Posted by: Josh Kendall on November 12, 2012

You can take Mike Leach's name off any coaching candidates lists, he said this weekend.

Leach's name already has been mentioned as a person schools with openings might target, but when asked after a 44-36 loss to UCLA if he would "definitely" be with the Cougars next year, Leach said, "Yes."

No one has reached out to Leach this season, he said.

"I have not been contacted, and I am not aware of any of that," he said. "My agent was here at the game."

Instead of interviewing, Leach will be filling his time this week with kicking protection. The Bruins blocked two punts and two field goals (and recovered a fumbled kickoff) Saturday.

"It's befuddling," Leach said. "None of them were the same guy, four different guys, maybe five. I have gone full seasons without getting four kicks blocked, and then we got four blocked. I thought we outplayed UCLA and we got four kicks blocked. That's what I think."

Washington State outgained the Bruins by 193 yards.

"We played hard the entire game, really hard," Leach said. "That's the hardest I have seen this team play, harder than most teams I have coached. I don't think there was a point in the game where we didn't have great effort."

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Josh Kendall is a staff writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered the SEC for more than 15 years for papers such as the Athens Banner-Herald, Macon Telegraph, and The State. He’s the father of two boys who he’s hoping don’t inherit his wide receiver frame and offensive guard feet. Follow @EyeOnCoaches on twitter and send your feedback to josh@coachingsearch.com