Forest Evashevski took over as the head coach in late 1949. His 1951 team finished the season ranked No. 14 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 18 in the AP Poll. He was in his two seasons in Pullman, then left for Iowa in the Big Ten Conference. Evashevski was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000. Assistant coach Al Kircher was promoted, but didn't enjoy as much success as his predecessor, going in his four seasons as head coach. He was not retained after his contract expired. Jim Sutherland was Washington State's 21st head football coach and led the program for eight seasons, through 1963, with an overall record of .