Eric Russell reportedly resigned from Tennessee to take an assistant coaching position with Mike Leach at Washington State (Photo: Knoxville News Sentinel)It appears new Washington State head coach Mike Leach is going after his former assistants at Texas Tech to fill his new staff in Pullman.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that Tennessee tight ends and special teams coach Eric Russell is leaving the program to accept a similar position at WSU. Russell served as Leach's special teams coordinator at Texas Tech before moving on to Tennessee.
The Washington State athletic department would not confirm or deny the hire on Monday, nor would they confirm any of Leach's reported hires.
The Daily News in Jacksonville, North Carolina reported Tuesday that East Carolina assistant coaches Clay McGuire and Dennis Simmons resigned from the program to re-join Leach at Washington State. If accurate, McGuire would coach the Cougars' offensive line and Simmons would be in charge of outside receivers.
UCLA assistant Jim Mastro, who specializes in the pistol offense, will reportedly coach running backs under Leach.
Leach reportedly will not announce any hires until some time next week.
