FB: Krantz named special teams coordinator; New titles for two assistants
Washington State University Head Football Coach Nick Rolovich announced Friday that Kyle Krantz has been named the Cougars’ special teams coordinator.
Additionally, Rolovich has added Josh Omura, Marco Regalado and Samie Parker to the Cougar football recruiting staff, Scott Salwasser to the strength and conditioning staff, and announced title changes for current assistant coaches John Richardson and Brian Smith.
“Coach Krantz was extremely impressive throughout the interview process and his references spoke of him as a grinder on the recruiting trail and also a guy who loves coaching college football,” said Rolovich.
“He has spent many years around some of the best college football coaches in the country and bringing those experiences here will benefit our program. He will be a great fit with our philosophy here at Washington State and I’m excited for he and his family to join the Pullman community.”
Krantz, a coaching veteran with 12 years of experience, including 10 seasons in the SEC as part of four different programs, arrives in Pullman having spent the previous five years (2016-20) at the University of South Carolina under head coach Will Muschamp.
Most recently, he served as the Gamecocks’ special teams coordinator while also assisting with the defensive backs for the 2020 season. He served as the special teams assistant while coaching the Nickels and the SAM linebackers for two seasons (2018-19) after beginning his time in Columbia, S.C. as a defensive analyst before moving to an on-field coaching position in 2018.
“I appreciate Coach Rolovich giving me this opportunity to be a part of Washington State football,” said Krantz. “I look forward to working with him and the tremendous staff he has in place to develop the young men in this program, both on and off the field. My family and I are thrilled to be in Pullman. Go Cougs!”
Prior to South Carolina, Krantz spent the 2015 season as a defensive analyst on Gus Malzahn’s staff at Auburn, working again with Coach Muschamp, before reuniting with Muschamp in Columbia the following season.
A 2009 graduate of the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in sociology, Krantz began his career as a student assistant for the defense at UNC from 2007-08 before becoming the linebackers coach at his alma mater from 2009-10.
During the summer of 2011, he worked as an offensive quality control volunteer at Northwestern. Krantz joined the Kentucky staff prior to the start of the 2011 season, serving as a graduate assistant for the Wildcats.
After two seasons in Lexington, he moved on to the University of Florida, where he was placed in charge of quality control for the offense in 2013, working primarily with the wide receivers, and for the defense in 2014, working with the defensive backs under head coach Will Muschamp.
A native of Denver, Colo., Krantz, 34, and his wife, Brittany, have one daughter, Amelia.
Omura will serve as the Director of Transfer Recruiting while Parker and Regalado have each joined the program as recruiting assistants. Omura previously worked with Rolovich at Hawaii and joins the Washington State staff after spending the previous four seasons as the Director of Recruiting and Operations at Hawaii.
Regalado who began his coaching career in 2016, joins the Cougars after coaching the running backs and working as the recruiting coordinator at V.R. Eaton High School in Texas.
Parker, a record-setting wide receiver at Oregon (2000-03), spent four seasons in the NFL after being drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. Most recently, he coached the wide receivers, tight ends and returners for The Spring League Aviators this past season in San Antonio.
Salwasser begins his first season as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at WSU after working the 2020 season in the same position for the University of South Carolina football program. Prior to that, he worked at Texas State, Texas Tech and California.
Richardson, who joined the Cougar staff last spring, has added assistant head coach to his duties, along with recruiting coordinator and cornerbacks coach. Smith, the offensive coordinator and running backs coach, has also received the title of associate head coach.