Kirby Moore played high school football in Washington and is the younger brother of New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore. Denny Medley / USA TODAY Sports
Washington State is hiring Missouri offensive coordinator Kirby Moore as its next head coach, a person involved in the negotiations told The Athletic.
Moore, 35, has spent the last three years at Missouri. A native of Prosser, Wash., Moore is the younger brother of New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore.
At Washington State, he replaces Jimmy Rogers, who left for the Iowa State job after one season. The Cougars are 6-6 this year, with one-score losses to Ole Miss, Virginia and James Madison all on the road, and a bowl game still to play.
Like his older brother, Kirby Moore played for their father, Tom, at Prosser High School and then moved on to Boise State. He was a wide receiver for the Broncos from 2009-13, crossing over with Kellen for two seasons. The younger Moore immediately moved into coaching after playing. He spent 2017-22 at Fresno State, working under Jeff Tedford and Kalen DeBoer. After winning the Mountain West in 2022 as offensive coordinator under Tedford, Moore moved to Missouri.
Since Moore arrived at Missouri, the Tigers are 29-9, including an 11-win season in 2023 with a Cotton Bowl victory and a 10-3 season last year. This year’s team is 8-4, in part due to quarterback Beau Pribula missing a month of the season with an ankle injury. But the Tigers were No. 1 in rushing in the SEC and fourth in third-down offense.
Moore inherits a Washington State program carrying the newly rebuilt Pac-12, which next season will add five Mountain West schools like Boise State and Fresno State, as well as Texas State from the Sun Belt, to become a full FBS conference once again.
