Fresno State gave Kirby Moore his big break. Now it stands in Washington State’s way

These days, Kirby Moore is hard at work, trying to find ways to win football games in his first season with the Washington State Cougars.

Sentimental strolls through his past are the last things he’d prefer to be doing just days before the Cougars open Pac-12 play at Martin Stadium.

And yet, it is pretty obvious Fresno State University – WSU’s opponent Saturday – still has a longstanding place in his heart as he attempts to climb more steps within the coaching profession.

“The hardest thing in coaching is to get your first job,” Moore said, “and for someone to trust you to run your room.”

Let’s back up, first.

A WIAA receiving record-holder from Prosser High School, Moore joined his older brother, Kellen, at Boise State in 2009, where he was a two-year starting wide receiver, finishing his career with 115 receptions for 1,137 yards and six touchdowns in 45 career games.

Naturally, if he decided to jump into coaching, it made sense to do work with that position group. And that is what he coached at the College of Idaho in 2014 – and at Washington under Chris Petersen when he joined the staff as a graduate assistant a year later.

In 2016, Petersen hired former California coach Jeff Tedford to be an offensive consultant for the Huskies.

In that capacity, Tedford was able to observe every part of Petersen’s operation, including the work Moore was doing with the Huskies’ wide receivers.

“I did not know Jeff,” Moore said.

Tedford must have liked what he saw from Moore, because after he was hired a year later to lead the Fresno State program, he asked the young up-and-comer to join his staff and coach receivers.

“I was at the right place, right time,” Moore said.

Fresno State gave Kirby Moore his first big break

And so, Moore began his first real journey in 2017 as an NCAA Division I assistant coach under Tedford – and working with new offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer.

For three seasons, Moore coached the wide receivers group. In 2020, after DeBoer returned from Indiana to replace Tedford as the new Bulldogs coach, Moore became the team’s pass-game coordinator.

Two seasons later, when Tedford returned for a second stint at Fresno State, Moore was elevated to offensive coordinator to call plays for emerging quarterback Jake Haener and a team that finished 10-4 and won the Mountain West Conference.

And who did the Bulldogs beat in the LA Bowl to cap a season-ending nine-game winning streak? It was WSU – 29-6.

The lessons Moore carried from Fresno State to WSU

“(What I remember) is probably just the amount of learning experiences I had working for Jeff Tedford,” Moore said. “That guy has forgotten more football than I know.”

What lessons have stuck with Moore most in his days from Fresno State?

“Consistency in messaging and just working with players on a daily basis,” Moore said.

And his admiration and respect for Tedford and DeBoer run deep.

“Both … were themselves, and that was probably the most important thing from a leadership standpoint,” Moore said. “Both operated maybe a little bit differently, but they were true to who they were.”

At the end of the 2022 season, Moore was hired away to become the offensive coordinator at Missouri.

And now, he is the new WSU coach – facing Fresno State in what has to be a full-circle moment.

“There was a lot of turnover (at Fresno State),” Moore said, “but a lot of tradition there.”