Suspended Texas Tech Head Coach Mike Leach was fired by Texas Tech today after Redshirt Sophomore Wide Receiver Adam James, the son of ESPN College Football Analyst Craig James, said that Leach twice ordered him to remain in a dark place that James described as a closet and Coach Leach called a room. But Mike Leach didn't see what was wrong with what he did. Meanwhile, scores of Mike Leach supporters have come out in support of the legendary football mind.
Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com has published a number of emails in support of Coach Leach and attacking Adam James. Here's one example from Inside Receivers Coach Lincoln Riley:
"He [James] complained to me that we were not doing our jobs as coaches and that his effort was just fine ... It's just another example of Adam thinking that he knows more about coaching than people who have been coaching their entire lives. I have no doubt that anger from this led to where we are today ... and is his way of trying to "get back" at us coaches."
Mike Leach's actions against Adam James led to a suspension on Monday, meaning he would not be able to coach The Red Raiders in The Alamo Bowl, January 2nd. To get around the order, Coach Leach filed a Temporary Restraining Order, that, if upheld by a judge in a Lubbock, Texas courtroom. According to ESPN, Texas Tech's general counsel Pat Campbell gave Leach's lawyer Ted Liggett the letter of firing just minutes before the two were to appear in the Lubbock courtroom. Leach's reaction?
Liggett said, "Well, he's not thrilled." Liggett said he planned to file a lawsuit on Leach's behalf against the school "soon."
Reportedly, Leach contract of $12.7 million is such that he would have been able to collect on a buyout of $1.6 million had he been fired on Thursday and not Wednesday. The nest step is an arbitration hearing for Leach to get his promised $800,000 bonus. Mike Leach is to receive a $400,000 annual severance over the next four years.
The feelings on this run both for Coach Leach and against, as some of his players have expressed support for Adam James in the wake of the firing. But the problem extends beyond Adam James and Craig James, and to the recruits that were considering Texas Tech and even more important, Texas Tech Alumni.
From reading the live chat at RedRaiders.com the number of people for Leach is almost 60 percent. But those upset are people who follow the team and are concerned with maintaining its performance in the wake of Leach's ouster. For example:
Comment From sab]
if there is more to this i can't wait to hear it. this is nothing more than myers getting even for having his pants pulled down in front of everyone last year during contract negotiations. the biggest thing is that tech finally made it to the status of being a big time program and didn't know how to handle the problems that can arise from that. i still contend that if it was some kid whose father didn't work for espn this would have been a non-story. but i have a feeling james threatened to say something if he didn't get his way. he says he never hovered around the football program BULL. he all but said that he did during broadcast of the games.
The commenter is referring to last February's bruising contract negotiations between Texas Tech and Mike Leach. At that time, Texas Tech offered Leach a $12.7 million contract that he at first rejected, then signed later in 2009. But it appeared that Mike Leach had become bigger than Texas Tech, and at that point, a once family-like relationship begin to get icy. It didn't help that Coach Leach referred to some of the players as having "Fat little girlfriends" after their loss to Texas A&M in October:
What's clear is that this ice that's now fully formed will only melt under the hot light of a large lawsuit. Just how far the lawsuit will extend is anyone's guess. Mike Leach could and reportedly feels that his coaching methods have been painted in a way as to smear him. Indeed, reports are that a video showing the actual place where Adam James was told to remain will be shown and that the venue was a media workroom. Whatever the specifics, this is going to get uglier before it gets better.
What do you think? Take my poll:
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