and Kellen set numerous records at Prosser, including a national record for TD catches for Kirby with 95.

The brothers went on to play college ball together at Boise State.

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As coach, Kirby Moore was most recently the offensive coordinator for Missouri in the SEC.

Moore said when he first walked into the building with the football players, his message was simple.

He told the senior group that there is a big opportunity to "finish" with the upcoming Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Utah State on Monday. He said that it was important to start a dialogue with the entire team and to understand that they are going through a lot of change.

He said that dialogue included that he made the decision to come to WSU.

"I chose to be here," Moore said. "I chose to be here. And I want to make sure we have players and coaches who want to be here too. I think we want to build this thing the right way. We want to compete and improve on a daily basis. And I wanted them to know, obviously, I was going to sit down with every player and make sure I'm investing from a relationship standpoint. And then as we build this staff and come together, that there's dialogue with their potential position coaches or coordinators."

Haarlow said that Moore was a candidate who checked all the boxes that the university was looking for.

"He talked a lot about culture, and obviously, his fit here at Washington State is the cherry on top of all those things," Haarlow said. "He checks all the boxes — football-wise, innovator, culture-builder-wise — but him having a fit here, family here, being able to energize the fan base (was) just the cherry on top."

Haarlow said that Moore's energy is infectious and that not only is he a culture builder but that Moore is a "grinder" that will not be outworked.

A homegrown talent and what Moore's commitment looks like

Moore's wife, Kayla, and their three children, Sutton, Cohen and Crew, attended the news conference and Moore said having familial connections throughout the region was part of the reason he chose WSU.

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"For me, this is home from a family standpoint as well," Moore said. "My wife is from Prosser. We grew up together. We got family in Palouse, Spokane. My parents are in the Tri-Cities, so there's some incredible memories for our kids. And I think there's an opportunity to win now, right at Washington State in the new Pac-12 footprint."

The new coach said that his wife has sacrificed an incredible amount for the family to be in the position they are now and that he wants his kids to have incredible memories with their family in Washington.

WSU's last coach Jimmy Rogers left the university for a head coaching position at Iowa State after holding the job for just 11 months. In his only year at WSU, the Cougs went 6-6 with just the bowl game remaining.

Haarlow explained that he believes that Moore is in Pullman for the long run.

"I think we're all a little bit burned by that, with (Rogers leaving)," Haarlow said. "But (Moore's) got ties here. One of the things that we have to do is also make it a place (to stay); we got to do our part too. Like, fans got to show up. We've got to support him like we need to. So that way we're doing our part, we expect him to do his, and we think we can be (in) a long-term relationship."

What to expect for Moore next year at WSU

Moore is coming to WSU after being the OC at Mizzou since 2023.

In 2025, Missouri was 32nd in the FBS in points per game at 32.2. The Tigers had the 18th-best third-down conversion percentage in the country at 33.1% and had the eighth-best rushing offense with 234.1 yards per game, which was the top-ranked unit in the SEC.

Before Missouri, Moore was a wide receivers coach, passing game coordinator and the offensive coordinator for his final season during his time at Fresno State from 2017-22.

Moore was a graduate assistant for Chris Petersen at the University of Washington from 2015-16.

Moore said that he spoke to Petersen after taking the Washington State gig.

"On Sunday, (I) had a great call with coach Petersen … and I put down the phone on the table right for an hour and listened to him talk," Moore said. "And when I needed to talk, I would, but just taking his advice. The do's, the don'ts, and I thought that was a very beneficial conversation for moving forward."

Moore said that the staff is looking at offensive coordinators right now and should get closer on a hire later this week.

The offensive philosophy is flexible and Moore said he is willing to adjust things depending on the personnel and skill groups.

"I mentioned throwing to score and running to win, but it's got to be dictated by our personnel, and that's looked different at each place," Moore said. "And it's got to be something that is dictated by our personnel. That's going to be a process through spring ball."

He said at Fresno State, the team had a top quarterback with a lot of speed on the field, so the group was able to throw the ball all over the field. At Mizzou, the team excelled in running the football and had a good group of tight ends, so they stuck in bigger sets and ran the ball often.

Haarlow said the plan for 2026 is for Wazzu to be in the top third of the new Pac-12.

"I think we certainly want to be at the top third, call it," Haarlow said. "Understanding Year 1s are always a bit of a transition. But I also think that he's capable of stepping in and getting us in a really, really good spot at the top of the league. Our expectation is to be able to compete for championships, and I know that that's what he's here for as well."

Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, tjunt@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @TrevorJunt.

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