Kirby Moore’s first game as a head coach at Washington State had plenty of the right ingredients on the field. The Cougars were organized, the operation stayed steady on both sides of the ball, and for four quarters they hung around with 17th-ranked Washington in the Apple Cup. From the outside, it looked like a smooth opening act.
But Moore didn’t give much away when the moment was placed in front of him after the game. Asked about what his debut meant to him, he went straight to the team work instead.
“I embraced my role, obviously helping out on offense, defense and special teams picking guys up," Moore told reporters. "I am just very appreciative of the players fighting throughout the game.”
That answer fit the tone Moore carried through the day: measured, contained, and far more interested in the group than in the personal milestone. Still, the idea of a first head-coaching game lingered, so it came up again Monday as Washington State turned the page and started getting ready for Kansas State.
This time, Moore was asked whether the experience gave him any deeper appreciation for what his father, Tom, did for years at Prosser High School, or what his older brother, Kellen, is doing now in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints.
He did open the door just a crack.
"Yeah, it does," he said with a short hesitation before giving a more extended answer, deflecting from it being a team experience.
Tom Moore was in Seattle for the Apple Cup, and he had spent time with his son the night before the game at the team hotel.
"Didn't seem like it," Tom Moore said. "We were at the team hotel. He was excited."
Tom Moore also said his son tends to lean on coaches he has played for or worked with when he wants advice, especially former Boise State and Washington coach Chris Petersen.
"I know one of the first calls when he took the job was from Coach Pete," Tom Moore said. "He just put the phone down and listened (to advice)."
Kellen Moore, Tom said, has boiled the jump from coordinator to head coach down to something simple.
"My older son (Kellen) said one thing - going from being a coordinator to a head coach, you are just adding more people to the room when you talk," Tom Moore said.
The family history gives Kirby Moore’s debut a neat frame. Tom Moore’s first game came at Prosser High School in 1986, when the Mustangs lost to West Valley of Yakima on the way to a 4-5 season. It ended up being the only losing season in his coaching career.
Kellen Moore’s first game as a head coach came last year with New Orleans after being hired from the offensive coordinator job with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Saints dropped that opener to Arizona, 20-13, and finished 6-11 in 2025.
Now Kirby Moore has his own first result in the books: a loss, but one that came in a competitive game against a ranked rival.
"Coach Moore is very low-key and a very poised coach, which I love," WSU quarterback Caden Pinnick said.
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