Read the debate intro and Bleacher Fan’s argument that Texas Tech was correct in firing Mike Leach as head coach.
I make no apologies for being a Mike Leach supporter. He is my kind of coach… on the field. He previously coached at my alma mater, Valdosta State, back in the mid 1990s. He is a proven winner, winning over 80 games in his ten years in Lubbock. He has built quite a program at Texas Tech, too.
Obviously, dealing with concussions is a very sensitive issue these days, thanks to the rash of concussions in the NFL this season. The Sports Debates even had a debate on concussions back in December. But, to be fired for this incident is ridiculous.
As Bleacher Fan indicated, there is a lot of he said/she said activity going on in this situation. There are two conflicting sides. In one corner we have the side of Adam James (though it is also the Craig James side), and in the other corner, we have the side of Mike Leach. An array of people have come out to defend James (mostly current players) while former players have come out in support of Leach. With so much of the situation truly unknown, it was too drastic of a move to actually fire Leach. As Leach has indicated, I think this move has something to do with the fact that Leach was owed an $800,000 bonus on December 31. Leach’s relationship with the Texas Tech administration has been described as very tense at times, and I believe that same administration was just looking for a solid reason to terminate Leach’s contract with so called “just cause.” This is not a solid reason.
Now, there is no doubt that Leach is a little quirky. Everyone has heard the “fat little girlfriends” speech and “their obvious advantages.” While researching this argument yesterday I came across this video. Also, if you have watched analysis of the situation on ESPN, you have seen quite a bit of pro-Adam James critiques (though it is hard for ESPN to analyze this situation impartially since James’ father, Craig, works for ESPN). However, to get an overall feel for this situation and how the average fan feels, all I have to do is go back to this weekend.
I was in Orlando, Florida visiting with friends and family from California who were vacationing in the Sunshine State. I had some in-depth conversations with many people down there, from Penn State and LSU fans (who were in town for the Capital One Bowl) and with the people from California (very strong Southern Cal fans). Most all of them shared the same opinion as I have: Adam James was not physically harmed. He was put in a “dark room.” He was NOT physically beaten and/or physically harmed in anyway by Leach. Did he get his poor little feelings hurt? Quite possibly. Is Leach a jerk and could he have handled it better? Yes, he could have. But was it something he should be fired for? No!
I think it is also important to notice what the Texas Tech fans think. Judging by the reaction of fans during the Alamo Bowl, I think it is pretty obvious that the majority of Red Raiders fan have sided with Leach.
It never should have come to this. Never. But it did, and Texas Tech will regret it. It is also important to note that this firing comes from the same school that hired Bobby Knight. This does not seem to make a bit of sense, does it?
