WSU Head Coach Mike Leach is the most interesting man in football
For those of you that have an Athletic subscription, there is a FANTASTIC article about WSU Head Coach Mike Leach that just came out. As a side note, The Athletic has a 40% off coupon for an annual subscription and I just bought it. But even if you don’t do that, I highly recommend doing the 7 day free trial just to read this. This article consists only of direct quotes from QBs who play/played for him and it is crazy and awesome and fascinating and nuts.
For all the attention that Jim Harbaugh gets for the eccentric stuff he does (nervous birds, et al), he can’t hold a candle to Leach, who...
- bums dip off his players
- holds 5 hour film meetings and sometimes doesn’t review one bit of film
- offers nuggets of advice like “the worst thing you can do on that play is throw the ball to the other team”
- stops film study to poll his players on “who would win in a fight to the death between player X and player Y?”
- Expects his QB to change the play call at the line around 70% of the time
Connor Halliday, QB 2012-14: On his way in from Spokane, he almost got in a car crash. There was a snowstorm that day and a semi truck had rolled, and he was talking about how dangerous it is for semis to drive in the snow…I was already a huge Leach fan, so I knew a little bit about his formations and a few plays, so I wrote down a few things in my notebook. I was excited to get the meeting started. But the only thing I wrote down in big, bold letters was, “What the fuck is going on right now?”
Absolutely awesome stuff.
August 18th, 2019 at 8:43 AM ^
Can't we just turn the Leach schtick off? Gotten old.
August 18th, 2019 at 8:49 AM ^
Agreed.
August 18th, 2019 at 9:43 AM ^
Great entertainment never gets old.
August 18th, 2019 at 10:41 AM ^
As a lifelong Wazzu fan, his charming but distracting eccentricities would be more tolerable if his team won games, could beat UW or if he was running a modestly clean program.
At substantially higher compensation, his teams are performing more or less like most of the coaches that preceded him, but with quite a bit more off-field problems that have alienated fans and residents, and prompted legitimate questions about WSU's priorities. But I guess entertainment is worth something?
August 18th, 2019 at 11:27 AM ^
"His teams are performing more or less like most of the coaches that preceded him"? What do you mean by that?
Because Leach has seasons of 3-9 (his first year there taking over for a cratered program that won 9 games over the previous 4 years), then 9, 8, 9, and 11 wins (last year). The previous guy had seasons of 4, 2, 1, and 2 wins. The coach previous to that started with a season of 10 wins but only got that because he was carrying over from Mike Price; his subsequent seasons were 5, 4, 6, 5 wins. So Leach is obviously light years beyond those two.
Now we're back to 89-02 when Price did have some great teams, but he also recorded four seasons with only 3 wins and 2 seasons with only 4 wins. And before that Dennis Erickson had one 9 win season and one 3 win season. Then there's nothing that even approaches Price or Leach for decades. So to me it seems that Leach is in fact performing much better than all of the coaches that preceded him except Price.
August 18th, 2019 at 3:12 PM ^
Preach, Teach
August 18th, 2019 at 4:06 PM ^
To clarify: Wulff was a shit show, but the other immediate predecessors in Doba, Price and Erickson all had ten win seasons* and career winning percentages at Wazzu of a little better than .500, just like Leach. The difference is that they were all paid far less relative to their peers, and had better records against Washington than Leach (who is 1-6). So on the field he's a bit better except against WSU's only meaningful rival.
Is Leach a good coach? Certainly.
Is it worth it? I know what people would say if he was doing the same thing in Ann Arbor.
*Prior to the addition of the conference championship
August 18th, 2019 at 5:50 PM ^
Leach is a very good coach. Also quite weird. But entertaining. Anyone who pulls for Wazzu and thinks any coach could do better is deluding themselves. Saban couldn't do better. He's made sure to get jobs in Baton Rouge and Tuscaloosa where being good is sufficient and being great wins national championships. The ceiling in Pullman is Stillwater, or Lubbock. And Leach has the Cougars there despite perennially awful recruiting classes. Leach can't recruit but here sure as shit can coach. And in a manner entirely his own.
I'm growing tired of all the Leach as national treasure nonsense but he is most definitely an American original.
August 18th, 2019 at 7:58 PM ^
Doba's win% was .508, Price's was .516. Those are nowhere near Leach's .545. Erickson was .543, but that ended 30 years ago, so he was no more an immediate predecessor of Leach than Bo is of Harbaugh.
August 18th, 2019 at 9:54 PM ^
The difference between Leach and Doba's career winning percentage is 6.6 wins in a regular 12 game season versus 6.1. A half game per season seams quite near, not "nowhere near".
Wazzu will never be a contender for a national championship with any coach, for any amount of money. My point is that for $4M a year, it's not unthinkable that there is someone else that could get the Cougs a 6.5 win regular season AND field a team that isn't annually in the top 10 for the Fulmer Cup.
August 18th, 2019 at 1:33 PM ^
Washington State went from being the worst Pac10 team to being legitimately good under this coach.
August 18th, 2019 at 2:52 PM ^
That entire conference blows now. It's mathematically impossible for all of the teams to lose.
August 18th, 2019 at 11:16 AM ^
August 18th, 2019 at 11:36 AM ^
Very Rich.
August 18th, 2019 at 12:41 PM ^
Kinda like yourself then, eh?
August 18th, 2019 at 5:40 PM ^
you think syd doesn't know what funny is? the marx brothers, that's funny. certain ballads by perry como....
August 18th, 2019 at 11:41 AM ^
Well here's an idea: if you don't like it, ignore the post and move on.
I'm not as enthralled by Mike Leach as some others are on this board, but it doesn't really bother me to see others post here about him. If the mods want to remove it, then I'm fine with that.
August 18th, 2019 at 1:00 PM ^
It's a thread for discussing Mike Leach's antics. The opinion that they have gotten old is a legitimate perspective to express in this thread.
(I don't know where I stand on it, but I don't see why people with that point of view need to skip the thread.)
August 18th, 2019 at 2:16 PM ^
(I don't know where I stand on it, but I don't see why people with that point of view need to skip the thread.)
Theydon't have to skip the thread, but they don't have to bore the rest of this with the tired old cliche that they believe that the rest of us should "just turn the Leach schtick off? Gotten old." That's an utterly useless troll.
Me, I'm like you: on the fence about Leach. But I'm definitely not on the fence about posters who call for a ban on a legitimate football topic.
August 18th, 2019 at 7:21 PM ^
Here is a novel concept. Lets just say Maizen posts about the status of Urban Meyer and his assistants on their love for ball lifters. I have absolutely no interest in this topic and will not click to read it, albeit I am old and my balls need lifting, still not clicking. Now apply this criteria to the topic of which is being discussed. It is a pretty simple concept wouldn't you say,.
August 18th, 2019 at 2:09 PM ^
I hate this take. This board is not for mutual masturbation about how much we all like the same thing. If someone thinks something sucks they should say it.
August 18th, 2019 at 2:18 PM ^
There's a difference between saying you don't like Leach for a reason, and saying that the board should "turn off" the topic because some poster thinks it has "gotten old."
August 19th, 2019 at 8:25 AM ^
This board is not for mutual masturbation about how much we all like the same thing.
You must be new here.
August 18th, 2019 at 11:43 AM ^
Common response to a common complaint but why waste your time in a thread that's obviously about Mike Leach being a weird goofy dude? What did you expect? Do you think complaining will get the other half of the board to stop mentioning him from now on? Obviously not.
August 18th, 2019 at 4:45 PM ^
I swear half of the comments in the off-season are from guys who spend the entire day hanging around the board and clicking on every post, just so that they can be the first to complain about it.
August 18th, 2019 at 8:51 AM ^
By reading that story about Leach, I just learned that when bothered by a barking dog, all you have to do to make the dog stop is to pee all around it.
August 18th, 2019 at 9:47 AM ^
Basically. Don't want the dog on the living room sofa? Urinate all over the sofa. Mark your territory. Show the dog that there are limitations and lines of demarcation throughout the house. It's the same with the cats - spray the rooms that you claim for yourself.
August 18th, 2019 at 1:21 PM ^
uhm.... you first....
EDIT: did not mean that snarky. could see how it could be read that way. apologies.
August 18th, 2019 at 2:56 PM ^
This must be why the coyotes stopped coming to my yard.
August 18th, 2019 at 9:01 AM ^
Are you the same guy who posted this a month ago?
I worry that America is forming up into two tribal camps--those who like Mike Leach and those who don't. Place me firmly in the camp of the latter. For me none of the stuff you just posted is inspired or interesting; it only makes me wonder why we give half of these cretins so much money.
August 18th, 2019 at 9:13 AM ^
Nope, the article I just read was written on 8/15/19 so it’s brand new. I missed the post a month ago about Leach and didn’t know too much about him to be honest. I thought the article was really interesting and it was cool to hear a first-hand account of the guy from his QBs. I guess I’ll just let the up/downvotes judge me on this one.
August 18th, 2019 at 9:14 AM ^
Leach says, "Wut's up?"
August 18th, 2019 at 9:48 AM ^
Because they can produce winning teams and that’s all most people care about. Let him have a few more seasons like 2014 and he won’t seem so interesting anymore.
August 18th, 2019 at 12:52 PM ^
Please by all means humor us cretins with all your great accomplishments in life or at least direct us to articles written about it.
August 18th, 2019 at 9:36 AM ^
For fucks sake again with this douche?
August 18th, 2019 at 4:34 PM ^
Just gonna leave this here...I would rather attend a seminar with Leach on why water is wet than any seminar with what 2 cents you might have to add even though you clicked to add your 2 cents here. Maybe next time just tell yourself nothing to see here, move on, instead of calling Leach a douche, all the while you are the one who is being a douche. Kept this short knowing you probably have reporters waiting outside wanting an interview.
August 18th, 2019 at 9:46 AM ^
Ah, the Message Board. Hard to please everyone, isn't it? I've done plenty of bitching myself (Top Billin' promotions, "There are...", etc.)
In this particular case, I don't mind hearing about a few new Leach tidbits, but I can see where others would find it grating.
August 18th, 2019 at 9:54 AM ^
If I had a wish, and I could hire any coach to be the OC at Michigan, it would be Mike Leach.
August 18th, 2019 at 10:39 AM ^
August 18th, 2019 at 4:37 PM ^
I could definitely get on board with that! +1
August 18th, 2019 at 6:38 PM ^
That's basically Joe Paterno in the later years.
August 18th, 2019 at 10:48 AM ^
A “free trial” requiring payment information and auto billing if not cancelled is not free. I know this is typical these days, but that doesn’t change the fact this is bullshit
August 18th, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
Agree, amigo. I despise this business model.
August 18th, 2019 at 11:17 AM ^
So tired of the Leach bullshit. He’s an annoying redneck, although admittedly that’s redundant.
August 18th, 2019 at 11:39 AM ^
Calm down, Fredo.
August 18th, 2019 at 4:45 PM ^
You sir, win the interwebz today! +1000 if I could.
August 18th, 2019 at 4:42 PM ^
So you clicked on the thread already with a dislike of Leach. So seems to me you are an annoying idiot, although admittedly that's redundant. That's some serious mackbru bullshit there. See how that works.
August 18th, 2019 at 11:23 AM ^
his manufactured 'quirky' schtick got old at TTU... and its still old
August 18th, 2019 at 11:35 AM ^
Yes Leach know's his reputation now and he caters to it seemingly not knowing to those that have seen it it is pretty stale. Down here in Texas in Big12 country they think Leach is the coolest dude on earth and I'm just like enough already