Wed Feb 18, 2009 7:24 pm EST
For the record, Mike Leach is not Jeff Jagodzinski
I don't mean to focus on one opinion -- for starters, see here, here, here and here for the same or very similar sentiment -- but for a handy summary of Texas Tech's position in the university's contract stalemate with Mike Leach, FanHouse's Bruce Ciskie gets right to the point (emphasis added):
Yes, you read that right. A coach with a 76-39 career record, coming off an 11-2 campaign that saw his team in the midst of national championship talk in November, could lose his job. Why? Because it appears schools are sick and tired of watching their successful coaches flying all over the country to interview for jobs they perceive as better than the one they have.
If that was true, Leach would be the second successful coach at a traditionally second-tier program to face the wrath of his athletic director for his wandering eye in a little more than a month, joining Jeff Jagodzinski, who was summarily canned by Boston College for accepting a longshot interview with the New York Jets. That would be the case if it was true. But despite the ever-present rumors, Leach's reputation for a constantly wandering eye and an apparent market for his services, we learned last week that the Cap'n actually seems to be fending off suitors, not courting them:
Though Mike Leach's loyalty has been an issue in his stalled contract negotiations, documents obtained Monday from the International Marketing Group suggest that those concerns may be overstated.
Leach has directly interviewed for only one other job in nine seasons as Texas Tech football coach and turned down interview requests three times over the last two seasons, according to 33 e-mails obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
Among the rejections were heavy hitters Tennessee last year and UCLA in 2007. The only interview we know of was at Washington in December, which -- short of a draconian, Boston College-like prohibition against any and all outside contact -- hardly seems to warrant one of the most contentious provisions in the now-axed extension, the one that would have required Leach to clear all interviews with the higher-ups at Tech. I'm not on Leach's "side" or anything -- everyone seems to agree the university, not the coach, is the loser if it lets the Cap'n go or drives him away, which is not going to happen -- but even if he wants to retain the right to shop himself around to other schools, that's not the record of a guy with loyalty problems or an itch to get out of town.
Dr. Saturday
Matt Hinton
Dr. Saturday is a college football blog edited by Matt Hinton. Email him tips and feedback.
- Contributors:
- Holly Anderson, Doug Gillett, Dan Shanoff,
Dr. Saturday | NCAAF
- Reggie Bush's hometown scholarship reportedly runs dry
- February 9, 2010
- Welcome, Pac-10, to the hypothetical expansion parade
- February 9, 2010
- In troubled times, America can still unite over common BCS hate
- February 9, 2010
Featured NCAAF Video
-
Posted Feb 3 2010
-
RivalsMinute: Bama wins the title
Posted Feb 3 2010
-
Posted Feb 3 2010
Y! Sports Blogs
-
Edited by MJD
-
Edited by 'Duk
-
Edited by J.E. Skeets
-
Edited by Greg Wyshynski
-
Edited by Matt Hinton
-
Edited by Chris Chase
-
Edited by Jay Busbee
-
Edited by Jay Busbee
-
Edited by Steve Cofield
-
Edited by Chris Chase
-
Edited by Chris Chase
-
Edited by Brooks Peck
-
Edited by Andy Behrens
Blog Roll
3 Comments
1 - 3 of 3
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
You cannot walk into a room, say you are willing to negotiate, then declare your final offer and demand your opponent bid against themself. That is busch league gamesmanship and any person who has sat through a negotiation recognizes it when they see it.
1 - 3 of 3