One of the reasons Nick Saban left Mich. St. came here was to be the big fish in a little pond, not to have to "share" a state or its recruiting base with a larger program. Now Mike Leach, who's frankly taken Texas Tech as far as anyone can take them in the Big XII south, looks like a guy just waiting to be plucked by a big-time program. Here's some reasons why I like Mike (coach's bio: http://texastech.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/leach_mike00.html ) --Proven success as an OC and a QB coach. He coached Tim Couch at Kentucky, Josh Heupel during Oklahoma's national title season and all those QB studs since he set up shop in Lubbock. --He's apparnetly pretty smart, having earned a JD and a Masters in Sports Science/Coaching --He does decently well at recruiting, having carved out a nice niche for himself in the crowded Texas "market". Tech ranked #16 overall in 2004, their highest ranking ever --He's young: only 43. --He may not have any NFL aspirations, having never played or coached a down of NFL football. Dude's also on the lookout for a better, higher-profile job. Here's some proof. Somehow I doubt this agent is thinking of Texas Tech when he speaks of that "right school". And from a very recent (as in Dec 1 recent) article regarding the Illinois position: And from a recent article regarding the WASHINGTON HUSKIES post: Finally, Mike Leach and Tx Tech have had to discuss upping his salary three times in the past three years. Sure, Leach just signed a new deal, but check out the details: That's a hell of a lot of smoke, friends. Mike Leach would most definitely be interested in the LSU job, bank on it. :yelwink2:
his gimmick offense is very questionable in the likes of the SEC. impressive nonetheless but I don't want that dude, no way no how.
Leach's offense typically gets held pretty well by good defenses (see Texas and OU this year) and blows up on mediocre defenses. That being said, he might be able to be a good head coach at a top program...but I wouldn't be willing to risk it. I wouldn't say that he's taken Tech as far as they can go, but he's definitely taken them as far as they will go under him as long as Tech has a terrible defense.
Like Bob Stoops, Larry Coker, Bobby Bowden or Mack Brown, for example? Speaking of sucessful college head coaches who have zero NFL experience, what about John Cooper? Wonder why he's not gotten a sniff after having had the audacity to only average nearly 9 wins a season while at Ohio St.
That's the $64,000 question, is it not? Does Tech play lopsided football because Leach isn't a well-rounded coach or does Leach coach in a lopsided fashion because a school like Tech cannot recruit enough sound talent to field a well-rounded team? If Texas fans feel a bit frustrated over the fact they'd be a perennial BCS team in *any other divison, let alone conference, in America*, imagine how a Tech team that has to look up at OU, Texas and Tx A&M in terms of resources must feel. I don't think a Coach Fran or Brown had to literally beg their schools for their seven-figure salaries. Let's face it: fourth-best overall is the high water mark in the Big XII south for the forseeable future if you're not coaching in Norman, Austin or College Station. I'm not saying the guy is god or something, but he fits the same desirable mold, in a sense, as Nick Saban did prior to coming to LSU. He's worth keeping an eye on, IMO.
I agree, Mike Leach should be considered. I think CNS is staying at LSU, but if I'm wrong, Mike Leach deserves a look.
We ran the spread offense when Leach was here in 99 and 2000. The Spread offense is his trademark. He ran it at Kentucky too. His problem at Tech is that their defense sucks ass. His main focus is offense. I've wondered why he doesn't hire some hot shot defensive coordinator to put as much emphasis on defense as Leach does on offense. That wasn't a problem at Oklahoma. You had Leach on offense and Mike Stoops and Brent Venables on Defense.
