Dismissed Wednesday, two days after being suspended by Texas Tech, Leach said it was indisputable that James' father, ESPN analyst and former NFL player Craig James, lobbied frequently to get his son more playing time. Leach said Craig James meddled "more than any parent I've dealt with my entire career.".... "I can understand a father being a fan of his son, rooting for his son, being supportive of his son. But at some point coaches have to be allowed to coach. At some point the wisdom of all the people watching the film, going to all the practices has to be respected.".... Leach added: "Just because you have influence, power and a microphone in front of you doesn't mean that your son should have any more right to play than the other guys."
I imagine that former Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach may be many things- a brilliant football coach, a clever tactician, a keen evaluator of talent...and a winner. During his time at Tech, Leach has taken the Red Raiders to the upper echelon of NCAA Division I football, no mean feat given where Texas Tech is located.
(Really; would YOU be willing to even consider spending four years in Lubbock? I'm grateful I didn't have to spend so much as four minutes there. To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, when you get to Lubbock, there's no "there" there.)
Yes, Mike Leach may be many things, but humble and self-effacing clearly aren't on that list. To his detriment (and the ultimate demise of his tenure at Texas Tech), Leach apparently came to believe the myriad press clippings heralding his unparalleled brilliance. It seems that his arrogance and self-superiority became the source of his downfall. All Leach had to do was to live within limits proscribed by his employer- Texas Tech University- and placate one very famous parent- Craig James- and Leach would quite like be coaching the Red Raiders in the Pornhub.com AstroGlide Bowl in San Antonio tonight. Instead, Leach decided it would be fun to get into a pissing match with them what writes his checks, which is seldom a clear path to career longevity. And so it was with Leach.
'Course the good news is that Leach doesn't have to stay in Lubbock. Talk about your "get out of jail free" card, eh? Man, I'd be leaving town so fast you'd have to sell my belongings on Craigslist....
If you believe the James family version, Adam James was chained to a concrete pad in a dark, dank dungeon and deprived of food, water, and light as rats gnawed at his genitals.
If you believe the version provided by Mike Leach's attorney, Adam was a spoiled, pampered ingrate who was provided with everything except hookers and blow as he recovered from his concussion in the veritable lap of luxury.
Oddly enough, I've got to believe that the truth is somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. Go figure....
It's entirely possible that Adam James is indeed a spoiled, pampered ingrate who expects to eventually have a first-round selection in the NFL draft to be handed to him because...well, because he's Craig James' son. That fact that James the Elder is a living legend in Texas football lore is something that Mike Leach should have kept in mind. Yes, in a perfect world, Leach could reasonably have been expected to treat Adam James like any other player on the Red Raiders roster. The reality is that, by granting a scholarship to Adam James, Leach created a very imperfect world. Granted, I don't know a thing about James the Elder's involvement (or lack of same) with the Texas Tech football program. Perhaps he was just a proud parent. Perhaps he was a major pain in the ass. Leach is certainly smart enough to recognize and understand that having Adam James on his team meant having his very famous father along for the ride. It was certainly in Leach's best interest to ensure that James the Elder felt good about things...because when Craig James opens his mouth about anything related to football, people in Texas sit up and listen.
To make matters worse, no love appears to have been lost between Leach and those above him in Tech's athletic department and administration. You'd think that, having just a year ago signed a contract extension guaranteeing him roughly 12 kajillion dollars per year, Leach would have everything he wanted. Well, he did...except for the fact that he apparently resented his superiors, and it was returned in kind. Yes, a wee bit o' diplomacy on the part of the ol' ball coach might have gone a long ways. Unfortunately, when you're as full of yourself as Leach seems to be...well, everyone who doesn't see eye to eye with you can just go fornicate themselves, eh?
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get down to the business of ignoring the Vagisil Bowl between East Bumfuck State and the Manitoba Institute of Cannibal Technology. I have $20 and a pot of coffee riding on the Fighting Cornholes from Manitoba....
