Mike Leach describes conversations with Tennessee in 2017: 'It was like something out of Shakespeare'

#51
#51
Behr said:
Ah, my bad. I was thinking they finished at #2.

I guess we'll see, but I still think we're better off with Pruitt in the long run.
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I would say that Pruitt's public persona, which is most likely somewhat affected just as is Leach's, is more congruent with the ideal head coach of the average Vols fan than is the public persona of Leach.
 
#52
#52
VolunteerHillbilly said:
I would say that Pruitt's public persona, which is most likely somewhat affected just as is Leach's, is more congruent with the ideal head coach of the average Vols fan than is the public persona of Leach.
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I don't give a rats Ass about his public persona. If Pruitt never says a word in or to the public and wins a bunch of football games I'll be just fine.
 
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#53
#53
Behr said:
So are you, but I'd rather have Pruitt coaching our football team over either one of you two lnternet clowns.
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and I'd rather have Guy Fiero cooking my dinner over Chef Behr
 
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#54
#54
BigOrangeTrain said:
Why people continue to believe Leach is this really good coach is beyond me. He has benn at Texas Tech and Washington State. If he was that good, he would have gotten many better offers. Think of the job openings in the past 5-6 years. UF, UGA, LSU, Oregon, FSU, Miami, TAMU, Texas, UCLA, Nebraska, South Carolina, PSU, OSU, Michigan. And not one hired him. He would have failed at TN. He is where he belongs. At a school with little to no expectations or pressure and a fairly easy schedule.
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had a lot to do with the lawsuit against TT.
 
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#56
#56
DiderotsGhost said:
And with very limited resources to hire defensive coaches. Leach is one of the greatest football coaches in CFB history. He has consistently gotten more with less.

The only downside is that it's typically taken him a few years to get things going and SEC fanbases aren't known for their patience.




Might wanna check your facts, dude. The only 7 win teams Leach had at Texas Tech were his first two. He won 8-11 games every year afterwards at one of the weakest programs in the Big 12 and with much lesser talent than Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and A&M.
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I remember watching him play (I think) Texas and they won. Seems like there was a three way tie between Tech, Texas and Oklahoma that year. Man, they wizzed that ball all over the field that game. I was a Leach fan from there on out!
 
#58
#58
BigOrangeMojo said:
The guy had Texas Tech #2 in the country and won 11 games at WSU. Guys that win far beyond the historical norms at a school can coach.

Still cant believe we passed on 2 of those coaches in 2017.

Cue @The Original Fade ...
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Nah dude, Mullen blows. What did he ever accomplish at Miss St? I mean what’s his record vs Bama? Huh? Pruitt>>>>>>>>>>>>Mullen
 
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#59
#59
SGMVols said:
And when he faces the top teams in his conference he gets shut down anyway. Only scored 15 in their loss at home to Washington last year, which was also Leach’s sixth loss in a row to them.
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He's also never been at a premier school either, always at the "little brother" school. And has overachieved for the most part.

IMO, he's never taken one of the big time jobs because he doesn't want to schmooze and get in with the good ole boy network that runs those schools. He wants to coach and sit in his office and draw up plays.
 
#60
#60
VolunteerHillbilly said:
So are you fine now?
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Yes I am. Pruitt hasn't coached his 1st game in his 2nd year, after making what seems to be major upgrades in staff.

And people around here are always making fun of others being delusional and living in fantasy land, "Hope" and "I'd rather" and "IF" all you want, Leach ain't here and ain't gonna be here anytime soon if ever and to me all that crap sure ain't reality.

Yea, I'm fine until I'm not.
 
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#61
#61
VFL-82-JP said:
Simple truth is, we are a program that has celebrated championships, and we're not going to be happy until we're back at LEAST competing for championships. Maybe not even until we start winning them again.

And we know by his long track record as a head coach in less-demanding conferences that Mike Leach doesn't get to conference championship games. He gets close sometimes, tantalizingly close every once in a while (one time in his ten seasons at Texas Tech, and once so far in his seven seasons at Washington State). But he doesn't deliver championships.
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I don't think we're on the same page at all here.

Mike Leach could've won a national title here. The ceiling at UT is much higher than at Wazzou or T-Tech.

The argument against him is weak. It's basically "Air Raid doesn't work" and "Leach has never won the big one." But the first is categorically untrue; the NFL is now filled with Air Raid style offenses where the QB is throwing 70%+ of the time.

And Mike Leach wins 11 games while getting recruiting classes ranked in the 40's, 50's, and 60's. It's not like Mike Leach has ever been competing with top talent. The closest he came was at Texas Tech in 2008 when he had Michael Crabtree and he beat Texas, went to a Cotton Bowl, and went 11-2. He's had even less talent at WSU than he had at Texas Tech.

Last year, WSU was ranked #65 in recruiting. Rutgers was #64. Vandy was #59. In 2017, WSU was ranked #44, behind Rutgers at #42, and a few spots ahead of Illinois (#46) and Duke (#47).

If Mike Leach wins 8-11 games with talent in the 40's, 50's, and 60's, imagine what he'd do with top 10 talent? The idea that Leach is a weak recruiter is also false. He actually significantly improved recruiting at both Texas Tech and Wash State. It's just that Lubbock, TX and Pullman, WA are not exactly "destinations." He's taken two of the toughest P5 jobs and succeeded wildly.

So I don't agree with the premise that Mike Leach couldn't win big. I think the case is mostly based on people not analyzing the details and *ASSUMING* that the Air Raid is "NOT REAL FOOTBALL" or some other nonsense.

Mike Leach would have similar success to Steve Spurrier at the right SEC program (btw, Spurrier didn't win a national title at Duke). He'd been a perfect fit at Tennessee. But it would've taken him 3-4 years to get rolling.

Nothing against Pruitt. I'm optimistic about Pruitt, but there are very few coaches out there like Mike Leach.

(I think most of the anti-Mike Leach arguments would be better used against Mike Gundy, who's track record on defense is horrendous. Leach has actually been pretty savvy in finding great discount DCs.)
 
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#62
#62
Behr said:
Yes I am. Pruitt hasn't coached his 1st game in his 2nd year, after making what seems to be major upgrades in staff.

And people around here are always making fun of others being delusional and living in fantasy land, "Hope" and "I'd rather" and "IF" all you want, Leach ain't here and ain't gonna be here anytime soon if ever and to me all that crap sure ain't reality.

Yea, I'm fine until I'm not.
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Yeah. I get that he's not the coach here. Got to talk about something while we ride out however many years it gonna take for CJP to learn how to be a head coach and recruit the players he needs.
 
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#63
#63
DiderotsGhost said:
I don't think we're on the same page at all here.

Mike Leach could've won a national title here. I'm not endorsing Mike Leach because I think he wins 8 games. I'm saying he could win a natty at the right program.

The argument against him is weak. It's basically "Air Raid doesn't work" and "Leach has never won the big one." But the first is categorically untrue; the NFL is now filled with Air Raid style offenses where the QB is throwing 70%+ of the time.

And Mike Leach wins 11 games while getting recruiting classes ranked in the 40's, 50's, and 60's. It's not like Mike Leach has ever been competing with top talent. The closest he came was at Texas Tech in 2008 when he had Michael Crabtree and he beat Texas, went to a Cotton Bowl, and went 11-2. He's had even less talent at WSU than he had at Texas Tech.

Last year, WSU was ranked #65 in recruiting. Rutgers was #64. Vandy was #59.

In 2017, WSU was ranked #44, behind Rutgers at #42, and a few spots ahead of Illinois (#46) and Duke (#47).

If Mike Leach wins 8-11 games with talent in the 40's, 50's, and 60's, imagine what he'd do with top 10 talent? And the idea that he's a weak recruiter is also false. He actually significantly improved recruting at both Texas Tech and Wash State. It's just that Lubbock, TX and Pullman, WA are not exactly "destinations." He's taken two of the toughest P5 jobs and succeeded wildly.

So I don't agree with the premise that Mike Leach couldn't win big. I think the case is mostly based on people not analyzing the details and *ASSUMING* that the Air Raid is "NOT REAL FOOTBALL" or some other nonsense.

Mike Leach would have similar success to Steve Spurrier at the right SEC program. He'd been a perfect fit at Tennessee. But it would've taken him 3-4 years to get rolling.

Nothing against Pruitt. I'm optimistic about Pruitt, but there are very coaches out there like Mike Leach.

(I think most of the anti-Mike Leach arguments would be better used against Mike Gundy, who's track record on defense is horrendous. Leach has actually been pretty savvy in finding great discount DCs.)
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The question I would have about Leach being here isn't really about offense. It'd be about his defenses.
 
#64
#64
The Original Fade said:
Nah dude, Mullen blows. What did he ever accomplish at Miss St? I mean what’s his record vs Bama? Huh? Pruitt>>>>>>>>>>>>Mullen
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His record verses Bama is 0-8.

Several regulars around here never said he blows, just that they think he's overrated and think Pruitt will have a higher ceiling. Still can't figure out why you get so tore up over it.
 
#66
#66
Duplicate. Sorry.
 
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#67
#67
VolunteerHillbilly said:
Yeah. I get that he's not the coach here. Got to talk about something while we ride out however many years it gonna take for CJP to learn how to be a head coach and recruit the players he needs.
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Oh I agree, I'm just talking. And I don't know anything like you and Jack do, I just spew my opinion.
 
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#68
#68
Behr said:
Meh, I'm probably the only one but Im glad that didn't happen. I would have taken him over Pruitt at the time, but I'm happy with Pruitt now.
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I haven't seen nearly enough of him to override that yet.
 
#73
#73
Jack Burton said:
I would have preferred Leach given the chance. His offense is much more fun to watch and he would have a higher ceiling here than Pruitt. We just aren’t going to beat Alabama or UGA running the same type offense but with less talent.
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I agree, but that's the way things are now - not necessarily the way they'll be in the future. Nothing last forever - see the stock market after 1999, Real Estate after 2007, Gold after 2011, etc.
 
#74
#74
Man, it is a good thing that our actual HC couldn't care less about what the miserable minority has to say about who they would rather have here as the mythical HC.
 
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