Washington State Football: 5 takeaways from 2017 regular season

2. Alex Grinch may have worked himself into a bigger job

Alex Grinch’s third year as the Washington State Cougars’ defensive coordinator came with a lot of fan fare around the college football world. Grinch was the focus of memes online and conversation on shows like College Football Live and College GameDay.

Grinch is an Ohio-native who won three national titles as a player at Division III Mount Union in Ohio. Since he’s been on the fast track to Division I head football coach. Grinch has spent time on staffs at Mount Union, New Hampshire, Wyoming, Missouri and now at Washington State.

The defensive coordinator has drastically improved the Cougars’ defense since arriving in 2015. In 2014, Wazzou’s defense was ranked 101st by the S&P+. Over Grinch’s three seasons, the Cougs’ defense has ranked 74th and 63rd before settling in nicely at 23rd in the country this season. That’s a guy making chicken salad from, well, you know.

Washington State’s recruiting has improved, but he’s putting together a top-25 defense from three-star players and at a program that focuses on throwing the football and scoring quick or going three-and-out on offense. In Wazzou’s three losses, the offense threw 12 interceptions which puts the defense back on the field again and keeps them from making key adjustments.

So where could Grinch wind up? Rumors are floating around about Texas A&M (now allegedly a false rumor) and Arkansas. Grinch is well-paid in Pullman but it isn’t the pull that the SEC can throw at a young coordinator with a family.