Head pirate still likes the view in Lubbock

By Don Williams l Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

To clear up a common misconception – and from time to time I’ve not been sure myself – Mike Leach wants to be here. Wants genuinely to remain in Lubbock. Friends and associates of the Texas Tech coach have told me so, over and over again, the last several months with not a single voice of dissent.

I know. Maybe not the lowdown you expect. The guy whose name pops up in coach-search stories about as often in December as elves whittle away at toys?

But ask someone who knows Tech’s coach – really knows him, interacts with him on a regular basis: Will Mike be coaching elsewhere next year? Are we seeing the end of an era? The answer I get lately, from multiple people, is always the same: Not if he can help it. He likes it here too much. His family, too.

Oh, about that trip this week to Washington and Leach’s visit with UW officials: Knowing Mike, he thought it’d be cool to have someone else pick up the tab while he checked out the Space Needle. And maybe have his picture made next to the original Starbucks, holding his favorite, the big cup of China green tips tea.

Wise fellow, Leach. In all seriousness, with the trip to Washington, he’s exploring his options to be sure. But people around him say Mike doesn’t really have his heart set on finding a new port in which to dock the pirate ship.

That’s not to say there’s no chance he’ll be coaching elsewhere next season – especially now that the Auburn job just opened up and it took five minutes for Leach’s name to be attached as a potential replacement. Heck, Leach already knows one of the quarterbacks there.

Anyone with a sense of history should know not to dismiss Washington as a possible threat. Don James won a national championship and four Rose Bowls there. Speculation linking Leach to Auburn should be just as scary, the Tigers’ being not nearly so far removed from winning big.

So the Tech administration and Leach need to get together on a new deal. This week would be nice, today ideal.

If not? Get ready for the most divisive development Tech football’s ever seen. If Leach walks, the fallout will be nastier than 1986, when David McWilliams did a U-turn and returned to the Forty Acres after one season leading the Red Raiders. Fans hadn’t had a chance to embrace McWilliams and, considering his deep ties to the University of Texas, many never would have.

McWilliams made scarlet-and-black faithful spitting mad, but he’d coached their team for only 11 games with three being blowout losses. Steve Sloan broke Red Raider hearts by leaving one year after a 10-win season. That was no fun. Nor was the split between Tech and Jim Carlen after the 1974 season.

But those were different times. Today, the pervasiveness of talk radio, Internet message boards and 24-hour sports coverage being what it is, there are more ways than ever for fans to vent.

I can’t imagine that Tech athletic director Gerald Myers wants to be on the receiving end of so much venom. I can’t fathom that any Tech administrator would want to risk splitting the fan base. Not ever. But especially not now, of all times.

Many would second-guess – as if they aren’t already – the decision by Myers and Tech higher-ups not to redo Leach’s contract before now. Many others would blame Leach for continuing to look at what might be available elsewhere. No one comes out looking good.

If the process continues to drag on, it threatens to dampen a lot of the good spirit generated by the Red Raiders’ 11-1 season. In the midst of their football zenith, there’s potential still for a bitter end.

Not to predict that it will unfold that way.

Sometime in the next several days, Tech should ask Leach to stick around for another five years. And I’m told he never really wanted to leave Lubbock to begin with.

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Comments

  • Greg said:

    Why did we wait until the season was over? Should have been negotiating in last half and had him signed before the Baylor game, much like the process Mizzou did. Now, pandora’s box has opened up. Its all on the administration if Leach leaves. The PR hit Tech is taking in the press is all on the admin already.

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  • Ted said:

    Over the years As Raider Fans, we have learned to expect big disappointments and setbacks. The last few years have been steps in the right direction, We finally discovered a defense for most of the year, a reliable ground game. This year the Raiders have a respectable record and lots of national attention for most of the year. The Raiders finished the regular season tied for the big 12 championship. We finally have athletes in skil positions that can compete with an;yone. We stand to have our best year recruiting ever.Why shoot ourselves in the foot by loosing Mike Leach? Winning comes at a price. Pay up and Keep the Head Pirate.

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  • narvin brock said:

    Lubbock is the MOST CONSERVATIVE town in the USA.

    Myers & Hance say Leach can’t bust the budget. Hance made the introduction for McCain when he visited last spring.

    Quit voting conservative all the time or quit griping — it’s making you be extremely hypocritical.

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  • Benny said:

    Myers is a moron.

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  • Jim said:

    If Leach leaves, Myers should be the next to go. Preferably in the dark of night before the Tech fans can get to him. I agree he is a MORON to not lock up Leach midway through this season. Should have been anounced after the UT win.

    WHAT A MORON!

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  • Dan said:

    Myers is not a moron. I want to keep Leach as much as anyone.

    I do have a question for those who say pay him what it takes to keep him………What would be the pay range you would have ready to negotiate with him? What is your high end? Five million/yr, 10 mil/yr, 15 mil/yr……….Sounds kind of easy when you’re not the one having to make the decision.

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  • VirginiaRaider said:

    Love ya Leach! Hope you’re at Tech for many years to come.

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  • Brian H said:

    If we lose Leach then I put all the blame on Gerald Myers and the Chancelor. He should have been locked up already. Way to go guys.

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  • ChuckW said:

    If they let Leach go without effort and won’t/can’t pay Top 20 money for a Head Coach you can cancel my four season tickets. I have know interest in traveling from San Antonio if no commitment can be made by our administration. As a 77 Grad I am disappointed in both Meyers and Hance. I thought they had more commitment to Tech than they are showing. A season of sellouts and $3 million extra collected for the stadium expansion are because of Leach and a Top 10 team. I see us falling down the Rex Dockery spiral of second rate coaches again and it makes me sick.

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  • Brian H said:

    If Leach goes you can say goodbye to any recruit that is thinking about coming here and you can forget plans to increase the stadium capacity to 83,000 in the future. I do not want to see tech back to 7-5 and 6-6 seasons. This can be a great begining to something here at Tech. Don’t blow it Texas Tech Administration!

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  • faunchin said:

    I’m thiniking like you ChuckW, if Leach goes so does my season tickets.

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  • Pirate of the South Plains said:

    While I am not a season ticket holder, I too will probably jump off the pirate ship. I just don’t see him going to UW. The whole state is in a football funk 0-11UW 2-10 WSU (they beat uw in OT!)
    A Harrell type QB would not be able to throw 50 times in that miserable football weather compared to the Tech environment.
    If the state does have any quality hs players they will leave for greener pastures. If you had 8 months of dreay weather you would want to leave too.

    Living in Seattle once before , I thought the sports media coverage was poor.
    Sonics don’t live there anymore. Seasacks are horrible.

    Do the right thing Gerald.

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  • Lynn M said:

    Come on Myers and Hance, wake up and smell the green tea. No one has ever gotten the name of Texas Tech in the media and not just the sports media in such a positive way as Mike Leach. Bobby Knight may have gotten it there more, but not necessarily in a positive manner. If Myers and Hance blow this one, then Tech definitely needs to not only be looking for a new football coach, but a new AD and Chancellor as well.

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  • Benny said:

    Myers IS a moron, Dan. It’s not an opinion. It’s irrefutable fact. Ask anyone who knows him.

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  • DreadPirate Steve said:

    As much as fans do not like it, this thing needs to have space to play itself out. The thought that Myers/Hance et al are not putting their best effort into creating an attractive contract extension is silly.

    Take a deep breath, put your razor blades down and step away from the edge of the roof. It will be ok, and when the contract is ready, Leach will carefully consider this, factoring in all of the tangibles AND intangibles. I feel like at that time, and not before, the deal gets done.

    Working yourself, your friends and neighbors into a frenzy over wild speculation in the interim does nobody any good.

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  • TW said:

    Myers and Hance have made it abundantly clear that they will do what is necessary to keep Leach. If Leach stays at Tech he will be paid a king’s ransom. If not then thanks for the memories. I’m a Red Raider first and a Leach fan second.

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  • Bob said:

    Like every other Tech fan….I have been waiting for more than 50 years to experience Red Raider fun for more than one or two big victories every year. For the past decade we have seen Tech in a bowl game every season and now our Raiders have risen to the top. We lose Leach and no one has to imagine Top 10 rankings for another 50 years…….

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  • Michael said:

    Myers and Hance are great for Texas Tech, and always have their best interests in TT. Leach has really handled this situation poorly. Not answering/returning phone calls, or not telling GM he is going to UW to interview is pretty low in my opinion. And I for one am tired of having to go through this every year. Leach has done great things for our program, but he still hasnt won a conference championship. I don’t think we need to break the bank for him. And if its all about the money, than I am not so sure Texas Tech is the right place for Leach.

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  • James said:

    He is a moron, I went to tech between 2003-2006 and people are always calling for his job.

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  • Michael said:

    Like it or not James, GM is the one who brought Leach to TT and the reason our program is where its at today. I think he knows how to do his job a little better than anyone on this board.

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  • Bob said:

    However, after observing Coach Myers for all these years, he will get the job done. He is not a Moron as some would like to think. Myers has been a Red Raider forever and will remain so until the day they put a Double T on his grave. If Coach Leach leaves it will not be because Myers has not made every effort to keep him on the Plains of West Texas.

    The Raiders will be in the Top 10 for awhile to come. Texas, A&M, Oklahoma and others will see the back side of the black horse more often than not. The Pirate Ship is not sailing…..

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  • Terry said:

    Let’s put Gerald out to pasture [where he belongs at this stage in his life] and get an AD who can make the right decisions quickly, implement a plan, get the job done, and maximize fund-raising from sources probably not imagined – somebody call up to Bristol, get Coach Knight out of his “media consulting” gig, and get him in the AD office by Friday. Mike Leach is signed up by Saturday, recruiting resumes full speed ahead, and the rest of the Big 12 schools are ducking for cover. Then, we can also tell any fan of any other school, our AD can kick your AD’s bu**, figuratively and literally.

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  • James said:

    Yeah Michael I know Myers did bring him to Lubbock.

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  • Tech 1996 said:

    We were spared from eternal mediocraty when we got to come along to the party in the Big 12 (See the 4 teams who were left behind). We have made huge strides in achieving national recognition with our med school’s partnership with Harvard in regard to hopefully finding a cure for AIDS. http://www.kcbd.com/global/story.asp?s=8808748
    We bought-up Angelo State, and have sattellite campuses all over the state, and Hance e-mails me EVERY freaking day wanting to expand the enrollment.
    Mr. Hance, do you want to take Tech up another tier in the eyes of America? Well, statitstics actually show that great performing athletic universities get a bump in applications/enrollment the year after successful seasons. http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2008/03/24/study-shows-colleges-sports-team-impacts-applications/
    ” Similarly, applications go up 7 to 8 percent at schools that win the national football title, and schools that finish in the top 20 have a 2.5 percent gain.” “Inquiries have jumped from about 20,000 per year to 50,000, and Gonzaga attracts students from Eastern states where it doesn’t recruit. “There’s no other way they would have heard about Gonzaga,”
    So I ask you Mr. Hance, do you not see a correllation in keeping our most “visible” window to the outside world flying high? John Montford bumped this university up a notch or two. Why do you think you are here? You’re supposed to be a politician. Go do your job, or quit asking me for money.

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  • raider-ryan said:

    I have been reading all the comment and what ignorance to say Myers is an idiot, when has Tech had this much success in the past. Who decided to bring Leach to Lubbock, who would have ever imagined that we could have a coach of Knight’s pedigree, not to mention the money (28 stinkin million) he has raised to help make our stadium what it needs to be, Myers will do the right thing. Maybe Leach/his agent are playing the game to get a little more money out of his next contract, like it or not this is business and Leach has the leverage. It is uncomfortable but I would be doing the same thing. A coach who has had the amount of success Leach has had deserves to be paid. At least 4 mill a year!!!!

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  • Raider '84 said:

    Totally agree, Ryan. Gerald Myers becoming AD was the best move Tech has made in the history of the university. He brought in Leach when other ADs didn’t have a clue. He brought in Bobby Knight when the rest of the world was poking him with 10 foot polls. He is a Raider for life and only has made the university athletics better. Talking loyalty, Gerald Myers would not even consider anywhere but Lubbock. He is one of us, for life.

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  • LMII said:

    I have an idea—let’s fire the women’s volleyball coach who can’t even come close to producing a winning season and provides us with perennial embarrassment in the Big 12 cellar and add her salary to the kitty. Then, let’s cut Gerald Meyer’s salary in half for stupidly waiting until the “end” of the season to renegotiate Leach’s contract (for fiscal reasons). Next, let’s start a fan drive to anty up some cash for Leach’s salary. We can spend another 28 million to provide basically “luxury” seating at the stadium, but we can’t find money to keep the best, most exciting, and ingenuous coach that TTU has ever had? It is this kind of short-sighted vision and recalcitrant attitudes that prevent TTU from remaining on the national stage. Thank God for TTU’s amazing professors who bring this university accolades and recognition in academics DESPITE the often poor administrative decisions. IF LEACH leaves I think that we should march on TTU like the French marched on the Bastille …and let’s start a revolution! GO RAIDERS!!!

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  • Mike said:

    I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but, I think I recall that GM et al wanted to discuss Leach’s contract last summer. At Leach’s request the talks did not take place so that he could focus on preparing for the season we all enjoyed so much. Regardless of any opinion about the administration’s sanity or competency, this was set up months ago. I also feel that a coach who did not want to be distracted before the season so that he could prepare his staff and team certainly would not want to to add to the load of week to week game prep w/ contract talk.

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  • Carl P said:

    Folks, we go through this every year. Please remember that it is ALL good for Texas Tech.

    First lets consider Mike Leach. Recruiting is enhanced every time he is on the top of every open coaching position in the country and then decides to stay at Texas Tech. He has been elevated to God status at Tech and can weather a few rebuilding years. Other universities wouldnt stand for an 7-6 season allowing a coach to rebuild. Tech fans will and I think Leach realizes that when he turned down places like Miami and the New Orleans Saints. I think that Leach realizes that he can be the next Bear Bryant at Texas Tech.

    Now Gerald Meyers. I was a student at Texas Tech when Meyers Coached the basketball team. He was elevated to God status in Lubbock when he won the SWC tournaments when no one gave us a chance. There is no greater fan of Texas Tech than Gerald Meyers. He played here, he coached here and will do what it takes to keep Leach here.

    I hope that Mike Leach comes out of this negotiation as the head coach at Texas Tech for the next ten years and the highest paid coach in the NCAA. This should end the image of Texas Tech being a “stepping stone” university. Imagine the wild times we will have it comes to fruition. Love ya Leach, Love ya Meyers. Keep up the good work!

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  • devin everett said:

    read the article!!!!!!!!!

    leach wants to stay in lubbock., this is leverage and getting an idea of what his market value is……TECH needs to reward leach with his market value and bonuses…….myers better make a great offer because he dug his own grave by waiting, now step up and pay the man and put this to bed…….myers we have great recruiting opportunities NOW!!!!!! pay him and fix this issue…..MONEY IS NOT AN ISSUE FOR TECH……..FIND IT

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  • Jay said:

    Hopefully, Leach is just out running around trying to establish his worth. I would hate to see him leave Tech. Football in Lubbock has never been this exciting and fun to watch, and I believe the best is yet to come!!
    On to another subject…… I’ve missed not hearing from number 27’s Dad since the last game. Does anyone know that he’s ok. Come on Britton Sr. speak up……we need your words of wisdom.

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  • TallMike said:

    Thank you Don Williams for the best perspective I have read in many months about Mike Leach’s contract negotiations and outside offers.

    It is typical Mike Leach. He focuses only on football…and most of that focus is the offense. He has done his due diligence on the people whom he hires and gives them room to succeed. His DC’s have always had lots of room to make decisions and it is clear that his business agent does as well.

    At some point the agent will get to an agreement with the administration and Mike Leach with either accept it or take another offer…one which he will believe is much better for him. He is on record in the past asking only to be paid his value…who wouldn’t.

    I cannot accept the hatred already being exhibited by posters who have little but a keyboard in this hunt. I am 100% behind the AD and the Chancellor, they are working with what they have. If they fail, it does reflect on their abilities as people who can develop sources of finances for TTU. Additionally, they do deserve consideration that, like anyone, there always a limit to what can be done in any financial situation. I do give them credit for their current success…TTU’s facilities are great and improving. That has to be a difficult task in a public institution, the money strings go all the way to the State Legislature and after that the ability to talk someone else out of his/her hard earned money…

    I hope Mike Leach is head coach next season and for many afterwards. If he is back next season and has a good year, we will get another round of where will Mike coach next year. It comes with the territory. (perhaps all the threats and whining does as well…lol ! )

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  • bill214 said:

    Well said Carl!!! I totally agree. Leach stays here and we will be at or near the top year after year. I’m not so sure they will be rebuilding next year. Taylor Potts was highly recruited and based on past history, Leach can reload pretty quick.
    I’m pretty sure Leach is a smart guy and doesn’t want to make the mistake that Rich Rodriguez @ Michigan made, or Ty Willingham made when he had a sweetheart deal and was winning at stanford.
    Those guys are getting pummelled in the papers & in the media on a daily basis now because when your the new coach on the block with no track record @ that particular school, your expectations are sky high with a big fat contract,a new alumni and fan base.
    I think Auburn firing Tubberville is a red flag to leach. All that guy has done @ Auburn is win for 9 out of 10 years with i think around 85% winning percentage on his watch. 1 undefeated season. With 1 down year this year and he is gone. Those are unreal expectations from alumni & fanbase. I dont think Leach would want any part of that scenario.

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  • Eric in New Mexico said:

    I agree about the Seattle weather. The first thing I learned there was to take an umbrella every time I left the house because it does rain a lot. And Husky Stadium is right next to the water (some people come to the games by boat). Imagine trying to play in that with the wind and rain blowing over you (probably not good for the spread offense). But the weirdest thing about Seattle happens during the summer. Thousands of people at the beaches but not a single person in the water. It would be like taking a bath in ice water.

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  • Dawgfather 2 - The Pirate said:

    You folks in Lubbock have no idea what Seattle is like. It rains maybe once per year during a football game. Why would Leach want to live in Lubbock, when he can move to a top class city, get his daughter into a world renowned medical school, and wake up a sleeping giant.

    If Jake Locker isn’t hurt early in the year, we’re not 0-12 and you’re much more worried about losing Leach. Don’t be surprised when he comes here…oh wait, he is coming in for a 2nd interview today!!!!!!!!!

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  • adkim said:

    Anyone bashing Myers is a complete idiot. The hiring of Leach, Knight, and Spence proves he is one of the better AD’s in the country. Even if Leach does leave, I trust Myers would find another gem.

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  • husky greg said:

    You guys talking smack about Seattle are delusional. Cody Pickett had 4000 yards passing a few years ago in this weather. Also, have you heard of Warren Moon, Mark Brunell, Damon Huard, Chris Chandler…. Didn’t seem to impact them any. It’s not as big of a factor as you’re making it to be. There was rain at one home game this year.

    “So much rain and dreary weather”, yet one of the most desirable places to live in the US. Hmmm…. I love it.

    Looking forward to seeing Leach in purple & gold!

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  • Seattle said:

    Just want to clear something up. Look up the weather at each of Washington’s home games this year. I was at every one, and each day was clear and gorgeous … no rain in sight. Those who think his offense wouldn’t work here are kidding themselves. Curious how I know that? Just look at how many opposing teams came in to Husky Stadium this year and threw for 400 yards on us!! Hence why we need a new coach!

    I’m not hear to say that Leach is coming here or staying there. Obviously we’d love to have him here, but he’s well rooted in Lubbock after so many great years. Regardless of the outcome, best of luck to TTU in the future!

    And hopefully my “Seasacks” can draft Crabtree!

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  • Patman said:

    Hey Pirate of The South Plains, ever been to Seattle? Fall is a beautfiul time of the year here. Ever heard of Warren Moon; Mark Brunell; Chris Chandler: Steve Pelluer; or Hugh Millen? All of them NFL quarterbacks who played at Washington. I’d love to see what Leach could do with current QB Jake Locker and all those young receivers. Sure they are 0-11. Just wait…

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  • Matt Norling said:

    Hey Eric from New Mexico… Do you know how much it rained this year during Husky football? The answer is 5 minutes during one game. I went to every game, got sunburned twice, and never had to put on my rain gear the entire season.

    P.S. The reason nobody swims in Puget Sound is that the Pacific Ocean north of, say, southern California is too cold. Most of the beaches are rocky. It’s not exactly a tropical paradise. So how are the beaches in Lubbock, then?

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  • James said:

    ESPN is reporting and redraidersports.com that Mike Leach has withdrawn his name from UW. that could be a good thing.

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  • Scott TTU said:

    Matt Norling..the beaches in Lubbock are just fine…a little sandy though…

    Our lakes are beautiful out there…people need to give Lubbock a chance. It is not as bad as most people think it is. The High Plains of Texas is a diamond in the rough.

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  • Stu D Baker said:

    Everyone needs to get off Gerald’s and Kent’s backs. Each of these guys have long roots with the university and bleed Red & Black. I’ll take then any day over someone who is just looking for the highest paying job around. These guys will be there in the foxhole with you good times and bad. Besides, when has TT ever before enjoyed the success in athletics that it has had under their tutelage. As stated before, who was the AD that hired Leach and Bob Knight in the first place?

    None of us know at this point whether Leach will stay at Tech or leave, so let’s not overreact like the news media so often does and give this a chance to play out.

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  • Raider Fan said:

    I agree with Stu. The program has enjoyed unparalleled success in nearly every sport. When you think of the hires of Leach, Knight, and Spense, don’t forget Wes Kittley, Pat Knight and Kristy Curry. Kittley has been AWESOME for the track program, Pat has been unexpectedly good this season (with Tech picked to finish 11th in the Big 12) by his wins so far and the recruiting coups for next season, and Kristy Curry was a complete STEAL from Purdue.

    I know there are people out there who want to jump off the gang plank because head pirate pulls out the telescope every once in a while to see the other ships in the sea. However, the program has been excellent and will continue to be regardless of what happens with Leach.

    BTW, for all you guys ready to turn in your season tickets, where are your seats? I may want an available upgrade!

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  • Sharky said:

    It was Myers that fought for Leach’s hiring while the regents offered the job to another coach. We were lucky Leach was still available in the first place.

    But I definitely agree that we should have had a contract extension solidified mid-season at the latest. I just hope that the administration’s delay does not factor into Leach’s decision when our offer is tendered.

    CAPTAIN MIKE all of us buckaroos around the state hope your still sailing the ship for years to come!!!!

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  • devin everett said:

    HEY DAWG FANS WHERE YOU AT?

    3 coaches 3 no s

    tells me if is the school is not all you say it is!!!!!!!

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  • Houston Raider said:

    I acknowledge and am very pleased with the current state of success within the Tech athletic program. But it does make me wonder how in the world the budget has been in the red 2 out of the last 3 years???
    And from a financial standpoint, if you wanted to do everything possible to keep Leach, would it have been better to have worked out an agreement before the season started or now?

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  • 86 Grad said:

    Maybe Myers is talking to Tommy Tubberville!

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  • GunsUP@TTU said:

    Hey Matt,

    The beaches in Lubbock are abundant!! We don’t have any ocean, but we’ve got lots of beaches!!

    Wreck ‘em!! TTU’85

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  • There in 76 said:

    Carl ……. I agree there is no greater and loyal fan of TT than Gerald Myers. There are a lot of us that were students when Myers was the coach :-). He coached a long time. But…remember back in those days the SWC was not a national power in basketball. Periodically we would make it to the NCAA’s and get knocked out first round. I don’t question his loyalty to the school….but…..if we are only looking to be a little better than average every year then let’s let Leach go. In my humble opinion I think Leach can take us farther than being a middle of the pack team. He has come the closest to being able to compete for a national championship. I sure want to see what he can do.

    As far as Myers…he does get credit for taking a chance on MIke Leach when nobody else would. It was a brilliant move to bring in Bob Knight. I don’t live in Lubbock and it sure disappointed me to see so few people in the stands at the basketball game last night. I watched it on TV and it looked about a 1/3 full. I hope coach Curry turns around the women’s BB program….the jury is still out on that hire. The track team is better than it has ever been & hopefully we will see the baseball team return to past glory.

    I think we all want what is best for the University….I’m just concerned the administration didn’t move quick enough. According to the information I found Leach is the 7th highest paid coach in the Big 12. Behind the obvious Stoops & Mack Brown…but also Gary Pinkel, Mark Mangino, Mike Sherman & Art Briles.

    Hopefully this will all work out.

    Guns Up!!

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  • Pirate of the Plains said:

    Patman and Seattle, Yes I lived in Seattle in the early 90’s. Pretty and yes the fall and summers are great. I would say the clear days on a Saturday were unusual this year. As for curreny QB’s , the cream of the crop this year are the Texas , Tech, Mizzou, and Kansas QB’s all from Texas. If you have to go back and note Warren Moon that was like 3 decades ago. Peuller was horrible down here in a Cowboy uniform, as was Leaf (wsu).
    Now that Leach has withdrawn, I wish the Huskies the best in putting it to USC. I miss Mt Ranier, the troll under the bridge, the ferry trips across the Sound, and the San Juan Islands.
    Basking on another exciting swashbuckling season! Pirate of the Plains.

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  • Alek said:

    Im pretty sure Leach Will Stay.. He doesnt want to leave. Even tho Everyone will that wants him will give him there piggy bank im positive he will stay. He loves Lubbock, His Family Loves Lubbock. Leach knows Texas Tech is the only place for him to be a pirate!
    After this season hes going to have 2 more 10+ Win seasons then when He gets another replica Micheal Crab and Graham there going for it all.

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  • Chuck said:

    BUILD BABY BUILD!!!

    Do you want to cheer for a team that can win big in the BCS, bring in the top recruits and keep the top coaches? Then we need to build and get all of the screaming butts we can into the Jones.

    We’ll never challenge Texas or OU until we get 70,000 to watch a game in Lubbock, end of story! Heck Washington can seat 72,000. I’m all for the luxury boxes and it’s the right move but what if we expanded the north bleachers toward raider vision?

    I’ve been a Raider fan for a long time and it’s the fan base that makes a program rock. If we build it then great things will come.

    Guns Up! TTU’05

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  • real bob said:

    Even Jerry Jones knows the art of allowing some of his players to “test the mkt” once in awhile. And then he signs em for big bucks, but not nasty over the mkt type bucks, ya know? I think Coach Leach is just playin us again (not that I wouldn’t either). Remember sports fans!! We’re dealin with a freakin pirate here!! What do ya expect!? The man is gonna get what he can get. I guess I’m touched he may really wanta stay in Lubbock. However, I want a program that doesn’t need another 70 yrs to achieve 10 and 0. We are almost there and I feel it’s for two reasons: Ruffin McNeil bein a real McNasty on defense and somebody acutally figured out how to coach our offensive line to run block. Now if we could only get 40 yds a game rushing out of our QB it just might change everything! If Coach Leach hangs with us hopefully he will continue to evolve in these directions. I think it’s looking good!

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  • dano 1998 said:

    God Bless Gerald Myers! He has hung with us even when he was tired of it all. But because of his love for his university he has persevered thru it all. He has been a calm in the storm as Red Raider Land has definitely had a few growin’ pains these last few years. Maybe ole coach Gerald is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but then again maybe HE IS!

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  • Brian said:

    Amazing all the armchair ADs in this discussion. You’re all ignorant wannabes! As a graduate in 1993 now living in the Pacific NW, I wouldn’t blame Leach at all if he left. Lubbock sucks royally and I couldn’t wait to get out of there! Lubbock is still a very racially divided town that’s got to be one of the last dry cities in the nation. I grew up in Lubbock and grew to hate the town – there’s nothing to attract anyone there much less a 4 or 5 star recruit.

    Regardless of how good Leach is, he will never be able to out recruit UT, OU or LSU in the state. I was actually disappointed he withdrew from consideration for the UW job.

    It will be interesting to hear the rest of you morons call for Leach’s head in 2-3 years when Tech slides back down into the middle of the pack. You’ll conveniently forget all the BS you sent in on this thread.

    Lubbock sucks, Tech is a second-tier athletic school, and thank God I got out when I did!

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  • devin everett said:

    we’re glad your gone, interesting your on a TECH WEBSITE, YOU BIG DUMMY!!!!!!!!! stay where you are and we will appreciate it.

    tech beat everyone in texas!!!!!!
    you are a traitor at best , if you would put down your own school and home town////////stay in the nw, good place for you……..

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  • KWFINN said:

    Thank you Channel 11 for the breaking story and showing all alumni the truth!!!!!!!!

    Myers has been out of touch for some time and has nothing to do with his past efforts. To demonstrate such short-sightedness, and complete inability to negotiate shows his age in my opinion. (the lack of communication between Leach and Myers is inexcusable) Myers can barely complete a legible sentence during press conferences. Maybe we need a new progressive AD that is up with the times and not resting on his 70’s and early 80’s laurels. For an AD to tell a coaches agent, “sure, let him go elsewhere” after everything he has done for our school over the last 8 years, reeks of the same mistake Hawaii made with June Jones. Old school AD’s like Myers need to be gone before they do more damage that set’s our school back to the likes of A&M!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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