Texas Tech vs. Mike Leach

Last season, Texas Tech. was not a school that I thought would have won 11 games, maybe 8 to 9 games. I would’ve picked Texas beating Texas Tech last year by a long shot. In one of the greatest games last year and one of the best games to ever been seen in Lubbock against Texas, many would have been surprise to hear rumblings of Coach Mike Leach on the verge of being fired over at Tech. Yes I said fired. Why would a coach who won 11 games last season for the team be on the edge of being fired? Since 2000, Leach has been the coach of the Red Raiders with last season winning 11 games as their head man. Since his tenure at Texas Tech, Leach has won a total of 76 games and 39 losses with 9 total bowl game appearances and 5 bowl wins.

He has never had a losing season at Texas Tech.
Well this Tuesday, Coach Leach missed a deadline on accepting the arrangements of his new contract and now the school’s board of regents will meet on Friday to discuss his future. “Coach Leach has declined our $12.7 million contract,” Myers said (Athletic Director of Texas Tech). “We will enter the decision-making process and should have some announcements by next week. Our decisions will be based on the best interest of Texas Tech and all of its supporters.” Before Leach declined to accept this new contract, he already accepted the term of a previous contract which was set at five years and that would average out to $2.54 million per year. The reason for not accepting the contract was because of certain clauses in the contract. One clause states that Leach will lose $1.5 million if he interviewed with another team for a coaching job.

I think Texas Tech should do everything in their power to retain Leach. The guy can coach and he didn’t play college football. It’s rare to see a college coach at the college level with no college playing experience as the head man of any program. A big college program wouldn’t consider hiring someone without the right credentials such as playing experience at the college level. So for Tech to have hired Leach by investing so much into the guy 9 years ago, they can go all out and make the guy satisfied without those clauses. What Leach is to Tech is what Pete Carroll is to USC. Leach has had an above .500 winning percentage in every season and has gave Tech its first 11 game winning season. If Leach doesn’t sign the new contract and decides to leave, that wouldn’t be a bad move either in my eyes, but it will be a bad move by Texas Tech. The fans will be mad and so will the students. I can be sure of that. If he does leave, it wouldn’t surprise me. Why? Well, Texas Tech is not your destination job for college football, but it getting there. The problem now lies is what will Tech do next season? I mean Tech is losing both of their key players on offense in QB Graham Harrell and WR Michael Crabtree to the NFL draft. I don’t know if Tech will be an 11 game team next season. Maybe an 8 or 9 game winning team next season. So if Leach doesn’t come back, we would see why in the absence of his two key players on offense. That’s one reason why he might not come back and leave. If he doesn’t come back, be sure that there will be a college program waiting to hire the guy. He might not coach for a year and sit out, but he sure will get a coaching job by next season.