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Pete ThamelESPN
Washington State is finalizing a deal to make veteran coach Jeff Schmedding its next defensive coordinator, sources told ESPN on Sunday.
Schmedding worked with Bryan Harsin at Auburn the past two years, including as the coordinator in 2022. He is a veteran of the Pacific Northwest footprint, as he is a graduate of Eastern Washington and worked there from 2004 to 2018, winning an FCS national championship in 2010.
He also worked at Boise State under Harsin in 2019 and 2020, where he called plays on defense and coached the linebackers. That included an undefeated season in Mountain West play in 2019 and a defense that finished in the top 25 nationally in scoring defense (20.6 PPG).
Washington State had a solid debut season under Jake Dickert in 2022, finishing 7-6. Those positive results led to the Cougars losing both of their coordinators, as Brian Ward took the defensive coordinator spot at Arizona State and Eric Morris became the head coach at North Texas. Dickert stayed wedded to a wide-open offensive style by hiring Ben Arbuckle on offense.
