Season Preview: Meet Kirby Moore, Cougars New-Look Coaching Staff

As fall camp rolls along, Emerald City Spectrum is giving you the rundown on what you need to know before the Washington State Cougars open the 2026 season against Washington in the annual Apple Cup.

Washington State enters the season with a completely new coaching staff at the top, led by first-year head coach Kirby Moore. Moore has also brought in Matt Miller to run the offense and Trent Bray to lead the defense.

While all three coaches bring different backgrounds and coaching experiences to Pullman, they share one common goal: getting Washington State ready to compete in the new-look Pac-12.

Here is a look at the three men calling the shots for the Cougars in 2026:

Kirby Moore, Head Coach

Kirby Moore enters his first season as Washington State’s head coach, but he is far from new to college football.

A native of Prosser, Washington, Moore grew up around football. His father, Tom Moore, was a longtime high school coach at Prosser, where Kirby played before eventually joining his older brother, Kellen Moore, at Boise State.

Moore played wide receiver for the Broncos from 2009-13, helping Boise State post a 45-8 record during his career. He finished with 115 receptions for 1,137 yards and six touchdowns. After his playing career ended, he quickly moved into coaching.

He began as the wide receivers coach at the College of Idaho in 2014 before joining Washington as a graduate assistant and offensive assistant from 2015-16, reuniting with his former college coach Chris Petersen. Moore was part of the Huskies’ 2016 team that won the Pac-12 Championship and reached the College Football Playoff.

Moore then spent six seasons at Fresno State. He coached wide receivers from 2017-19 before becoming the Bulldogs’ passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach from 2020-21. In 2022, he was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

That 2022 season helped put Moore on the national coaching radar. Fresno State won the Mountain West Championship and finished the season on a nine-game winning streak, including a 29-6 victory over Washington State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl. The Bulldogs finished the year 10-4.

Moore’s success earned him a move to the SEC. He joined Missouri in 2023 as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Eli Drinkwitz.

Now, Moore returns to Washington and takes on the biggest coaching job of his career. Washington State hired him in December 2025, making him the 36th head coach in program history. It will be his first opportunity to lead a college football program.

For Moore, the job is also a homecoming. He grew up in Central Washington and now has the opportunity to lead a program less than three hours from where he was raised.

Matt Miller, Offensive Coordinator

While Moore brings play calling experience as head coach, Matt Miller will be responsible for running the Cougars’ offense.

Miller already has a connection with Moore. The two were teammates at Boise State, where they played wide receiver together. Miller now joins Moore in Pullman after spending the previous six seasons coaching at their alma mater.

Miller’s coaching career began in 2015 when he worked as an offensive quality control assistant at Boise State.He then spent four seasons at Montana State from 2016-19. Miller initially coached the Bobcats’ wide receivers before being promoted to offensive coordinator midway through the 2018 season. He also served as Montana State’s recruiting coordinator during part of his tenure.

Miller returned to Boise State in 2020 as the Broncos’ wide receivers coach. He spent five seasons working with the position before being promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2025. He was also part of Boise State’s tremendous 2024 season. The Broncos finished the year ranked No. 8 nationally, won the Mountain West Championship and reached the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

In 2025, Miller helped lead another successful Boise State offense that averaged 424 yards per game as the Broncos won their third consecutive Mountain West Championship.

Now, Miller gets his first opportunity to lead an FBS offense as a coordinator at Washington State. He will also have an important role in helping develop quarterback Caden Pinnick and installing a new offensive system for the Cougars.

With Miller’s history of working with successful offenses, Washington State will be counting on him to build an offense capable of competing in the new Pac-12.

Trent Bray, Defensive Coordinator

If there is one member of Washington State’s new coaching staff who knows the region particularly well, it is Trent Bray.

Bray is a Pullman native who played linebacker at Oregon State from 2002-05 and became one of the Beavers’ top defensive players. He finished his career with 337 tackles.

His coaching career began at Arizona State in 2009, where he worked as a graduate assistant before becoming the team’s linebackers coach in 2010 and 2011. Bray then moved to Oregon State, where he served as a graduate assistant and linebackers coach from 2012-14 for his alma mater.

After three seasons at Nebraska as the linebackers coach from 2015-17, Bray returned to Oregon State in 2018. He spent six seasons with the Beavers during his second stint, first as linebackers coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator in November 2021.

Under Bray, Oregon State developed into one of the better defenses in the Pac-12. In 2022 and 2023, the Beavers ranked 16th and 47th nationally in scoring defense, respectively. Bray eventually got his first opportunity as a head coach when he took over at Oregon State in 2024.

He spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons as the Beavers’ head coach before returning to the Palouse to become Washington State’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Now, Bray returns home with the responsibility of rebuilding a Washington State defense that has undergone significant changes during the offseason because of graduation and the transfer portal. His familiarity with the Pac-12, experience developing linebackers, and previous success as a defensive coordinator could make him one of the most important pieces of Moore’s new staff.

A New Era in Pullman

Washington State’s 2026 season will bring plenty of new faces, but the three at the top of the coaching staff will have the biggest responsibility.

Moore brings more than a decade of coaching experience and an offensive background. Miller brings familiarity with Moore and experience developing successful offenses at Boise State and Montana State. Bray brings years of defensive experience in the Pac-12 and a personal connection to Pullman. All three will be tested immediately.

The Cougars open the season against Washington, giving Moore and his staff an early opportunity to show what this new era of Washington State football will look like.

With a new head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding the Cougars heading into 2026.

But as Washington State begins a new chapter, Moore, Miller and Bray will be the three men leading the way with hopes of getting the program back on track in the post-realignment world of college football.