If Mike Leach....

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Bob_Loblaw

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....would he have a major impact on the amount of sustained exposure that the football team would receive? I say this because he would be a pretty colorful character in town of downplayed coaching personalities. Brad Childress, Rambis, Gardy and Tubby aren't exactly the most interesting people in the world (for interviews and such). I guess Gardy is kind of a character, but Mike Leach would be getting tons of press for his interviews alone.
 

Here is my concern about Leach......

I'm in Texas and have seen his teams play.

He had like TWO running plays in his entire playbook, and neither of them
worked consistently. In the Big Ten, you really need a solid defense and
a solid running game to contend seriously. While his passing game would
be fine, his offense would find itself somewhat limited in certain
situations.

Just ask a couple TT grads- they'll tell you.
 


Haven't seen this posted any where else. Saw this tweeted earlier today...

Mike Leach on Minnesota: "I haven't given it much thought ... but it's a good program, it's in a Big Ten. I'm in a position to listen to anybody.
 

Would this be good?

He is best known for not having a defense or running the ball. Oh yeah and he likes pirates and locking kids up.

I think the press we would get from hiring this guy would only be bad. Not to mention every recruit out there will be reminded he might lock them in a closet if they dont do what he wants.
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
....would he have a major impact on the amount of sustained exposure that the football team would receive? I say this because he would be a pretty colorful character in town of downplayed coaching personalities. Brad Childress, Rambis, Gardy and Tubby aren't exactly the most interesting people in the world (for interviews and such). I guess Gardy is kind of a character, but Mike Leach would be getting tons of press for his interviews alone.
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Good point. He has some great quotes and could get media exposure for the U it wants. Or it could be a complete disaster. How willing is the University to take a risk? Leach has more pro's and con's than any other candidate IMHO.
 

Here's the story from Dennis Dodd:

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6270202/25321633

The former Texas Tech coaching star kind of expressed his interest in the Minnesota job on his Sirius satellite radio show Monday morning.

Asked by the host specifically about the Minnesota job Leach said, "I'm in a position to listen to anybody."

Leach's name immediately popped up after Tim Brewster was fired on Sunday after 3 1/2 seasons. Minnesota AD Joel Maturi reportedly pursued Tony Dungy who declined but then offered his help in the search.

Leach is in the process of dealing with his lawsuit against his old employer, Texas Tech. Other than that, he's one of the hottest coaching properties out there -- a proven commodity armed with plenty of pirate history.

Message boards and Twitter have lit up with the names of some outlandish replacements for Brewster. Jim Harbaugh? Gary Patterson, Chris Petersen? C'mon, get real. More realistic candidates include Vikings DC Leslie Frazier and San Diego State head coach Brady Hoke.

The program hasn't finished above fourth place in the Big Ten since 1986 and hasn't beaten a ranked team since 2005.

"You're not following Vince Lombardi here," AD Joel Maturi said.

"I haven't given it much thought," Leach continued. "But it's a good program, it's in the Big Ten."
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No way! Too much baggage like the former kansas coach (mangino or whatever). Could you imagine him recruiting your kid? I can't imagine this hire having any skeletons in the closet.
 

WolfontheProwl said:
He is best known for not having a defense or running the ball. Oh yeah and he likes pirates and locking kids up.

I think the press we would get from hiring this guy would only be bad. Not to mention every recruit out there will be reminded he might lock them in a closet if they dont do what he wants.
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+19

Not to mention all the anti-sports biggies at the U would be all over this hire.
 



WolfontheProwl said:
He is best known for not having a defense or running the ball. Oh yeah and he likes pirates and locking kids up.

I think the press we would get from hiring this guy would only be bad. Not to mention every recruit out there will be reminded he might lock them in a closet if they dont do what he wants.
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Yeah, his pirate fascination is a little weird. He would most likely leave if the East Carolina job ever opened up.
 

How does this solve our defensive issues? The Air Raid doesn't protect our defense by keeping it off the field. It tries to outscore the opponent early so that they become one dimensional and easier to defend. Unfortunately even in its hay day, it didn't provide the best defense is a good offense strategy.
 

Well, hopefully he hires a great D cord. In Leach's defense going up against teams like Oklahoma, Texas, and the rest of the Big 12 is not an easy task. Yes, Minnesota scored 41 points against them but they did shut us out in the second half.
 

I really think if a coach brings in enough guys, who are right fits for his offense, then he can win in the Big 10.
 



Leach has history. I think it is an incorrect assumption to put in a "hope" statement. In general he didn't hire the right D/C before. I don't expect him to do it again. I think their are very explosive offensives in the Big Ten that will run all over a Leach defense.
 

monk10 said:
Leach has history. I think it is an incorrect assumption to put in a "hope" statement. In general he didn't hire the right D/C before. I don't expect him to do it again. I think their are very explosive offensives in the Big Ten that will run all over a Leach defense.
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What assumption did I make?
 

monk10 said:
How does this solve our defensive issues? The Air Raid doesn't protect our defense by keeping it off the field. It tries to outscore the opponent early so that they become one dimensional and easier to defend. Unfortunately even in its hay day, it didn't provide the best defense is a good offense strategy.
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Total Defense:
2009: 49th
2008: 79th
2007: 45th
2006: 58th
2005: 30th
2004: 46th

Not as bad as Minnesota has been.
 

Bottom line: Leach took a garbage program and got them up to top 5 in the country at one point, all while being in the same conference as Texas and Oklahoma. That alone is enough to warrant very serious consideration.
 

When I first started this thread I didn't really mean for it to come off as an endorsement of Leach. I actually like a lot of candidates more than him. I was just wondering if his personality would bring much positive exposure to our program.

Like I said, I would prefer Calhoun and even Martin (ND D coach and former Grand Valley St. coach), but it was just for discussion.


PS: Mike Leach's offense has had some success running the football. In 2008, TT ran for over 1500 yards and 24 TDs (Iowa ran for 1480 and 13 TD's last season on WAY more attempts). They don't run the ball nearly as often as most teams in the country run the football, but his best teams run the ball effectively.
 

I guarentee we'd be able to start recruiting elite QBs with Leach. Would be nice to have an elite QB, instead or rolling with a Weber or Cupito for 3 to 4 years because we can't recruit anyone better.
 

Maximus said:
Total Defense:
2009: 49th
2008: 79th
2007: 45th
2006: 58th
2005: 30th
2004: 46th

Not as bad as Minnesota has been.
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Can't we throw darts at HC's and make that statement?
 

monk10 said:
Can't we throw darts at HC's and make that statement?
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We could make that statement about almost any coach in the country, but not coupled with being one of the best offenses in the country. Unless you were Phil Taylor (considered by most the best dart player of all time), you would have a hard time hitting that combo.

Unless of course that target was Mangino, which in his case, you'd have a hard time missing that target.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Bottom line: Leach took a garbage program and got them up to top 5 in the country at one point, all while being in the same conference as Texas and Oklahoma. That alone is enough to warrant very serious consideration.
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Garbage program???? Texas Tech was a decent program under Spike Dykes. They had no losing records for the seven years prior to Leach taking over and only 3 losing seasons in the previous 14 years before Leach took over. Here are the seven seasons before Leach took over. I'd hardly call it "garbage":

1993: 6-6 (Sun Bowl)
1994: 6-6 (Cotton Bowl)
1995: 9-3 (Copper Bowl)
1996: 7-5 (Alamo Bowl)
1997: 6-5
1998: 7-5 (Independence Bowl)
1999: 6-5

Leach took over TT and followed it up with much the same (he didn't exactly "build" the program). It was a fine run, but hardly building from the ashes. Frankly, it looks a little Mason-esque to me. Certainly not worth the baggage in my opinion:

2000: 7-6
2001: 7-5
2002: 9-3
2003: 8-5
2004: 8-4
2005: 9-3
2006: 8-5
2007: 9-4
2008: 11-2
2009: 9-4
 

Which even with an amazing offense that turned teams one dimensional to play catch up, leach defenses still couldn't shut people down (well except a Mason coached team).

It just seems like a huge red flag. Mason's offenses were significantly good running (not throwing) and not all that great defensively. It just feels like a very similar type of style that didn't work at MN before.

Now couple that with why he was fired. It just seems like the people who want to see a lot of points are trying to justify this pick.
 

I think it is a fair point that Leach is a bit one dimensional, but the last two comparisons to Glen Mason seem pretty off to me.

Mike Leach finished with 8+ wins in 8/10 seasons.
Glen Mason had 8+ wins in 3/10 seasons.

Mike Leach had a Big 12 Conference (same division as Texas and Oklahoma) record of 47-33....(.588 winning percentage)
Glen Mason compiled a Big 10 Conference record of 32-48.........(.400 winning percentage).

Under Mason, we finished ranked twice at the end of the year.
Under Leach, TT finished the season ranked 5 times.

I'm not saying that Leach is a perfect hire, but he was certainly more succesful at Texas Tech than Mason was at MN. If Mason had done here what Leach did at Texas Tech, he would still be the coach of the Gophers (well, he'd probably have already fled to greener pastures). If you want to compare Leach with somebody, he had similar success to Barry Alvarez.
 

"Aside from that one mistake in Lubbock, though, look at what Leach has done with his football teams on the field. In ten seasons at Texas Tech the Red Raiders never had a losing season, has had ten straight bowl appearances, and never won less than seven games in a season."


I'm beginning to like the idea of Mike Leach in Minnesota more and more.
 

I believe Leach is from WA and went to school at BYU. I don't think he would be opposed to MN weather, leaving TX, etc. That said, I think we could get him if we wanted. He was said to have interest in New Mexico even, - I think he will take any job he can get right now, as he is seen as damaged goods. That said, if he can improve us like TT, within 3-4 years he would probably leave. He's just looking to get back into coaching right now, not for a destination job, yet. Do we want to run the spread? Would we ever have a defense? I don't think good DCs like to work with this type of coaching philosophy on offense. It turns the game into a track meet and requires really good athletes.
 

Bob Stoops coached under Spurrier (and then hired Leach), so I think there are some defensive coordinators that like being the defensive coordinator for a program that will score points.
 

I didn't read the wwhole thread, so ignore if necessary.

The main problem with Leach is not that he did anything wrong, but what he did do he did to the son of an ESPN producer. So he doesn't have many fans in Bristol, which would not be the greatest if you want exposure on ESPN.
 

Could Leach recruit the type of athletes needed for his offense up to Minnesota? Being in Texas, he got to choose from a lot of kids that were under the radar of Texas and Oklahoma. I think it would be a lot tougher for him to convince those same kids to come to Minny, than it was for him to convince them to stay in Texas. Just a thought...
 

GopherHomer said:
Could Leach recruit the type of athletes needed for his offense up to Minnesota? Being in Texas, he got to choose from a lot of kids that were under the radar of Texas and Oklahoma. I think it would be a lot tougher for him to convince those same kids to come to Minny, than it was for him to convince them to stay in Texas. Just a thought...
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There are less D-1 athletes in Minnesota period. Any team looking for a power lineman? There will always be more in Ohio or Florida than Minnesota.

You find your guy in Texas/Cali/Florida and you show him enough interest he will come play for you. See Denard Robinson to Michigan, Florida kid who got tons of looks as an athlete and not as a QB. Rich Rod told him he would play QB in Ann Arbor and sure enough he comes to play.
 

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