Mike Leach is a national treasure

#51
#51
TnScooby said:
Here's a thought: CFB is the ONLY real stick-and-ball sport in Alabama of note..No Titans..No Grizzlies..No Predators..Just Amateur or Minor League sports..Even Talladega only covers a few days each year..

There are many theories floating around out there relative to the fanatical following of Ala colleges/universities..But if it's the only game in town then you either invest completely in Auburn, Alabama, etc. or pick an out-of-state team to follow.....

JMHO
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17 National Championships, start there. And just how long have those Titans been camping out in Nashville? If you really think Tennessee fans take a back seat to Bama fans in fanaticism and pride about their team, you aren't 20 yet.
 
#52
#52
TUSKtimes said:
The pressure is intense on these HCs to win and win big. I doubt any of them get a good nights sleep. If you don't love the limelight, and I mean love it, don't come to Tuscaloosa. Bill Curry and Dennis Franchione couldn't handle the noise and never seemed comfortable, even with success. Even as a good coach, the mountain is too high and eventuality you'll get tired of constant expectations and no safe place to escape it. Matching personalities to the job is as critical as Xs and Os and recruiting. Too many times Bama has just looked at resumes.
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What Alabama has to avoid in hiring their new coach (assuming they won't get Dabo/Kirby, which I don't think they will) is hiring a guy who can't handle that limelight but is at a stage in his career where he'll take the job anyway simply because of the salary/buyout that will be offered. His stress levels might be pretty high there for a few years, but the buyout once they fire you is a major stress reliever. Hell, maybe that's what Pruitt is doing at Tennessee.
 
#53
#53
05_never_again said:
What Alabama has to avoid in hiring their new coach (assuming they won't get Dabo/Kirby, which I don't think they will) is hiring a guy who can't handle that limelight but is at a stage in his career where he'll take the job anyway simply because of the salary/buyout that will be offered. His stress levels might be pretty high there for a few years, but the buyout once they fire you is a major stress reliever. Hell, maybe that's what Pruitt is doing at Tennessee.
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5 years in the college football world is a long, long, time. It may even be longer than that, who knows, coach Saban loves the whole concept of football. In that time there are going to be so many more national players it won't remind us of today's coaching landscape. Also, time for Saban's coaching tree to take even more root and produce enough fruit to get Bama's attention.

Kirby, I don't get that one. Why would that be of interest to either party? Dabo is another story entirely. He loves Alabama and is so sentimental about the guys he played with. Look at his coaching staff? He doesn't look like he scares easily and nobody knows the politics better than he does. He carries enough weight to keep guys that know a lot less than he does at bay. It isn't just children that do the darndest things.
 
#54
#54
TUSKtimes said:
5 years in the college football world is a long, long, time. It may even be longer than that, who knows, coach Saban loves the whole concept of football. In that time there are going to be so many more national players it won't remind us of today's coaching landscape. Also, time for Saban's coaching tree to take even more root and produce enough fruit to get Bama's attention.

Kirby, I don't get that one. Why would that be of interest to either party? Dabo is another story entirely. He loves Alabama and is so sentimental about the guys he played with. Look at his coaching staff? He doesn't look like he scares easily and nobody knows the politics better than he does. He carries enough weight to keep guys that know a lot less than he does at bay. It isn't just children that do the darndest things.
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You think Saban is sticking around for at least 5 more years? I know he's said he'll keep doing it until he loses the fire and he hasn't lost any fire, but it wouldn't surprise me if his retirement still catches some people off guard because there weren't any obvious "signs" he was losing the fire.

Kirby isn't coming. I just threw his name out there because his name does come up when people talk about a Saban replacement, but it is kind of a lazy talking point. People remember him as Saban's long time DC and he's been successful at another big program, so they mention his name.

The thing about Dabo is that other than the "Mama called" angle, I don't understand why he'd leave now either. I totally could see it happening if he won zero or perhaps one title, but not now that he's got two and has that program running seemingly on autopilot. Money will not be a differentiator. He has a much easier path to conference titles and the CFP. He's a Bammer, but it isn't like he's some Clemson mercenary; he's been there for a longer period of time that he was at Alabama and rose through the ranks all the way from the WR coach to a national title winning HC. As high as Clemson's expectations are now, it will never compare to the microscope that is Alabama, especially post-Saban Alabama. He'll be handsomely compensated, but I still have a little sympathy for the person who takes that job. Just because you're making a ton of money doesn't mean that wouldn't be stressful or hard on your family. I just don't know the upside to him leaving.
 
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#55
#55
TUSKtimes said:
17 National Championships, start there. And just how long have those Titans been camping out in Nashville? If you really think Tennessee fans take a back seat to Bama fans in fanaticism and pride about their team, you aren't 20 yet.
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And yet you are here on VN..Wow…

And BTW I'm goin' on 55 so …..
 
#56
#56
TnScooby said:
And yet you are here on VN..Wow…

And BTW I'm goin' on 55 so …..
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Being HERE really doesn't require a lot of my attention. And at 55 you should know that college football fans are fully invested. With that, I would also say that everyone loves a winner. Except for teams on the short end of the scores.
 
#57
#57
The Ron Mexico said:
Mike Leach will never win a national championship. But he does understand the importance of competition, wants to win, and still understands that football is a sport that it is intended to be fun. And most importantly, he isn’t a pretentious a-hole. A la Nick Saban, just to name one.

I would be perfectly content with him coaching one of my favorite teams and getting 7-9 wins a year.
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#62
#62
The Ron Mexico said:
Mike Leach will never win a national championship. But he does understand the importance of competition, wants to win, and still understands that football is a sport that it is intended to be fun. And most importantly, he isn’t a pretentious a-hole. A la Nick Saban, just to name one.

I would be perfectly content with him coaching one of my favorite teams and getting 7-9 wins a year.
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There’s several outstanding coaches of the game who never won a NC. Schembecher, Sherrill, Davis, Beamer, Yeoman, McClendon, Dickey, etc.
 
#63
#63
Volsfaninva917 said:
I wonder how many are using the tweet as a scapegoat. Wasn't the brightest of ideas for Leach to send that tweet out but I don't believe for a minute Leach is a racist.
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Probably both of them

The tweet for anyone who didn't see it:
mike-leach-tweet_18xnl0s9nt4w512by9swbsljgu.png
 
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#69
#69
Volunteer_Kirby said:
Can't wait to hear Leach's take after a few years have passed or he's moved onto a new uni.
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If I were him I’d do what I could in Starkville, probably hit that 7-8 wins each year, then take my buyout when I lose to Ole Miss for the 2nd or 3rd year in a row and move permanently to my place in Key West. Then, because Leach is Leach probably start a weed and gummies gig under the guise of a fishing boat charter and live bait business.
 
#70
#70
RDU VOL#14 said:
Oh FFS.
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From the AD at MSU:
“No matter the context, for many Americans the image of a noose is never appropriate and that’s particularly true in the South and in Mississippi.”
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It doesn’t make you a racist to be oblivious to Mississippi’s past, and what that noose represents to a segment of Mississippi’s population.

That said, Leach just made it easier for Ole Miss to recruit Mississippi kids.
 
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#71
#71
RDU VOL#14 said:
If I were him I’d do what I could in Starkville, probably hit that 7-8 wins each year, then take my buyout when I lose to Ole Miss for the 2nd or 3rd year in a row and move permanently to my place in Key West. Then, because Leach is Leach probably start a weed and gummies gig under the guise of a fishing boat charter and live bait business.
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And if true, that is a shame and more reflective of the kids and their parents. My parents (interracial marriage) raised us to guard against a victim mentality. My father was adamant that the most dangerous threat to our personal success in life were the "wolves in sheep's clothing" that he said were people that could not care less about us but would be willing to sacrifice our well being for their own political or economic gain. To this day, and likely as a result of how I was raised, I shudder whenever I see someone get lambasted by others for something like what Leach did. Personally, I think it divides us and makes real "racist" actions lessened in a way because of all the false rage and accusations such as this one. I also literally hurt in my stomach when I see others (typically politicians and celebrities) get applauded for statements and supporting programs that when you look at them below the surface are saying that I and my family need help and protection by them because apparently we are incapable of doing what others are capable of doing because of the color of our skin. That is real racism...but it seems to be accepted as truth and a positive when I see it as a threat to my and my future family's success.
 
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#72
#72
Lawrence Wright said:
From the university president:


It doesn’t make you a racist to be oblivious to Mississippi’s past, and what that noose represents to a segment of Mississippi’s population.

That said, Leach just made it easier for Ole Miss to recruit Mississippi kids.
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Fair enough, I’ll defer to your take because I think you’re a smart guy who has a rational take on things. And as you are an African American guy, who am I ( a white 38 year old guy) to tell you how to interpret this? I suppose I just took issue with it because I feel like in today’s society people are constantly looking for something to be offended about and this just looked like another example. If you throw in some of the sports media takes they turn it into a political agenda and that’s when I become defensive and I don’t see it as 2 way street. It turns into some twitter mob and a guy gets falsely labeled for doing something that wasn’t intentionally mean spirited or meant to be provocative.

As you said that doesn’t make Leach a racist and pretty much means Kiffin will clean up in recruiting now.
 
#73
#73
RDU VOL#14 said:
Fair enough, I’ll defer to your take because I think you’re a smart guy who has a rational take on things. And as you are an African American guy, who am I ( a white 38 year old guy) to tell you how to interpret this? I suppose I just took issue with it because I feel like in today’s society people are constantly looking for something to be offended about and this just looked like another example. If you throw in some of the sports media takes they turn it into a political agenda and that’s when I become defensive and I don’t see it as 2 way street. It turns into some twitter mob and a guy gets falsely labeled for doing something that wasn’t intentionally mean spirited or meant to be provocative.

As you said that doesn’t make Leach a racist and pretty much means Kiffin will clean up in recruiting now.
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If Mike Leach coached anywhere but the state of Mississippi, chances are his post would not have raised eyebrows. But Mississippi was notorious for lynching African-Americans back in the day, most of any state in the country. A Google image search will produce horrific pictures.

So again, while I am of the opinion that Mike Leach is not a racist and did not intentionally set out of offend anyone other than the possible exception of his wife with that tweet, it’s clear he lacks a fundamental understanding of the history in that state.
 
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#75
#75
So the Miss St kicker had a long day yesterday.
Leech says he is holding open tryouts. lol

 
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