The Washington State Cougars have been reeling the past couple of months, so can we all just decide to lay off for a bit?
First, the Cougars were left without a seat at the table in the world of conference realignment, standing alongside the Oregon State Beavers without a clear path forward.
Now, according to a report from The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, there’s a decent chance their coach, Jake Dickert, is going to get hired away by the Michigan State Spartans.
According to Feldman (subscription required), Dickert has emerged as a leading candidate to fill the head coaching vacancy in East Lansing.
“The 40-year-old Dickert has done an impressive job providing desperately needed stability in a program that has been rocked by every issue imaginable the past five years,” Feldman wrote.
The Cougars have been one of the best stories of the 2023 season, going 4-0 with wins over No. 19 Wisconsin and No. 14 Oregon State. Dickert is 14-9 as a head coach at Washington State.
That’s likely good enough to land him with the Spartans if Dickert wants to go. Michigan State is looking for a new head coach after Mel Tucker was fired for cause this past week. The news comes amid MSU’s investigation into sexual harassment allegations against the coach.
If Dickert can justify jumping ship and following Washington, Oregon, USC, and UCLA to the Big Ten after being left behind earlier this summer, nobody would blame him. Part of the coaching world is moving up after success and gaining for power and notoriety. That’s exactly what Dickert deserves to do after proving himself at Washington State.
If it does happen, though, it will be a tough one to swallow for the Cougars. Left without a conference, left without a coach, and left without a clear future.
Not a spot that any fan wants to be in.
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