PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State football head coach Mike Leach announced Thursday that Dave Nichol has been hired as the Cougars’ outside receivers coach. Nichol will begin his duties Dec. 28. He replaces Graham Harrell, who will coach the Cougars in the Sun Bowl.
Nichol is no stranger to a Mike Leach-coached team, having spent three seasons (2003-05) as an offensive line assistant at Texas Tech under the current Cougar head coach. Most recently, Nichol served as the offensive coordinator at East Carolina this past season.
“Dave has tremendous passion for coaching and recruiting and will be a great addition to Cougar football,” said Leach. “He brings a great background and a lot of experience. He is familiar with our concepts and how to attack different areas of the field. We’re excited to have him on board.
Nichol has coached on staffs that have reached 10 bowl games since 2000. In 2015 he was elevated to East Carolina’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after serving the previous three seasons as the Pirates’ outside receivers coach. While at ECU, Nichol played a vital role in guiding an offense that finished third nationally in passing and fifth in total offense during the 2014 season. The Pirate offense established successive single-season school records for passing yards and total offense, and combined he was part of 70 individual or team single-game, single-season and career offensive standards that were tied or set from 2012-14.
Prior to East Carolina, Nichol spent five seasons on the staff at Arizona. He began as a graduate assistant in 2007, focusing on the offensive line, he was promoted to outside receivers coach after one season and added the insider receivers the following year. With Nichol on staff, the Wildcats saw their offense increase 130 yards per game over the previous offensive system as Arizona reached three-straight bowl games. His final season in Tucson the Wildcat offense moved from 10th to 3rd in passing nationally, ending the 2011 season averaging 370.8 ypg.
Nichol began his coaching career as a student coach at his alma mater Texas Tech following his playing career as a wide receiver. He followed that with a year at Cisco (Texas) Junior College, three years back at Texas Tech as an offensive assistant, and a year at Baylor (2006) as a staff assistant.
Nichol, 39, earned his bachelor's degree in exercise sports sciences from Texas Tech in 1999 and followed with a master's in interdisciplinary studies from the same institution three years later.
A native of Chicago, Ill., Nichol graduated from Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas (Texas) before enrolling at Texas Tech.
