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 hires Missouri offensive coordinator Kirby Moore as next head coach, a the person involved in the negotiations said Athletics.
Moore, 35, spent the last three years in Missouri. A native of Prosser, Washington, Moore is the younger brother of New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore.
At Washington State, he replaced Jimmy Rogers, who left after one season for the Iowa State job. The Cougars are 6-6 this year, with one-score losses to Ole Miss, Virginia and James Madison all on the road, and one bowl game remaining.
Like his older brother, Kirby Moore played for their father, Tom, at Prosser High School, then moved to Boise State. He was a wide receiver for the Broncos from 2009 to 2013, crossing paths with Kellen for two seasons. The younger Moore immediately became a coach 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 once again become a full-fledged FBS conference.
