Leach Gone

It’s not a good week for coaches, as Texas Tech’s Mike Leach has been fired from his perch following an accusation that he mistreated Tech player Adam James, the son of ABC broadcaster Craig James.

I’m not going to take sides here, as I’m not privy to all that is going on, but I find the following statements by Leach to be less than convincing:

Leach said he “would never intentionally harm or endanger a player” and that he has been “forced into this situation without being afforded any process.” He also said “absolutely” no evidence had been given to him that showed he had violated any university rules or standards.

So, no ‘evidence’ has been given to him that showed he broke any rules or standards.  That’s a pretty weak rebuttal to the charges.  If he is innocent, why not just categorically deny the charges instead of parsing them with a legalistic response?

Whatever the case, I hope Leach gets another chance to coach somewhere (I’m sure he will), but I also hope he (and other coaches) use his experience as a cautionary tale:  Coaches aren’t God and there are limits to what you can do with your program…and to your players.

About Heismanpundit

Chris Huston, A.K.A. ‘The Heisman Pundit‘, is a Heisman voter and the creator and publisher of Heismanpundit.com, a site dedicated to analysis of the Heisman Trophy and college football. Dubbed “the foremost authority on the Heisman” by Sports Illustrated, HP is regularly quoted or cited during football season in newspapers across the country. He is also a regular contributor on sports talk radio and television.

4 Responses to Leach Gone

  1. Leland December 31, 2009 at 7:33 pm #

    He responded the way he did because he’s a lawyer.

    I agree with some of the commentary on ESPN. He needs to think more like a PR guy if he wants a sweet gig for his next job.

    Otherwise, the taint of being accused of being a sadistic bastard will stay with him and he’ll be no where close to a head coaching job.

  2. showman January 1, 2010 at 11:22 pm #

    sounds like you are taking sides, to me.

  3. CloroxingTheGenePool January 2, 2010 at 3:57 am #

    Nah, HP wouldn’t write anything before knowing all of the facts, cast aspersions about another program’s coach, etc. Just look at what he wrote about Urban Meyer with regards to Tim Tebow’s concussion earlier in the season.

  4. tebowfan January 2, 2010 at 4:00 pm #

    tebow raped cinci! omg he’s the greatest! now that was a heisman performance if i ever saw one!

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