Texas Tech coach Mike Leach was not expected to talk about any jobs until his regular season was...

Texas Tech coach Mike Leach was not expected to talk about any jobs until his regular season was finished.

With the Baylor game finishing that part of the Red Raiders' season, the Seattle Times reported on a blog that a tipster told them that Leach had flown to Seattle with his wife from Las Vegas.

Comments

The tipster

So they’re basing that story on the word of a guy who has never seen Leach except on TV? Didn’t speak to him? Didn’t smell the lingering aroma of feedlots? No sandy residue in pants cuffs? No eyepatch?

Fingers crossed and hoping it’s BS.

by TT_ on Dec 2, 2008 3:11 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Interesting

Of the jobs out there, this is the last one (as of now) that is unfilled…kind of surprised he’s up there, but Washington does need to interview the top candidates. If he turns it down or doesn’t receive an offer, he’s ours.

I just hate that he’s willing to listen every single year. Miami, Clemson, UCLA and now Washington. He’s clearly interested or he wouldn’t be there…and these face to face chats always follow a phone interview, so he’s already passed round one and Washington did to. We’ll see, but this bugs me a lot.

At the beginning of the season, I was not on the Leach bandwagon much because I (incorrectly) assumed we’d continue with our history of 8-9 wins and stay decent, not great. We clearly turned a corner this year and I offer up my kudos to him for keeping the team mostly focused and prepared. I did think we’d be 10-2 with losses to OU or UT and a game we shouldn’t have lost. He finally broke that trend, so I’d hate to see him go at this point.

The fan in me is hopeful he stays….the human in me is hopeful he does what is best for his families happiness. The optimist in me hopes that both of those = Lubbock.

by Tech92 on Dec 2, 2008 3:16 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

The boys at UW Dawg Pound are pretty excited that Leach is in Seattle. I didn’t realize he’d applied to that school previously. According the guys over there, he applied when Willingham was hired but wasn’t considered.

by Tech92 on Dec 2, 2008 3:24 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Let me get this straight...

So some anonymous “tipster” thinks he saw Leach heading to Seattle and suddenly it’s a coaching conspiracy? Give me a break. This sounds more like the Seattle newspaper trying to rustle some muck and get some attention.

by Zegarek88 on Dec 2, 2008 3:27 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Not anonymous

but was still just a passenger on a plane who said he recognized him. Also said his wife was called to the ticket counter, but doesn’t say she was called by name. Leach’s agent supposedly denied he was there to meet with anyone at the school.

Even IF it were true, I’d be more inclined to think it was a shrewd move right before he sat down to talk numbers with Myers. When is that supposed to happen, anyway. Now? After the bowl game?

by TT_ on Dec 2, 2008 3:56 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Oh god!

I thought that we were past this when Tenn closed. Dammit! Pay Leach his money! Pay that man! (Rounders KGB voice)

Go Tech!!!

by jwhitettu on Dec 2, 2008 4:37 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Oregon

That job will open in about an hour or two…maybe Leach could swing by there on his way home and chat with them too. : )

by Tech92 on Dec 2, 2008 4:58 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

oh crap...

give him his money so we don’t have 2 HUGE disappointments to end the season

by johnlaf13 on Dec 2, 2008 5:02 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Strangely enough...

Jim Mora Jr is/was supposedly head coach-in-waiting for Mike Holmgren with the Seahawks but now there are multiple rumors that he will take the UW job. That opens up lots o’ other scenarios. Is Leach there to interview with UW or the Seahawks? Isn’t Mora known for his defense? What better complement to Leach’s offensive mastermind? Crazy scenarios abound….if the rumor of Leach being there in the first place are true. You would think someone on the team might have an idea…

by TracySaulRulz on Dec 2, 2008 5:05 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I don't doubt that he's there

If I have a knock on Leach, it’s that his nose is firmly to the ground sniffing out other job opportunities. It happens every single season and probably will continue until he finds what he’s really looking for.

If he wants out that bad, I say go now while we’re on an upswing and can lure another good coach to the South Plains to carry on. We have some good talent coming back next year and some good recruits on the hook for ’09. Get a new guy now, if we will need one, so we can keep most of the young guys interested in Tech.

I don’t follow other teams near as close as Tech, but do other head coaches consistently pop up in seemingly every opening available each year? Being mentioned is not what I mean…being interested enough to interview is what I’m getting at. Seems to me that Leach has been ready to leave Lubbock for about four years now, based on the interview pattern. You don’t interview if you aren’t really interested…

by Tech92 on Dec 2, 2008 5:19 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, Petrino was like that.

So was Rich Rodriguez. But I don’t like the idea of equating those three.

I think it’s safe to say that there are a few who do look around. In Leach’s case, it’s probably a lot of his lawyerism coming through; always keeping the options open and considering every angle to a situation. If nothing else, it gives him something to toy with.

by Hooper on Dec 2, 2008 5:48 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, probably some truth to what you say. You guys pretty fired up about Kiffin and that HOT HOT wife of his?

by Tech92 on Dec 2, 2008 6:22 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Heh. Yeah.

The more we hear and learn of Kiffin, the more we’re warming up to him. I’ll give him this much; he appears to be relentless in his job. That press conference was 36 hours after he arrived in Knoxville (and 24 hours after talking to the players). Immediately after the presser, he left his 8 1/2-month pregnant wife behind and flew to Memphis to talk to Marlon Brown (the state’s #1 WR prospect).

Like the Kiffin hire, word on the staff is just not getting leaked out. There’s a bundle of speculation for Monte Kiffin as D-coordinator, which would be a fantastic fit at Tennessee – including the current talent. (Eric Berry in a Tampa 2? Bring. It. On.) But don’t give any credence to any “sourced” information unless the individual in question is actually contractually available for negotiations. (E.g. forget about any names in the NFL until their seasons are over.) Most people right now are trying to figure out the best guess, claiming it’s “sourced”, then hoping they’re right so they can claim they scooped the story.

As for his wife: you’d think there are no pretty girls in Tennessee, the way everybody’s behaving. Yes, she’s stunning, but good grief.

by Hooper on Dec 2, 2008 9:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs