Tech coordinators: One in place, another on deck
Tommy Tuberville’s plan for the closely watched Texas Tech offense is starting to be revealed.
Tech’s new head coach on Tuesday hired Troy offensive coordinator Neal Brown to run the Red Raiders’ offense. Brown, who turns 30 on March 11, has been the youngest coordinator in the Football Bowl Subdivision the last two years.
But longtime Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said age shouldn’t be held against him, considering Brown’s bunch finished third in the nation in total offense this season and the Trojans went 9-4.
“Neal is probably one of the best young football coaches in America,’’ Blakeney said. “He’s done a great job, not only game planning, but coaching the quarterbacks and setting up practice and calling the games.’’
Tommy Tuberville on Tuesday hired Troy offensive coordinator Neal Brown to run the Red Raiders' offense. (Provided By Troy University Texas Tech coach)
Brown’s hiring came early Tuesday morning, and about 12 hours later Tuberville appeared close to getting his top defensive aide in place. James Willis, the associate head coach and linebackers coach for national champion Alabama, traveled to Lubbock on Tuesday evening and appeared likely to be hired as Tech’s defensive coordinator.
“He’s someone coach Tuberville has a lot of respect for,’’ Tech athletic director Gerald Myers said. “He has a lot of confidence in James. They’ve worked together at Auburn, and (Tuberville) knows what he can do, and I think he feels James can do a good job for him.’’
Myers said Willis, 37, and his wife, Shalane, were “on an official visit’’ after they arrived around 7 p.m.
“I think they wanted to look at the school and the city,’’ Myers said. “But I’m pretty sure they’ll talk about (the job) on the trip out here.’’
Tuberville was not available for comment on Monday and Tuesday, a Tech spokesman said.
If Willis does, in fact, get hired, Tuberville will have looked to his own backyard for his two most important staff decisions. Willis spent two three-year stints on Tuberville staffs at Auburn. Troy is only about 1½ hours from Auburn, where Tuberville spent 10 years as head coach.
Brown said he did not want to discuss his hiring before Tech announced it, and Tech had not done so late Tuesday. Brown, a Kentucky native, was a college wide receiver for three seasons at Kentucky and two at Massachusetts. His first year at Kentucky, 1998, was former Tech coach Mike Leach’s last year on the Wildcats’ offensive staff.
Brown has been at Troy for four seasons. When Tuberville hired another Troy assistant, Tony Franklin, to be his offensive coordinator at Auburn in 2008, Blakeney said he had no hesitation about promoting Brown.
“He’s sort of like maybe a gym rat as far as the coaching profession,’’ Blakeney said. “He comes to work early and stays late. He is a driven guy as far as preparation. He’s a great fundamental coach, and he works at it very hard.’’
Troy, which plays in the Sun Belt Conference, averaged 485.7 yards per game, including 336.5 through the air to rank fourth nationally in passing offense. Comparing Tech to Troy, the Red Raiders averaged 76 plays per game and 37 points, the Trojans 75 plays and 33.7 points. Tech’s ratio of pass plays to designed runs was 70 percent to 30 percent; Troy’s was 57 percent pass to 43 percent run.
Blakeney said the Trojans’ offense has evolved and changed somewhat, but he still traces its roots to what Hal Mumme and Leach coached at Kentucky. He said the Trojans’ no-huddle spread offense “is not a lot different’’ from what Tech ran under Leach.
“They split their line a little bit wider than we do,’’ Blakeney said, “and get some great one-on-one type opportunities and also create throwing lanes by doing that. We did a little bit of that. Our splits up front are a little bit tighter.’’
As for the Trojans’ running the ball a higher percentage of the time, Blakeney said, “We’re not above just handing it off if we can run up and down the field. We set up the run with the pass is the way I’d put it.’’
The 2009 season was Willis’ first with Alabama. The Crimson Tide finished second in the nation in rushing defense, pass efficiency defense, total defense and scoring defense. They beat Texas 37-21 Thursday in the BCS national title game.
Willis, who had a seven-year pro career with the Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks, has spent six years on Tuberville staffs. He began as a student assistant and graduate assistant from 2001 through 2003 and returned as a linebackers coach from 2006 through 2008, all during Tuberville’s decade-long run at Auburn.
The Tigers’ defensive coordinators Willis worked under included Gene Chizik, Will Muschamp and Paul Rhoads.
In between the Auburn stints, Willis was a linebackers coach at Rhode Island and Temple.
He joined the Alabama staff last January.
On Willis’ Alabama biography, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban is quoted as saying, “James has everything you would want in terms of finding an outstanding coach and an outstanding recruiter with a lot of enthusiasm and intensity.’’
Willis grew up in Alabama, was a Parade Magazine all-American as a high school player and was a three-year starter at linebacker for Auburn from 1990 through 1992.
To comment on this story:
don.williams@lubbockonline.com l 766-8734
courtney.linehan@lubbockonline.com l 766-8735
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Gerald, we can’t blame Tubberville because as head coach he should have authority to select his team. You, however, let the University, the Coaches, the team and the fans down by selecting an outsider to the Air Raid Offense. He duped you into believing he would keep the majority of our coaches and you bought it.
Please resign !!
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We will still score lots of points! Good hire Tuberville! However, I do agree with the post above…..off with Myers head! Wreck ‘em!
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Here we go. OC is in. James Willis (DC) shouldn’t be too far behind. All other Asst. Coaches will cascade from here.
This outta prove that most of “Air Raid” will remain intact. With some tweaks of course. However you all should be more excited about having a less pourous defense. Nothing against Ruff, and everything he was able to accomplish, increasing our defensive numbers the last 2 years, however we still gave up too many points in many cases that cost us (Tech) games.
“Consistency is the key.” Tommy T
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So much for continuity…
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Hey Tommy T,
Can you send me Neal’s contact information? I’ve got a few things I would like to discuss with him.
I’ll go gas up the chopper..
CJ
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Wouldn’t it make more sense to keep the person who knows our offense the most? Lincoln Riley? He was around it for a long time but I guess TT wanted to go in a different direction. This guy’s resume shows he likes to throw but runs more, a very explosive offense. We should run more, anyways.
Now let’s see who he gets as a DC… that’s the position I’m really going to watch out for. It will be intersting because Tech use to attract really talented defensive players and if we keep getting good d-linemen and finally get two good linebackers we should really be better.
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Looks like Mike Leach will have a full compliment of assistant coaches if he lands another job. Hope it is not in the Big 12 as I would hate for him to come back to “James” Stadium as head coach of another team. Myers, Bailey and Hance should resign, so we can get on with building a Texas Tech University that we can be proud of, rather than having one filled with good ole boys.
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Who was on the schedule for that powerhouse Troy offense??? Not quite the same as the Big 12. I’m willing to keep an open mind and hope for the best, but with changes such as this, I don’t believe there will be much patience for failure.
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You guys who are glooming and dooming, just hang on. The word is Riley stays along with the Offensive line coach so just chill a bit, and the upgrade is D will be great if we also wind up with Willis from Bama which it looks like we are going to as well..
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I haven’t kept up with this too much, but i think I like the hire of the Troy coach. Like it or not this is no longer Leach’s team, we are now Team Tubbs. It makes no sence for him to keep Leach’s staff, no matter what they have done in the past. That’s how coaching works: new head cocach equals new staff.
Don’t get me wrong here, I DO think the firing of Leach was wrong!!!
That being said, who all is up for th DC job?
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What about Ruff? and LB coach Williams?
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Too many experts in these blogs second guessing every move made !
Tech’s best team in a decade lost 65-21 to Oklahoma. They beat some really bad teams and won ONE big game in the last seconds- Texas.
Leach wasnt that hard to replace.
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This is a good hire IF Riley stays.
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Do not use TEAM TUBBS! The support for Tech should be with the Red Raiders! Not a coach.
TEAM LEACH is not about the man “Leach” it’s about the situation at Tech and how he was fired. For you simple people think of it as TEAM TRUTH. Got it? It’s not a drive for Leach its all about Tech!
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It overall looks fairly similar to ours. I just dont think you can compare with the Captain’s offense. It’s a totally different animal then “the spread”.
Troy –
973 plays
6314 total yards
55 TD’s
485.69 yards per game
Tech -
988 plays
6120 total yards
64 TD’s
470.77 yards per game
Passing yards
Tech- 386.8
Troy – 336.5
Rushing yards
Tech – 84.8
Troy – 149.2
Points per game -
Tech – 37.0
Troy – 33.7
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Ive heard conflicting story so far about Riley,did a hellof a job under extreme circumstances at the Alamo bowl as did Ruff, I do not understand this hire, why go outside whenyou have someone allready here that can do the job, knows the system and the players and also recruited the players coming in, does not make sense to me taking into consideration all that has happened and loose continuity also, if he stays, Riley, it will be a demotion from where he would be if he was a o.c.,well see how this flts in time.
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Question: Did we already lose one of our 4-star D-lineman recruits to OU? He had committed to us then OU signed him. I hope I am wrong, but ESPN took him off our boards. OU has been doing this to tech for 35 years. Can TT put a stop to this? Where is he going to find enough LB to run a 3-4 if we don’t get VJ Feheko?
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This “worry wart” mentality by Team Leach is warranted. New coach, new scheme….yada, yada, yada
Keep the faith Raider Nation. Tommy T will do what’s right for Tech and the program. We will win games!!!
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Tuberville is basically turning the program into an SEC environment. Look at where the coaches are coming from. Probably the best thing that could happen. A mid-level SEC team stomped Tech in the Cotton Bowl.
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Everything is going to be ok, I think this is a good pick!
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Goodbye Air Raid. It was fun while it lasted. The salesman has spoken.
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I don’t care what offense they run, as long as we have a great defense and win. Get over it, Leach lovers.
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no, he siad if ruff stayed he’d come to tech, never committed. we’ve lost out on a db porter in all likelyhood, however. we’ll see… i figure him for osu or ou.
gunz up…
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Good hire……………I heard they are retaining Lincoln Riley, which both him and Neal are very young and should bring of some good offense to Tech for a long time. I’m OK with some tweaks to the current offense, but he’d better improve the defensive side of the ball if this happens. We relied heavily on the “Air Raid” offense because we normally didn’t have a defense that could win us games (with the exception of last year and some games this year). My biggest concern is whether we have the talent to run his defense and be successfull.
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Tech, thanks for participating in the 2010 Big 12 South, no bowl for you’ll this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I guess Tony Franklin wasn’t available…Oh yeah, that’s right…
Maybe Brown got a SIX game contract from Tommy…
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hey dumb BOOSTER 32, it was all about building a program…….yeah our best team ever still got killed by OU but that was one of the best OU teams of all time……we had our best recruiting class ever coming in……leach was building on 10 years of work…..the team was always exciting to watch…….honestly, tech isnt winning national championships….its not what we do….its not gonna happen…..but for the last 10 years we were the most exciting team in college football………that went out the door with leach………and John, yeah we still need to get Feheko, hopefullly Sam convinces him things aren’t as messed up as it seems from the outside
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eloren, when tech found out ehy were going cotton, crabtree said,”we don’t feel like cotton.” anyone could have beaten them after the ou loss… let’s not make the sec anything more than what they are. the NC game revolves around the sec and the big 12 w/ usc taking a hit for cheating. that’s why their coach is leaving, no matter what the cheat says! hear that recruits, big 12 or sec/perhaps big 10, that’s all. tcu and boise will never play in a NC game, write it down in stone. should that happen, they’ll be thoroughly stomped!!! sorry frogs, you play NOBODY!!! therefore NOBODY gives you ANY respect… just the way it is…
WRECK’EM!!!
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LEACH IS GONE!!!!!!! GET OVER IT!!!!!! I hated to see Leach get fired too, but if you asked all the players if they liked Leach the majority of them would say no.
I think were are going to finally get over to the hump with TT because he brings defense which something we haven’t had under Leach. Leach never cared about the defense. He had a bend but don’t break attitude. He wanted the defense to force FGs instead of TDs so he could get his offense back on the field. TT is going to stop the other team from scoring. Period.
The Troy OC runs a form of Hal Mumme’s (Mike Leach’s) spread offense.
Get behind this team and the players. We are not going to get any recruits if everyone keeps talking all of this *%$# about the university.
GO TECH!!! WRECK’EM!!!!
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FUBEVO… see ya in lubbock!!!
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Maybe all the pirate regalia can be incinerated at the Save Leach rally to keep the protesters warm.
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the d recruits were recruited by ruff and mitchell. If they both go I would expect most of the d recruits to follow. None of them know TT or the person he may or may not bring in as DC. TTU cant afford to loose these d recruits considering that the DEF has lost 7 players this year. It is not a good thing to not keep the coaches that brought in these recruits. as a mom I know
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I don’t have a problem with Tuberville bringing in whoever he wants. He will be accountable for the results, so he should get to have the staff of his choosing. I just don’t want to start hearing from all of you lining up to kiss his backside that he needs time and how it will take time to reshape the team in his style. BS. We have the talent to win next year, and that’s what I expect. If he is not committed to winning immediately, then he shouldn’t have taken the job. He didn’t take over a 4-8 program. He took over a 9-4 team returning many of its most significant players, with a great redshirt cla$$, and a great recruiting cla$$ to boot. The schedule is easier this year as well.
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Fourth in the country in passing offense. That doesn’t sound like a grind it out scheme to me. Granted, the opposition was not great, but the talent at Troy is not as good as the talent at Tech either. Brown and Riley should be a good combination and should be able to keep the pass-happy offense rolling along with some additional rushing plays. Remember, we ran the ball more in 2008 than ever before and were 11-2.
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dont burn your pierat t-shirts folks, donate them to UNICEF for distribution to a third world country. save the earth, walk, carpool or ride the bus.
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This just get better and better. I was wondering how I was going to spend my time between now and late August. Each day brings new and exciting information. I am really excited about Tuberville. I was getting really tired of Leach. Enough of the rumpled clothes. Enough of this pirate nonsense. Listen, people, this wasn’t holding up outside Lubbock, and there are thousands of us alums around the world, and we think this is the way to go.
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The other Troy Offensive coordinator he hired at Auburn…the guy doesn’t learn from his mistakes…
Tuberville, whose background is as a defensive coach, had staunchly defended the spread offense a day earlier.
“This is what we’re going run,” he said Tuesday without mentioning Franklin. “We’re going to run it, we’re going to keep running it and we’re going to get better at it. Sometimes people will say, ’Why don’t you go back to doing what you did?’ Well, if you do that, then you are asking for major disaster.”
Tuberville hired Franklin from Troy last December after firing Al Borges, who has not landed another coaching job. Franklin led the offense in the Chick-fil-A Bowl – a victory over Clemson that heightened anticipation over the new offense – as well as the first six games this season.
But the Tigers have had troubles across the board. They rank 103rd nationally in passing offense, 105th in pass efficiency and 111th in red zone offense. They even started the Vandy game with 14 straight runs before reverting to the spread with modest results, leaving some players to express confusion over the strategy.
Franklin spent four seasons at Kentucky, serving as offensive coordinator and receivers coach during the 2000 season for an offense that finished second in the country in passing.
His hiring led to plenty of excitement among Auburn fans, and Franklin also signed Todd, who had committed to play for him at Troy. The Trojans led the nation in offensive snaps in his fast-tempo, no-huddle attack. They averaged 453 yards a game, seventh-best nationally. The tempo had never reached that pace this season.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2008/10/08/2008-10-08_auburn_tigers_fire_offensive_coordinator.html#ixzz0cQGpdHSJ
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I’m keeping the pirate swag because it is part of our journey. Several teams have a diverse assortment of symbols.
I love Leach, but we are definitely headed in the right direction.
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I have given ground on this at every turn because I am a Red Raider. If Lincoln Riley isn’t even offered a position then Tubberville has misinformed or perhaps even lied to us, we’ve had a gut full of that already and it’s time for some straight shooting . I think he will keep Lincoln on though.
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most don’t understand that a recruit doesn’t sign just because of the school. They sign because of the feel they get from the coaches and the program. With new coaches they have no feel for, they will go find somewhere else to feel good from one of the other schools where they know the coaches. Tuberville can hire whomever he wants but there’s a good chance your TOP 25 recruiting class is gone because of it.
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I love Coach Ruffin. Is it dead certain he will not be reatined in some capacity?
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john 2 :
I certainly hope so and mitchell for the recruiting class sake.
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Who is to say that Ruffin and Lincoln won’t leave when Leach gets a job elsewhere. Than TT will have to start all over.
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FYI to Meyers, with all these new hirings don’t forget to find a good baby-sitter to keep Adam happy. Wouldn’t look good for Craig to get upset and have Tommy T fired before his first game.
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Tuberville is already showing he knows what he’s doing – you don’t go 13-0 in the SEC unless you are one of the best. He’s weeding out the deadwood on the coaching staff – Leach’s boys – and bringing in people who know how to win.
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Looking forward to the return of the I-formation. See ya later Riley!
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If anyone believes the OC will change his system and adopt the air raid, your nuts. A new OC will implement his terminology, plays, progression and audibles which will be different from what the team currently knows. You can bet your bottom dollar, the offensive rhythm of this team will step backwards. It will take 1/2 a season, at best, to get comfortable to the point the players react instinctively vs thinking of what they should do. It will slow down the offense-guaranteed. Tech will not be as exciting next year or in the future as the o-system gradually evolves to a balanced scheme. Coach R and M will have to adapt to the new guys ways. The air raid will lose altitude from the get-go.
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Everyone that is down on Tommy needs to realize that he is a fantastic hire! I trust him entirely. I love Leach, but now that he is gone, I fully support TT. I do not think that Lincoln Riley would be a great OC. Calling one game is different than calling an entire season–remember that we were playing a sub-par Big Ten team in the Alamo. I, like many others, am not familiar with our new OC from Troy. However, I trust TT. He has a proven track record. The pundits that always jump to the fact that his record over 10 years is only slightly better than Leach’s record fail to understand that Auburn actually won their conference championship. As much as I love Leach, he never reached that milestone. We need a stronger defense, and TT brings that to Tech. He also brings class–something that cannot necessarily be said about Leach. I am excited to see who will be the DC and am ready to see how the team responds. As we can see from eveything that happened in the last year, several members of the team were not with Leach. They better jump aboard with TT because he will take us to the next level.
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“dont burn your piratet-shirts folks, donate them to UNICEF for distribution to a third world country. save the earth, walk, carpool or ride the bus. ”
Probably do well in Somalia
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Mike Leach is gone. He’s not coming back. He never had a solid defense. He never won a Big 12 Championship. He never even played in the Big 12 Championship. I don’t understand the argument that Leach was the greatest coach in the history of college football. Yeah, he knows how to run an offense that can put up big numbers but that doesn’t matter when your defense is terrible. Congrats to Tuberville! He’ll bring something to Tech that Tech has never had… a solid defense.
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Lincoln will be retained and so will the qb coach. Well will be good next year
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Makes no sense at all to not stick with Lincoln for this job. If we don’t go 8 wins or better next year this guy and is hires will look like a HUGE mistake. I hope I’m wrong.
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As I told you Sunday, Tuberville will probably bring his old cronies with him, which is happening. Look for Emsfiner, Dunn,
Price, Willis and others on the old staff to appear. I just don’t believe this staff will support your new off coordinator because they are from the old school of offense, ie or play defense and then run the ball. Willis was a good linebacker coach and recruiter but as DC remains to be seen if he can handle that.
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I was listening to the radio… 104.3 Double T….. and they said that Riley and Matt Moore will be retained in the offense. I am happy with this news. Riley will be able to help this Coordinator deal with Big XII teams and adjusting his scheme to be able to beat Big XII teams. I along with a bunch of yall here wish that Riley would have got the job, but be happy that he atleast has a job under Tubberville.
Most of our offensive recruits, Riley recruited, so this may be a blessing. Him not being fired that is. Hopefully we can retain all of the recruits that have oral commitments. I think the biggest recruit we need to aim for is Scotty Young who is being recruited by Notre Dame amungst other schools. Lets just hope we can keep them all.
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It’s a start, let’s reserve judgement until this time next year. The past is past. Move on.
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Looks like everyone is convinced that 8 or 9 wins is enough. NOT ME. I want more. People are saying we are going back to the days of mediocrity with Tuberville but tell me… Outside of the 2008 season (which, in my opinion, ended much worse than mediocre), weren’t we pretty mediocre? I’d be more than happy to trade leading the nation in passing yards for a few extra wins each year. If Tuberville can provide these wins than I support him. I’m not saying I didn’t like Leach and I do think he was wrongly accused so Myers and Hance should go but come on guys lets support our football team. These kids have been though a lot and they deserve the support of the fans (with the obvious exception of Adam James)!
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Gerald Myers wasn’t duped. He knew from the git go. They discussed it at Tuberville’s “interview”.
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Let’s see now, Troy scored 6 points in a 6-56 loss to Florida (SEC), and scored 20 points in a 20-56 loss to Arkansas (SEC). They also lost to Bowling Green (Who?) 14-31. I think that’s enough.
Hopefully, Tech’s offensive talent will be an improvement. We’ll see.
I agree with the Former Tech Athlete’s comment about a learning curve with the new system.
Having said that, I will still and always be a Tech Alum and supporter. But ,still waiting on the season ticket pricing to determine my renewal.
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It’s a start, let’s reserve judgement until this time next year. The past is past. Move on.
Yes, but crimes need to be addressed and the cancer dealt with. As to judgement on Tubs, okay next year in December when we are out of a bowl I’ll be back to talk tubiville…Hopefully TEAM LEACH will have accomplished it’s mission by then.
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Any fan that doesn’t like the new co-ordinators can call a regent & see how far THEY get. … hehe.
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TO THOSE FEW WHO SAY LEACH WASN’T ALL THAT GREAT, LEACH LOST TO OKLAHOMA, LEACH NEVER HAD THAT GREAT OF A DEFENSE, LEACH BLAH BLAH BLAH…
You forget that Leach always got leftovers. Top talent wanted to go to UT or Oklahoma.
BUT AFTER OUR 2008 SEASON AND AFTER ALL THE HIGH SCHOOL KIDS SAW CRABTREE GO AS A TOP NFL PICK…
We started having talent roll in from all over the nation. Tech was getting, not only top wideout talent but top defensive talent. We were a program on the move, until MYERS HANCE BAILEY SOWELL decided they wanted to sink a good-thing-becoming-great
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Did this guy play for Leach at Kentucky? (my apology if that has already been asked).
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When we had a “defensive” coach that liked to run the ball (Spike), Tech went 6-5 every stinkin’ year. Those days are back.
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Depressing. I was expecting a new OC from the outside, but I thought he’d have some connection to the system Tech has been using. Sounds like a start-from-scratch season coming up. As for Myers – I wouldn’t believe anything the man says. Don’t believe LR will get to stay based on his feedback of AJ.
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And Neal Brown is another Tony Franklin guy, a Franklin protege.
This proves that Tubberville loves the crap Tony Franklin system, since he’s going with it again, and not the proven Air-Raid system.
Tubberville couldn’t even pull off a spread attack with the Tony Franklin system when they had Chris Todd. And Todd was a former Red Raider QB who nearly beat out Graham Harrell for the TTU starting position!
But, with him hiring Neal Brown, it looks like Tubberville is still stubborn that the Franklin system is better than what Leach has mastered.
We’re going to be terrible
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My quick research shows that he was at Kentucky (as a receiver) when Leach was O.C. Why is that not in the story?
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When we had a “defensive” coach that liked to run the ball (Spike), Tech went 6-5 every stinkin’ year. Those days are back.
Agreed…….. Spike Dykes was an at best “Decent” coach, and not it looks like the administration is ready for another mediocre run at it. With Leach we had a fighting chance….Especially next season and the five to come……… at getting to a BCS bowl or more. Now we are going to have to start over, and maybe in 5 years we will be a good team again.
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If you people would look, the offense that Brown run is exactly what Tony franklin Run, which was founded by Leach, Mummy, and Franklin at Kentucky. They even call routes, and formations the same, and even use the same signals. Is the exact same offense. The Air Raid = BYU -Edwards, KU-Mummy, Leach, Franklin, Troy – Franklin, Brown, MTSU – Franklin, Arizona- Dykes, Houston – Holgerson
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Alright, if we’re going to be so terrible I guess we should all just move along to something else. Our resident experts have it all figured out so it’s official… the world as we know it has officially come to an end. Have you met my friend, Mr. Negativity?
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I have officially relocated from post-national championship loss Austin to Lubbock. The whining is much louder there.
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tony franklin, r.c. slocum, rick perry, tubby, = aggies all.
he will give us the big gig ‘em aggie sign in about a year, just the way mcwilliams did the hook ‘em horns dign when he left town.
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Garber – haha, that’s right. old man meyers must have been drunk too.
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Two recruits have dropped off the commit list for Tech. Not sure who they were, but if we can keep the four star players, we’ll be fine. It’s important for Riley to stay on and I’m sure Tuberville understands that. I have no idea who this kid Neal Brown is but he better be good to unseat an insider for this offense.
I liked everything Tubs said in the NC but I’m starting to feel the Air Raid becoming more diluted. That said, things needed to change in the football philosophy in order for Tech to contend for a National Title. 1) Speed on defense- something Tech has never had; 2) Focus on Special Teams- we’ve improved in this area, but need more growth; 3) Putting points on the board- as long as the goal remains scoring 50pts/game, you’ll fill the seats and increase enrollment.
Talk about a crazy last two weeks. I’ve suffered through too many disappointing seasons to jump off now. Yes, the Leach era is done. Anyone hoping for the same offense next season, is setting themselves up for a huge disappointment.
Now that the sinking feeling is starting to fade, I feel the excitement building for next season.
Wreck ‘Em
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Good hire- young and successful. Good recruiter as well. Some of the folks here make no sense “bring back the Power-I” Huh? Brown is a spread offensive coordinator.
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Neal Brown played for Leach at Kentucky and under Hal Mumme, while Leach crafted his Air Raid with Tim Couch. Leach was getting stagnate in his play calling and it was getting predictable, look how much more run Lincoln mixed in to our game plan against MSU. Tubbs needs to be able to put a stamp on his staff, but Neal Brown has ties to our former coach and offense along with keeping Lincoln. IMO this is a good move to shake things up, but this is not a change in philosophies as much as a new wrinkle. Again IMO, Tubbs wanted to look like Tech when he tried to instill the spread at Auburn, but had the wrong personnel to run it other than Chris Todd whom he got to transfer from Tech. Tubbs is smart enough to not repeat the same mistake and change an offense that doesn’t fit the personnel.
Fire Gerald
Wreck’em Tech!!
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I like this. Any word on what Ruff will do?
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Garber – Leach was a drunk.
You wouold be too dealing with these yahoos. But serious where your proof?
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http://blog.al.com/ray-melick/2010/01/tony_franklin_im_a_huge_texas.html
I’ll bet Riley stays put.
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Dear Coach Tubberville,
Please dont change our uniforms, or our helmets, our team colors, or our logo….. I like those the way they are.
Thanks for your consideration.
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“I like this. Any word on what Ruff will do? ”
There has been no word on what Ruffin is going to do but I fully expect him to either be squeezed out or to out right quit. I hope that he stays as he is an added strength to our defense. Players love playing for him, and Lubbock loves Ruffin. I hope that he decides to stay on, wherever they may find a position for him. It will be a demotion for now, but stay until something better opens up.
Wreck Em
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Under Armour All-American wide receiver Kadron Boone (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic) remains committed to Texas Tech but is making official visits, ESPN’s Gerry Hamilton reports.
He went to Louisville this past weekend and is scheduled to visit LSU this weekend (Jan. 15).
Georgia and West Virginia are also in contention to receive official visits.
Boone originally picked the Red Raiders in August. Several other programs including Miami-FL, Clemson, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Oklahoma and South Carolina also offered.
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you people wouldn’t be happy with anyone. what if it was matt mumme…….. ya’ll don’t know that name do ya………..hal mumme’s son………you know hal mumme, the man who TAUGHT leach this system. that’s right, it’s not leach’s system, it’s hal mumme’s system. learn your football facts people. the hal mumme footall tree has many branches now and the kid from troy is another one of those branches.
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VJ Fehoko is still very intrested in TTU. Just couldn’t find him our our recruiting lists for some reason
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-V.J.-Fehoko-82021
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What does the TT administration have to do for most of you “oh, it’ll be okay” people to say something negative about them? Child molestation? You rationalizers are unbelieveable. “Oh, it’s okay to do the wrong thing,” or “You aren’t true TT fans if you don’t adopt the party line.” All of you make me sick.
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Brown is good friends with OL coach Matt Moore (coached together at Troy). This move makes it very likely Matt Moore(OL) and Lincoln Riley(WR) will be retained. Look for Brown to try to bring in Troy RB coach Scad Scott, a former Kentucky player who has played in and coaches the spread. Scott is also an excellent recruiter.
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Sam Houston State:
Sources tell us that Ruffin McNeill (Texas Tech Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers coach) has met with Head Football Coach Willie Fritz about joining his
staff.
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I wonder if Riley’s statement about the chain of events will change now.
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tech online 96
Thanks for the edgumacation, you are so wise, could you exlpain to me about how trees and branches relate to football,
I was a horticulture major and A and M’s University and I do not understand.
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Neal Brown bio at Troy:
http://www.troytrojans.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87292&SPID=10377&DB_OEM_ID=17200&ATCLID=937306&Q_SEASON=2009
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FilGMan
Where did you hear this…. do you have a link so that the rest of us can see this??
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Coach Tub was the start and got us to 1st base – the biggest part! OC Neal Brown gets us to 2nd base and looking at 3rd. If we get James Willis in here from ‘bama as DC that gets us not only to 3rd but to Home plate: Home Run Baby!!! We Win and win big!!!!!!!!
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beta-
if you never played college football then i couldn’t possibly ecpect you to understand “coaching trees”. but i’ll try. hal mumme originated thi version of the spread while at iowa weslyan. while there leach was a ga for him and followed him to valdosta st where more coaches were taught this system. mumme then got the job at kentucky where leach and tony franklin were on his staff. leach leave for ou and take the offense there where mangino learns it and takes it to kansas. meanwhile franklin takes the ofense to troy where he brings i two young coaches, neal brown who played receiver at kentucky for mumme and an offensive line coach named matt moore. the same matt moore who is already the o-line cach at tech. meanwhile mumme goes from kentucky to new mexico st to mcmurray thus teaching his offense to many other coaches. alas a coaching tree.
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If you look at most of the postings from publications in Alabama on Tubby’s hiring at Tech, you’ll see he’s still very popular and well liked. The guy is great when it comes to evaluating talent as evidenced by the number of his former players who start in the NFL, particularly on defense. He’s also great at identifying great talent when it comes to defensive coaches – he has a proven track record there.
His downfall at Auburn was due to a lot of issues. First, he and his staff didn’t trust the administration after they tried to replace him in 2003, and they didn’t trust him after he flirted with Texas A&M and Arkansas after the 2007 season. Second, and perhaps the biggest problem most Auburn fans had with him, he was too loyal to some of his assistants, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. He kept bringing in coordinators to work with the same assistants he had on staff. Thus, you had 3 offensive assistants who were on staff for 10 years (Hugh Nall, Eddie Gran, Greg Knox) and 1 on staff for 6 years (Steve Ensminger), yet 5 Offensive Coordinators during that same time period (Noel Mazzone, Bobby Petrino, Hugh Nall, Al Borges, Tony Franklin). Petrino is the only one who left on his own accord, to be head coach at Louisville. Tubby’s inflexability with the offensive staff is particularly what led to the debacle in 2008 with Tony Franklin. The offensive assistants were not on board with the spread, threatened to walk out midseason, and rather than go the rest of the season with half an offensive staff, he fired Franklin.
I’ve heard several interviews with him since his firing on local radio (94.5 WJOX in Birmingham, AL) in which he maintains moving to the spread was the right decision, he still loves the offense, he just went about it the wrong way, and at the wrong place.
Bottom line, defensively Tech is in excellent hands. Offensively, while Tubby makes no secret about his love for running the ball, he wants to score points and feels the spread offense is the best way to do that. Now he’s at a school that embraces this offense, where it was not embraced in Auburn. If he lets his new OC have input on the assistant coaches, or retains many of Leach’s coaches, you’ll know that he has learned from his mistakes. If you see Hugh Nall, Steve Ensminger, or Greg Knox’s names in the paper as new assistants, you better start calling the athletic department now and demanding they undo what they’ve done.
We miss him at Auburn, but both Auburn and Tubs needed something fresh. He’s a great coach, and we’ll be rooting for you guys here in Alabama!
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Sorry I was too late to say my …posts are for levity….something lacking on this site… but thanks for explanation.
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Beta! Getta life!! any idiot knows what he meant. All the big FBS teams are running a little spread here and there because it si so good for yardage. Mumme started it and it has branched out to others who have learned and followed to different degrees.
Hats off to Coach TT on OC Brown hire! Now keep Linc and Matt. Please offer more money to ‘BAMA lb coach James Willis so he comes too. He will surely keep Mainord and Mitchell on staff! What a group of super coaches and super salemen at recruiting. This could mean such great things for Raiderland .
Let’s all just be positive and go forward with this. Let the attorneys argue out the rest and they will have a little something for Coach Mike in an out of court settlement probably .
Lets just focus on the forward and then beat em all – Beat em all and be Natl Champs this year! Could happen!!!!
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Vive le Myers!
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Wow… attack first…lol … ok Flash lite I will aspire to me more like you..
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It’s on FootballCoachScoop.com…
Quote:
Sam Houston State:
Sources tell us that Ruffin McNeill (Texas Tech Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers coach) has met with Head Football Coach Willie Fritz about joining his
staff.
——————————————————————————–
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Enough is enough,
You all need to get the facts straight. Gerald Meyers, Kent Hance, and Guy Bailey all wanted to keep Mike Leach. Then once he was fired they wanted to hire Ruffin. In both instances, they were overruled by guess who…. The Board of Regents. The Board of Regents, not Gerald, not Hance, and not Bailey, run TTU. If you want to be made blame the Regents. They forced both issues with the firing of leach and the hiring of Tubberville. Gerald did not want him, heck he could be barely say his name when he introduced him at the press conference and Guy Bailey had to practically read Tubbervile’s bio. They do not know or care about this him. Their hands were forced and Tubberville will be changing TTU Footaball as you know it. In 3 years you will not recognize the program.
With regard to all of the fans who plan to pull their season tix and all that. TTU is not worried about football. They are an academic institution that is concerned about achieving Tier 1 status. Football is secondary and will not affect them reaching Tier 1 status. They are concerned about research and getting more government dollars to the University.
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OC Neal Brown deal is done
I don’t think that there will be any major differences from Leach’s – offense and Neal Brown’s. One thing that will be different is that Brown uses tight ends to mainly block. He goes with 4 or 5 receivers, QB runs, uses the shotgun, sometimes uses 2back/3 receivers, some screens, draw plays, etc. I saw two Troy games this year and they are very exciting to watch.
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Any bets on if Adam James will get more playing time next year? I bet he was pi$$ed off when practice was over, he had to come of the closet! That said, I would like to hear all the behind the scenes crap that we don’t know about, but I’m not going to dwell on it. Its time to move on…………………
I think Tubberville is going to pick up where Leach left off and we’ll be OK. I hope they would announce the DC position so we can get these coaches out on the recruiting trail to retain our current recruits.
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Dont give me the details just get it done. Let the coaches do their job. Let the administrators do theirs and I’ll see ya at the game. I am tired of all the biatchin. Me included : )
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Clueless Tech Fans,
Excited for mediocre seasons 8-4 7-5 is accepted no where else but Lubbock. Its okay to lose as long as the game was exciting.
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NEW JAMES FAMILY STATEMENT:
THANK YOU COACH TUBBY FOR CALLING TO TELL US THAT ADAM WILL BE THE CENTERPIECE OF THE NEW OFFENSIVE SCHEME.
THAT WAS ALL WE’VE REALLY WANTED SINCE LITTLE ADAM STARTED – SOME RECOGNITION OF HIS AND CRAIG’S STATURE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
AND YES, WE WILL DEFINITELY SEE TO IT THAT TECH GETS LOTS OF TV GAMES MONEY THIS NEXT FALL SEASON – AS WE TOLD THE REGENT WHEN WE FIRST CALLED HIM. HE SAID HE WOULD EXPLAIN ALL THE DETAILS TO MR. HANCE.
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TECH FOOTBALL SCHEDULE for 2010 this was published back in November not sure if it will change.
9-4 SMU
9-11 at New Mexico
9-18 Texas
9-25 Open
10-2 at Iowa St.
10-9 Baylor at Cotton Bowl
10-16 OSU
10-23 at Colorado
10-30 at A&M
11-6 MIssouri
11-13 at OU
11-20 Weber St.
11-27 Houston
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JAMES FAMILY not the first family of football that title goes to Manning family, Howe and Chris Long, Montana Joe and son Nick etc. They are now it this league of football families.
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What’s the word on the James kid? Hopefully his bags are packed and he’s on his way to Dallas. I like tubbs’ hire for OC. If we can grab the bama guy, Willis I think, the bama tag alone will be great for recruiting. After all they just won a NC. Plus with or without experience tubbs is a defensive guy who can coach him up. I think things are looking good if we can get the right players to Lubbock. That’s my only concern. Wreck em
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http://www.footballcoachscoop.com/Scoop.html
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he didn’t even give lincoln riley a chance!
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Kedron Boone is a special player and I sincerely hope he chooses Tech. But the recruiting websites have always been clear that he has committed to Tech but has not stopped the recruiting train. In fact, one site said in late November that it would be shocking if he actually committed to Tech and that he would definitely choose Florida if an offer was extended. Tuberville may actually help keep him once he gets the staff in place. I would not be surprised if several other blue chippers didn’t come our way in the next few weeks. Especially linebackers considering the needs at Tech and the strength of the coaching staff in that area.
We have already had several of the D-Line prospects come to Tech and enroll. I have not heard of any other recruits who are leaving. (BTW…we only have 5 4-star recruits anyway and 2 have already enrolled.)
The coaching website and Tech have reported that Moore, Wiley, and Riley have been retained. There may be others. Ruff will not be retained (but I think it is at Ruff’s request and not the other way around…understandable)
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Remember, the staff is just being put in place. It includes one of the best recruiters at Tech (Riley), one of the best recruiters at Alabama (Willis), and one of the best recruiters at any mid-major school in the country (Brown) and one of the very best head coaching recruiters in the country (Tuberville). These guys may really surprise everyone when they work together to round out the recruiting class for this year. Also, this definitely looks like a staff that will be committed to Air Raid. Just because it is not EXACTLY Leach’s version is irrelevant. We have great personnel and we will continue our offensive power.
Just think…if we lose 10-14 pts per game in the blowouts because of lackluster offense in the beginning of the season due to a learning curve but gain a defense that causes 10-14 pts. less to be scored by the top teams in the Big 12 once the conference season starts, we will be playing in the Big 12 Championship game this year!!!! Who cannot get excited about this!!!
WRECK EM’
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Found some highlights of Troy on youtube. Other than the QB running a little, looks a lot like what whe’re used to. This is no three yards in a cloud of dust offense.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPzP6QfIJrs
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Here are the teams that Troy plays:
Arkansas State
FIU
Florida Atlantic
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Monroe
Middle Tennessee
North Texas
Western Kentucky
Thanks Kent …and you 2 Gerald.
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There are 4 undecided inside linebackers in the country who are 3 stars or better according to Rivals.com. All 4 have Tech as either medium or high on their interested schools list. Fehoko, the only 4 star linebacker who is undecided, has one school on his high interest list…TECH.
There is only one outside linebacker (3 stars or better) who is undecided. He has Tech as a high interest school. And, Tech has commitments from 2 other 3-star OLBs. I think we will become more attractive to these guys because of our change to a 3-4 and our lack of depth at the position.
WRECK EM’
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Ben,
The DC is from ALABAMA…remember, the number one team in the country???
BTW…when Leach started in as a BCS OC, he was from Valdosta State…wanna compare schedules between that and Troy?
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Ben, that’s like saying Seattle shouldn’t have hired Carol because USC never played any NFL teams.
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Had a great lunch today in Orlando. If you’ve never had a steak at Charley’s steak house, you gotta do it. Anyway, here’s a twist that could be good long-term if what I was told is accurate.
The new OC, if successful over the next few years, will get a head coaching job. If it is true that TT intends to keep LR, I understand it is for long-term continuity as he will become the OC when NB gets a HC job. Makes sense! If true – good strategic move.
Also understand, TT’s and NB’s offensive production goal is 65% pass yardage and 35% run yardage. Don’t know what ML’s was, but would guess 80-20.
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hey raider fan…poor lack of vision for success when ttu gets excited about 3 star lb recruits. bad news from the forty acres…UT athletic department says it will not change it scheduled game with TTU to early September. It states on it’s website it never agreed too. Even AD Myers retracted his statement, plus UT has UCLA scheduled for that date. I am sure you all can find a Corn Dog U to pad the stats. nice try for a program that will return to it natural slot middle of the pack.
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Sorry guys….
Nothing personal.
TT is a SEC retread.
Tech would have been better off with C Peterson at Boise State. At least he is innovative and is proven a winner.
Not Tommy Touchdown.
He was “fired” at Auburn for a reason………………
Pete Carroll is in it for the $ ….as he cannot coach at the NFL leverl..see NE and Jets Jets Jets!
Thanks Kent and you 2 Borger yo yo Gerald
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Sorry guys….
Nothing personal.
TT is a SEC retread.
Tech would have been better off with C Peterson at Boise State. At least he is innovative and is proven a winner.
Not Tommy Touchdown.
He was “fired” at Auburn for a reason………………
Pete Carroll is in it for the $ ….as he cannot coach at the NFL level..see NE and Jets Jets Jets!
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What genius keeps scheduling UT so early in the season?
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We keep focusing on offense(which will be good), but the dramatic improvement will be on defense. Yall have no reason to believe me, but Tuberville can coach.
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TT is a retread who coached teams who won SEC division and conference championships. Remind me, how many championships(other than total yardage and worst defenses) did Leach win here?
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Ben, What makes you think Peterson would have even thought for one minute about going to Tech. He has the best gig in the country, is a hero up there, and it’s not his fault they aren’t in a BCS conference. He can win 12 or 13 games a year and complain that they won’t let Boise St. be part of the national championship picture. Expectations at Tech would be for the same, which is virtually impossible in this division and conference.
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Peterson isn’t even considering USC, much less Tech. I could care less about Carol. My point is you play teams on your level and either win or loose. By the way, I recognize some of those teams on Troy’s schedule because they’ve been on Tech’s schedule under Leach.
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Oh, and that coach was our New OC, Neal Brown.
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Liar
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Why are so many comments waiting for moderation? And who is a liar, Mr. Rick?
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I do beleive Tubbyville said he would keep the offensive coaches as they were. Lose Lincoln Riley and lose Young form Denton.
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Riley was not the offensive coordinator, Leach was. Tuberville wasn’t going to hire Leach to be his OC.
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Just keep the helicopters ready for Tommy when times get tough.
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Riley was inside receivers coach and I bet he will retain that job if he wants.
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Duh. Who had the job at the bowl game and proved himself. Look at Troys games this year. You could have coached that one cg
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Did you expect him to come in and hire someone he didn’t even know just because he called plays in one game against a team with inferior talent using a game plan Leach had already prepared?
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Raider Nation,,,,
Are you not paying attention to what is going on????
Tech just hired one of the most respected and better college coaches in the country, who then hired a very bright and up coming Offensive Coordinator, and now is on the verge of hiring a Defensive Coordinator from one of the best, if not the best, college coaching staffs in all of college football and the national champions.
This is unbelievably incredible!!!!! You guys need to wake up and appreciate this miracle that is going down!!!!!
I can’t wait to see the rest of the staff.
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Funny, I thought Tubbs was not going to mess with Tech’s offense!!! Nobody knows Tech’s offensive better than Riley, Im sure Brown is a good offensive coordinator, but he does not know Leach’s offense.
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I think these are smart hires. The dc is a stud recruiter and the oc is exactly what tubberville wants, a little more control with the ground game.
Everyone needs to stop gripping….tubberville knows what hes doing. This isnt his first head coaching job!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRWo_jplOXY
If you watch this, can you tell me how many times you see the power I that all of these gloom and doomers are promising us????
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Hats of to The Tubs first move!! No brainer hiring Neal Brown who cant wait to utilize Tech’s Talent Pool.
However,
The Tubs choice for DC …. Well lets just say he has some work to do!
God Bless The Pirate!!
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Thank god tubberville is getting rid of the swiss cheese D! Yes it was better the last few years but by no stretch of the imagination was it great.
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Think big you become big. This is so sad
http://www.redraiders.com/2009/09/01/tech-trying-to-keep-up-with-big-12s-big-spenders/
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Agree 4 Rings. No one defended Leach more than me on this very website, but I’m exited about this new coach and I think we will be pleased. I think Riley is a good coach, but that’s just it. No one knows. He only called plays in one game.
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John: Talked to a Georgia alumn today and he said TT was out at Auburn BECAUSE he wanted the air raid type of offense and many of the “Good Ole Boys” did not want to go there. My source has no axe to grind and married a former Ms Texas Tech so he has something at stake here also. People I have talked too said Troy was very impressive on offense in their bowl game. So lets give him (new OC) the benefit of the doubt there.
Where we need to keep our focus is the AD, Chancellor, and President. Withhold your donations, stay home and watch the Raiders on TV, once the money stops rolling in and there are empty seats in the Jones, people will get the message. Also, we have a GOV who wants to be elected for an unprecedented term. Call his office and tell him to make changes before the primary or you will vote for someone else.
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TT has all their top offensive guys coming back next year, a good proven head coach, a good young offensive coordinator, and I trust Coach TT with the defensive hire. And Coach TT will have a lot of say so with the D anyway. We may lose some recruits this year, but in the long run I feel confident these guys will recruit well. Are the people on this board predicting Tech’s demise Tech fans or trolls? Whatever. I’m not seein’ it. I see changes that may turn out to be the best thing that’s happened to Tech. Wreck em!!
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I took a look at the youtube videos. Looks just as exciting to me as what we have had plussss we get a heck of a defense.
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This is the kind of staff that can win a National Title. WOW what a staff TT is putting together
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I’m also with you 4 Rings. It looks to me like Tech is coming out of this with incredible good luck. Now let’s go get some of Tennessee’s recruits.
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Sometimes in life you have to take two steps back to take three forward…….and with this staff, I think Tech will be taking one-hundred forward.
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With the hires and Russell as ST coach. TT could be putting a good staff.
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Well, I for one am very excited. I was astounded to find out that Tech was able to get a coach like Mr. Tuberville. I think the new direction in coaching, albiet keeping the same basic offense and of course improving the defense, will add respectability to our program and the university. I am proud to be a Tech Alumn, I also have a degree from the Texas system, but guess what school I display in my office, car and home. TTU It is true that the priate thing really didn’t translate over to those of us who live in other parts of the state, country, or world. Tubberville looks sharp, is well spoken and projects a professional image, one that we can be proud of. He would be a poor manager if he didn’t bring in people whom he has a good working relationship with, and can depend on to hit the ground running and blocking for us. Our players deserve that. Unfortunantly many people look at a university football program and all that goes along with it as a reflection of the quality of the education the student receives. As we all know the education is actually one of the best kept secrets in Texas. So, I hope this can raise the bar in all areas. Change is hard, it is scary and it is exciting. Recruits stay with us and keep the faith. You will miss the best opportunity of you life if you bail.
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The thing Tuberville said here that I liked most was that we need consistency in our play.
Boy howdy were we ever erratic in our performance – play to play, possession to possession, game to game.
ERRATIC.
i’m so glad he wants to stop that kind of play. I’m tired of not knowing which offense or which defense was gonna show up.
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I coached high school football out east and our staff visited umass during spring football. Neal brown was just a ga, but he stuck out as someone special in coaching. He looked about 12, but he was a great teacher and motivator. He is a good hire!
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CG thanks for the post. I saw wide splits between the guards, and center, tunnel screens, spreading the field, if this new OC can deliver this we’ll be fine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPzP6QfIJrs
Also, if you can’t name which recruits have defected then you don’t know what you are talkiing about. So shut up.
What goes on for the DC and assistants will be interesting. It would be great if Ruffin would stay on but I certainly understand. He did a great job with our Defensive Ends (they were always good) and our tackling has improved since he became DC. Good luck to him, he can do better than Huntsville.
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who cares!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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The team decides if they want to play or not. The things we need to look at are not what has been done, but what can be done. In west texas and especially lubbock, things dont work here like they do in the sec and you will see that the turnaround that people are expecting is not going to happen. everybody is allowed to talk that smack that they want. I just dont see how this move is productive. What Mike needed to do was replace ruffin. The offense had no trouble scoring points. I know that Leach is now the past, but, that was the best thats gonna happen in lubbock for a long time. Just remember that i told you so. sun bowl or independence bowl at the very best. and meyers still needs to just go away.
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players win games, NOT COACHES!!! I will always support Leach and root for his team no matter where he ends up at. I will also support the RED RAIDERS. I hope Leach gets all his money and more.
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What if Tub leaves for Tennessee??? Bring back Ruffin!!!
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Does anybody think Ruffin would have got the publicity that Tubberville has gotten, OR would have been able to go out and hire some new hot and top blood? I doubt it.
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If I were Tuberville I would see about that Tennessee job. They would pay more and they have a fan base that loves football. Not the coach but foootball. So many stupid people seem hell bent on destroying TTU football and the the name Texas Tech. The people in charge are not going anywhere and this group of Leach lovers has only begun to make Lubbock and TTU look like their fans are a bunch of dumb asses. If I were Tuberville I would go to someplace like Tennessee. He could raise is family without people hateing him, the football team and Texas Tech. I am sure their fans are more loyal than here. Their stadium holds a hundred thousand. So there must be more unity among the community than here because they fill that place up. One last thing, the governor is a Aggie. He does not care and the person running against him is a Texas fan.
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watchdog, no proof needed, it was his pattern to overdo the juice. as one of his former walkons told me, “it ain’t always coffee in those starbucks cups.” that IS,AGAIN< what got him axed. ask john norman about draggin' his butt out of the lubbock bars…c'mon dude, common knowledge… explains why he got stranger and stranger as well… forget the rum dumb pirate and let's move on w/ our new program!!!
GUNZ UP!!!
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This just keeps getting better and better. I hope Willis signs on. The only negatives here are all the naysayers commenting on the LAJ sports articles. What is it with these people? They write (if you can call it that) as though they don’t have brains in their heads. Team Leach is a joke! Get a life! Get onboard. I’m sure McNeill is a nice man but he’s not head coaching material. I think too much of that West Texas dirt (and I grew up in West Texas) has clouded your thinking. Do everyone a big favor. Turn off your computers, get in your jammies, and go to bed!
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It is all about recruiting. I hope the new coaches do well. Time will tell.
Who will be the next coach at Tennessee?
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Tony Franklin and Hal Mumme were on the same staff at Kentucky. Leach coached the new OC who runs the same system as Leach, Mumme, Franklin, and Hatcher. Leach is a boring conformist compared to Tony Franklin. Ask a HS coach running the “Tony Franklin” system to let you watch one of those DVD’s. You’ll laugh your stinking head off and wonder if you just have to be a little different to buy into that type of offense.
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http://www.newsok.com/carl-alberts-tre-porter-receives-offer-as-receiver-from-ou/article/3431038?custom_click=headlines_widget
Looks like somebody better start shoring up our recruits…!
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http://wsttxraiders.ning.com/main/invitation/new?xg_source=msg_wel_nc
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Many were rightfully concerned over losing the pirate. And, I don’t know whether, or not, Leach should have been fired. But, if it had to happen, I’m sure glad Tuberville is his replacement. Coach T, as one of the most respected coaches in the country, will be a great upgrade. And as he said in his first press conference, “We’re going to air it out” – and after the hiring today of Brown – I’m convinced he was more than serious about that comment. Brown’s pedigree looks terrific and he should continue to propagate the type of offense we, and the nation, have become accustomed to at Tech.
Tuberville also has had some dominant defenses over the years and developed a couple of great defensive coordinators, one of which is still in Austin. By having Tuberville, and adding Willis as DC, TTU could become a place where defensive blue chips contend to play. My wouldn’t that be a change!
If Tuberville does what he does best, and Brown & Co team up to strengthen the offense, Tech will be one of the Big 12’s elite. High school blue chips, both offensive and defensive, throughout the country will want to play for Tuberville and Texas Tech.
Today is a great day to be a Red Raider. If we had only had Tuberville’s defense to go with Leach’s air raid in the past ten years, we might have been……………….! And we may have the opportunity in this decade to do just that.
Out with the quirky pirate and in with the consistent, friendly professional!
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Please
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I hope we can sign coach Willis, and keep the best of the rest. Then we all need to get behind the team, the coaches, the school. So many bad things have been said and done. Let’s move on. If the admin made mistakes, it will come out and there will be consequences. I sat through several consecutive 10-loss seasons, and witnesses some amazing miracles on the sports fields and courts. Think of the Lady Raiders, the recent track teams, the number of All-Americans. I won national championships on judging teams at Tech, and went to a school I fell in love with. Let’s support that school now. Write a letter to the Regents and the Governor if you have a complaint. This blog site will not sway anyone in a position to take action, but letters and phone calls do. But have some facts ready to discuss, not emotions. I am scared to death about the future of the school, the team, the fans, attendance, the reputation. Right now, this is fading from the national news because other schools make big mistakes too (think USC, USF, Tennessee). If we just quit fighting among ourselves and the rest settle out of court, we can move forward and make some progress. Long live the Matador.
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Vickie – Well stated in your comments above.
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Why are people saying that Neal Brown is an outsider to the Leach system? Leach was his position coach at Kentucky. You can’t find more of an insider than that. Coach Brown is the best candidate you could hope for to keep our Air Raid going. If we get to add James Willis as defensive coordinator, then this has great potential. Two powerful offensive and defensive systems combine just like OU did in 2000.
This has turned out better than we could have ever hoped for. An SEC defense mixed with our offense. The Sooners are trying to jump all over our recruits because they are nervous about what we are growing here. OU knows well that if we ever grow a defense, they are doomed. Also, we now get to recruit from SEC territory if we wish. With Florida State and Miami being down, this has huge implications for our program.
The recruiting tide could also turn in Texas now that we have some competent recruiters. We are sitting on the most fertile recruiting ground in the country. If UT and OU win some battles, fine. But they should not be winning ALL of the battles. We beat both OU and UT in the last two years, so we should be winning that battle some of the time.
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Great Head coach + Great coordinators + Great position coaches (all being excellent recruiters) =
THE RIGHT STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the times they are a changing and life is good…
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THRASH:
The most intelligent blog to date! While still sceptical about the decision to hire Brown over Riley I acknowledge the potential for Tech to sustain a “Leach-like” offense,e specially if te reports are tru about Riley and Moore staying.
I aam a little concerned about Tech moving to the 3-4 before Tubervile has had a chance to recruit for it. We are woefully thin at linebacker and I’m not sure Coby can stand up to being the nose guard in the three-four. I wish he would at least wait a year or two to make the switch but hopefully he feels he has the players to make it go.
While I continue to support the players and hold no animosity toward Tubberville, I willcontinue to withould all monetary support in any fashion from Tech until thos responsible for this fiasco are held accoutable.
The 60,000 TeamLeach signees should focus their attention on e-mails to the Governor if we want to see changes in the BOR and the administration.
Sometimes you have to use tough love. The Regents and the adminsitartion aren’t Teaxs Tech Unitversity . It is the students, faculty, players, alumni and the taxpaying citizens of theSouth Plains and the rest of Texas that are the true stakeholders.
The administration and the BOR have simply been given the honor of handling the reigns and they should never forget it.
The Govenor shouldn’t expect many votes from the Raider Nation in November if he doesn’t remove those responsible.
Good luck to Coach McNeil and the staff who move on. I don’t think Coach Leach will need much luck — i wouldn’t want to be the judge that ruled TT didn’t wave immunity here.
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Rumor is Tenn has contacted Tuberville about coaching vacancy!
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Vickie, have another drink and go to bed….WE will never see football at Texas tech again, as we have seen it!
Support for the school will all but disappear as long as the administration stays the same.
Your “pep” talk was nice enough and may be appropriate for elementary or junior high but this is serious and we don’t need to just “MOVE ON”…we need change! We HAVE to have change or we will NEVER be a contender.
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David – You are asking for change and you’ve gotten plenty over the last few days!
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Is Ruffin going to get pushed out the door???
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I’ll bet Tuberville is kicking himself right now. He most likely would have been the top choice at Tennessee – and if he hasn’t signed the TT contract – may well end up there.
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Pretenders and Pirates head out of town, bring on the SEC to west TX!
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So problem with Leach was he shopped around. Hell Tub’s ink isn’t even dry and he’s shopping….All y’all move on folks still think we don’t have a cancer? Ruff don’t leave yet? Remember Leach was #2. We may get #2 again….
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Listen Up All TECH HOMERS!
II’m a TECH HOMER! and I have never heard so much whinning in my life. I graduated from TECH in 1989, living through some of the worst years in TECH Football. We even lost to North Texas and Rice during that time. Things have most certainly turned around since the coaching promotion of our beloved Spike Dykes. He ran the ball down everyone’s thoats and got us to the All American Bowl blowing out Steve Spurrier’s Duke team (I was there and it was awesome watching James Grey). He took the program to another level with glimps of what was achieved in the 1970’s. His last game opened the eyes of everyone at TECH when a skinny back up QB came off the bench to whollup Oklahoma I believe 38 to 24…Thank You Kingsbury! That set the stage for Leach to take our program to a higher level and did he ever. He inherited a program that operated with a $10,000,000 budget. Ten years later, we have a soon to be 60,000+ seat stadium, an average attendence of around 50,000, in a town of 200,000 (Are you kidding me?). a $50 million dollar budget and he got fired. Leach was an awesome offensive mastermind. Thats it, thats all folks. He lost games he shouldn’t have and he won game he shouldn’t have. He did take 1 and 2 star athletes and developed them to stand toe to toe with the 4 and 5 star athletes at OU, UT, and TAMU. Everyone kept asking what would happen if we had those same 4 and 5 star athletes on our team. Well, now I believe we will get that chance.
I completely understand how many feel about Leach, 60,000 of us. I love what the man did for TECH. I hate the way he handle his contract negoiations in public. I hate the fact on how he got fired. It was embarrassing for all and for all to watch. But it is what it is and there isn’t a single individual that can change it. Leach has now sued the University and the courts will decide who was right and who was wrong. Time to re-focus our energies, time, and support to our new staff and ball team.
Has anyone looked at what kind of coaching staff we have now? Really looked into it? The last time I checked, TECH would hire no experienced OC’s, experienced highschool coaches, etc. expecting them to win against the power houses of the old SWC. We now have the most experience, most professional Head Coach the University has been blessed with. He has gone out and from I can tell, hired an OC that will take Leaches spread offense and add option running/passing plays. Subtle changes my rear…we are going to see the changes as we light up the scoreboard week in and week out! Can you imagine having a Robert Hall, Zebbie Lethridge or Sticks pass option run with this offense rather than sitting back in the pocket waiting for it to collapse? Folks, that is what is coming! Lets take a look a the defense. How many times have you read that Ruffin never did make adjustments in a game we lost because TECH’s high powered offense got outscored? That’s coming to an end. The hiring of DC from a National Championship team is not only a win from a defensive perspective, but what about recruiting perspective? This DC will be able to recruit the talent to bring our D up to and possibly beyond those at OU and UT. Give it a couple of years of recruiting the right personnel from the JC’s and incoming freshman. In the meantime, we still will win 8 or more games and enjoy our bowls until we win the Big 12 moving then to the BCS.
I fully expect the current recruiting class to sign on board. They know what just happened and will be lucky to be on this team as it is only going to get better. Brown and Stoops can no longer say TECH is a second rate program as they always have. The recruits will know the talent our coaching staff will have and I feel in the coming years, TECH will get more than our fair share of 4 and 5 star athletes which will produce more wins over a 10 year period than what Leach achieved.
So, stop the whinning and crying, moaning and groaning. Times are fantastic at TECH. Leach took us to a level we have never seen and from what I can see, folks are afraid of change. But this change is good. What Leach did for TECH in raising the bar, our new coaching staff will do even better. Don’t take your support elsewhere, keep it at TECH where it belongs.
Regards,
Bryan Shipman,
Class of 89
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Some of you guys are too much. If you think Leach and his staff are the end all be all you have either not been watching the rest of college football or you have a very short memory. It’s TT’s job now and I would hope he would bring in the people that will help him take us to a championship game, you remember that thing that we have not been to. WE still have a couple more years but I think we will get the recruits now. Please don’t tell me what a great class this one is. It is probably better but not in the top twenty-five and ranked seventh in big twelve by Rivals.If you are still in Leach’s camp maybe you can follow him to his next job as OC somewhere. Remember, he is a west coast guy, didn’t see him on the list of eleven for USC possible coaches. With all that said, I was a leach fan and appreciate what he did for us, which is put us in a position to hire a top tier coach. I am a Red Raider first and I want a championship!!!!!!! Go Tubb’s, Wreck ‘em.
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I really want to join this show but I keep getting moderated. I guess the only way to get on is to bash the new or old coach. Anyway if this gets through I will just say, I am on board with TT. I am a Red Raider first and I expect a winning season and bowl in 2010 and I think we have a shot at a conference championship and/or BCS trip by 2012. I appreciate Leach taking us to this point and getting us in a position to upgrade. Wreck’em.
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Can we start the official Gerald Myers contract expiration clock. Anyone good at websites?
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can the countdown begin with 1 minute? even that would be too long.
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Let’s all plan to actively campaign in our own circles for the opponent of Craig James for any office he tries to run for.
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The new coach will be responsible for the out come of the games and season, so he better choose who he believes will get the best job done. I wish him good luck and great success. I ‘m not sure how much he can be trusted to commit to TTU, he may be creating a model that can be moved………..I would hope not…but. Now is the time to get rid of the trash at the top so hopefully we won’t be put in this type of situation again and who ever our coach is will get total support and some snot nose kid and his punk dad and half baked ex regent will learn to keep their hands off. If you are not part of the solution, then you are a part of the dam$ problem
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If all this new stuff is so good the reason they came here is because of what coach Leach created, not what the trash at top did. If tt and his boys see an opportunity here it has nothing to do with the “admin support” in fact quite the opposite. They see a system and players in place that they can hopefully tweak and build on and become a hero to all, or play with it till they brake it and go away to find another nice mess to play with. Sad but true, I think the pirate would have stayed for a long time if they would have stopped messin with him. I know he is gone and I hope he receives as much in his life as he gave to TTU Red Raiders.
noel: if you stay out of the bars you won’t see things and people that offend you(you got some issues)
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Wonder how often Tuberville and Craig James talked in the break room at ESPN?
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sometimes running the ball is not so bad. ask Bama about it or florida or lsu or any sec team. Just got to have the right mix. tech got lucky to get him for the peanuts they are going to pay him. When he starts winning alot you better get the alumni to start coughing dough not mucus. Be thankful for what you are about to receive and that is a winner and salesman of your university.
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Riley and all of the staff needs to go because if Leach was mistreating team members the staff knew about it and did nothing.
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all remains to be seen and not heard. Think of all the high powered coaches that have come here and only to do what? What did bob knight do? what about kristy curry? and now tuberville. Its not about the fans getting behind the team and texas tech, its about getting rid of the undesirables that are running the show, just like tommy is doing. If you listen to the people, they are mad about the Leach-james-james-meyers-hance-bailey-sowell fiasco and want these people out of here. couldnt care less about which coach they bring in here or have brought here. Its not that easy to win in the big 12, and then you will say that we got a coach from alabama’s nc team, well lets talk bob knight again. I am ready to move on, after Mike Leach is given his settlement and the aforementioned criminals are dismissed. and adam james is still a pussy.
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I’m so sorry folks. I did not realize the goal of a university was to hire coaches and bring players in to suit the hearts of fans. I thought the goal was to have a winning program. If anyone thinks Mike Leach was a total innocent over the last 10 years, you friends are dreaming. It matters little if you have just the best West Texas match of psyche and grits, when you can not move to the next level.
Are we so used to a program that just kisses the hand of the likes of OU or Texas in the national polls. I was watching games before Spike was on the scene and was a friend of David McWilliams before he went to Texas. I spent a number of Saturdays after the game at cookouts at his house. I remember just prior to the Miami game when he asked his coaches if they could compete with what was a powerhouse at that time. Well we could not, and we still have issues with putting together a consisten game day week after week.
So lets move on We have a fine coach and new blood always trumps inbreeding…
Tech Alum
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poor Leachers, so stupid and pathetic with their worthless lives.
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Truth justice and the American way right? Oh you want cronyisms, propaganda and intimidation….
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Chris, go troll on your high school site.
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Agreed Iluvpirates. chris go put on your UT t-shirt and go back to the TU website.
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Told you so!!! This team will have years of under performance ahead……..no bowl game next year.
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GEORGE ELIOT:
Falsehood is easy, truth so difficult.
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At last, a bit of sanity is beginning to creep into this hyperventilated discussion. Grown-ups are beginning to realize that the new coaching staff is setting up very nicely, and that the predicted demise of TTU football is probably way off target.
The thought of a successful team under a new coach must be VERY upsetting to team leach. However, actual fans of the Tech football program should be very pleased with recent developments.
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Chris your comments here say more about you than the rest of us here. Get bacj to the ‘whine” rack that we have come to expect from Austin
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TEAM LEACH is not about football. It’s about American ideals of truth, justics and the American way.
Why is that so hard to comprehend Jim?
Sure some (our supporters from other universities) may want the football team to fail….
Most our Tech students, alumni and fans and hope for the best, but to be truely the best we must fix the cancer so our foundation will be strong so we can have a long and prosperous future. Got it?
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JIm
TEAM LEACH is behind TUBS and the Raider TEAM. The new Coaches are not upsetting to them, it is the arrogance of AD, Admin and REGENTS! The are looking for answers. They have separated these issues I do not know why you can not.
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Just wondering when I’ll be moderated again….
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Ŧ WD113
well said – They just don’t get it
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They are the one’s bringing down Tech with their educational level and showing that their comprehension level isn’t too bright….
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ANY ONE,that would support a coach that could go anywhere but here and the coaches that he hires that can go anywhere also,that was hired by these madmen well, it just goes to show you. you figure it out if you can..
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Ŧ WD113
I think they have moved off of you and on to me. To of my post say : “Your comment is awaiting moderation” – my response to Chris and Hondo. WOW those are real dangerous.
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Red Raider Ride: you say you’ve separated your issues with the administration from the operation of the football program. If that is so, why are you posting your complaints about TTU’s leadership on a sports blog? If your complaints really are political, why air them here? And why are so many pirate fans predicting (wishing for, I believe) doom for the Tech football program?
And seriously, “Truth, justice and the American way?” (WD113, 11:29 am) Is that a joke? You do realize that was Superman’s motto, right? If you want your “search for truth” to be taken seriously, you might want to reconsider your cliched mantra.
Finally, as one of the “they” mentioned by you and WD113, I think it’s important to mention that I graduated from Tech in 1990 (after eight years and two degrees). Feel free to disagree with my comments, but know that I’m talking about this as a long time fan of Tech.
Maybe equally important, I’ve been in the workplace a for the last 20 years, so I have come to realize that people who curse out their bosses (even bad bosses), sue the companies they work for, and refuse to comply with direct requests from supervisors tend to get fired. Even if they’re pirates (or Superman).
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RRR just change you screen name and/or email address they can’t block all. Otherwise they won’t have anyone.
They have gotten so bad they are pi$$ing of the Tech/Tubbs/Hance supporters too! :-)
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Another great article printed in the FW Star-Telegram today:
http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/1889040.html
Doesn’t look like Leach leaving is going to hurt us too bad in the eyes of the prognosticators.
Tech, TU & OU should fall 1a, 1b & 1c respectively in the Big 12 South next year.
The addition of Tubervilles’ Defense and the “highly” rated Neal Brown offense, we should be just fine.
I miss Leach, I really do. And it really, really sucks what happened, however the administrators (not 3 stooges; Tech administration – the board) couldn’t have found a better replacement in Tommy T. Once again “negative, sad, upset, depressed” Raider Nation, everything will work itself out come August and into the ‘10 football season. Be positive, accept change (because it’s always inevetible), and remember that Tech Football will remain on course…
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Well Jim we are about the same just different views. I graduated with a professional degree from Tech in 1992 and been employed since. I just respectfully disagree.
And Superman was such a bad dude!
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@Auburn guy – thanks for your insight. Very helpful.
For those of you wanting to know about Coach Ruff, it is my understanding that he does not want to take a step down and has made himself unavailable for interviews with the new coaching staff. He is looking for a head coaching job or to take a defensive coordinator job at another university.
Coaches will find out today whether or not they will be retained.
Point of clarification. Coach T never said he would keep any of the existing coaches. He said he would keep the Air Raid offense, that he would hire an OC and a DC and then work with them to decide who, if any, of the existing staff would be offered positions.
We through this exact same thing when Leach was hired. Everybody wanted him to keep some of the coaching staff but the only one he kept was Tommy McVay. Things turned out all right with Leach and we can take another step up if everyone will get on board with Coach T and support our Red Raiders. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t hold the Administration responsible for their actions. The truth should be told and the Administration should not be hiding behind “sovereign immunity”.
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WD113,
Truth and the American way? You have got to be kidding! It is about a bunch of young guys chasing a leather ball around a green rectangle. It is not about God, motherhood and the American way. It is football for goodness sake. I love to watch it but I don’t place it up there with the major things in life. It is just fun and its great to be there on game day. Your value system is a bit flawed in my opinion.
All this talk about the State of Texas doing something about this administration is a joke. Again, you Leach Nation folks need to get a life. Texas Tech is one of several of state institutions, and in the mind of many somewhat down the list outside of West Texas.
Remeber you don’t turn a horse into glue until you check it over and take it for a ride. Tommy will do a good job here; or do we just want our good old boys to be a thorn in the side now and then for the Big 12 conference?
Tech Alum
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artgar3, that is till Tubb leaves for Tenn. :-)
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pejay66 Oh were to begin. I’ll give it a try…
As I said TEAM LEACH is not about football it’s more important than that. Your right football isn’t very important in the end. But the ideals of fairness, blind justice, right and wrong, bribery, criminal actions are very important to our society. Can we agree to that?
What the Board (regents) with Chancellor’s actions are wrong. They are hiding behind immunity remember. They do not what to stand up and explain themselves. Sounds like dictatorship to me. Are you really for that?
If Texas Tech gets away with this what’s to stop another school or State agency from doing the same? To a professor, coach, administrator, an outside contractor or business entity? Maybe even to your company? Would you have a problem then? Everyone in Germany went along with each purge until there were no more groups to protest.
Again this isn’t about Tubs and we want Tech to win and have high academic honors and play by the rules. You want that too right?
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Very funny TT Watchdog 113!
Regardless if Tubby doesn’t live out his contract (the 5 years), we will still be better for it. The dove tail effect will
happen: more national exposure (positive), thus increasing enrollment, thus growing the revenue base and endowment,
which of course will eventually bring Tech to Tier 1 status. It is after all A university and academics SHOULD take priority.
Witness what has happened to ALL the schools whose football programs have flourished. ESPN’s 30 on 30 about “The U” couldn’t have explained or showed it better than what happen to Miami in the late 80’s and early 90’s when their football program was so dominant. Enrollment grew, revenue grew. Look at TCU now, enrollment continues to grow, revenue continues to grow. See a pattern? And these are small, private schools to boot.
Be positive. Stay positive. It’s going to be OK!
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Jim
geez calm down. The question to you is why are you talking about what you call political issues on a sport blogs….when I wroke up this morning I was still in AMERICA I will blog anywhere about anything – who appointed you the blog cop.
Question what the H does you resume have to do with football and political issues (as you call it).. Unless you where a double major PE and Political Science. You are not connecting the dots.
I will say one more time the TEAM LEACH people (who ever they are) have said on a number on blogs – a number of times they support TUBS and the raider team. So get over that point. Move on.
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STRIVE FOR HONOR TTU teaches it , preaches it but are we living it and setting a good example with actions of late. IT IS NOT ABOUT FOOTBALL! It is about HONOR and fairness that is all these kids are saying. Why are you so threaten by them. I don’t see that they are hurting any one.
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Jim, if you’ve been in the workforce almost 20 years, tell me how many times you know of a boss asking an employee to sign a letter of basic guilt for something the employee doesn’t feel like he did, & then that employee getting fired for it? I’m curious…all of you saying that would always happen…I don’t think so.
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Looks like it’s a done deal – Jame Willis, DC on board.
collegeconfidential.com from the FW Star-Telegram is reporting this:
http://startelegramsports.typepad.com/colleges/2010/01/james-willis-will-be-techs-defensive-coordinator.html
LETS GO RAIDERS!!!
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JIm
RRR = 1972 37 years and still working. Big deal. As you grow older and wiser you will learn to chill and respect the younger generation. CHILLLLL!
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artgar3
Thanks. Looks like we have the three main parts. I hope the team meeting goes well. It is amazing the team of Coaches that Tubs put together in a short time especially this time of year. Winning team!
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It is amazing the team of Coaches that Tubs put together in a short time
Makes you wonder if this was started earlier….just saying! :-)
Funny how even with all the censorship and moderation the A-J is doing that they are not the ones to get the scoop first! Way to go A-J!
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Have heard it is known (not speculated) which coaches are being retained. Anyone have the info?
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Rivals.com just reported that Matt Moore and Sonny Cumbie are staying
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RIvals.com is reporting only Cumbie and Moore on the offensive side will be staying
http://texastech.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=965&tid=138272669&mid=138272669&sid=1043&style=2
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This is a bunch of you know what! The admin. took a great program and ruined it, and ruined my college football!!! Im over it they will pay for their decisions because I know I am not the only one who feels this way because I was a die hard Tech football fan. I have just lost the little bit of support left I had for my raiders!! Looks like next football season is going to be a lonely one as I have no team to cheer for!! I am offically taking down my flag and putting up my shirts!!
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I wonder if Riley will also be staying. Shocking they would let him go. Maybe Neal Brown has something against him or sees him as a threat.
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I seriously doubt if Riley will be retained. Too close to Leach and may be heavily involved in the lawsuit as a witness. He was Adam James position coach after all.
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If you suport this coach and who he hires, remember who hired him you are supporting the men that hired him, that is my opinion , this whole process is backwards, Myers and co. should have been fired then these coaches hired, this goes to show how arrogant they are and you go along with this madness, ? unbelivable.
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Like many Tech fans, I hate what the administration did. I believe they will pay dearly for this with either their jobs or a new GL account (007.MLEACH.PIRATE).
Having said this, Tech will vie for the Big 12 title next season.
Take a serious look at the returning players + the new coaching staff + several key player losses at the Big 12 contenders.
This Tech team should be slightly more balanced on offense and considerably better prepared on defense.
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Rivals has been wrong before. Please be patient until something official comes out. Could be different than what it sounds like.
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But it’ll be with new playbook that everyone will have to learn and adapt to. Growing pains….
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Ride Raider Ride says “IT IS NOT ABOUT FOOTBALL”
Sure its about football. If Leach had been an English professor, there would be no Team Leach.
The 60,000 strong members of Team Leach seem to be represented by 20 posters who continually post the same tired cliches over and over on this board. If you think you are not doing the athletic programs harm, think again.
Tech Fan from 1000 miles away
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Hopefully the growing pains will be similar to when Saban took over at ‘Bama.
Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl Coaches# AP°
2007 Alabama 7–6 4–4 3rd (West) W Independence — —
2008 Alabama 12–2 8–0 1st (West) L Sugar 6 6
2009 Alabama 14–0 8–0 1st (West) W BCS NCG 1 1
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A knife in a doctor’s hand still does damage, but at the end of the day the patient is better when the cancer is gone.
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oh dayum, Jim just took a dump all over the Team Leachers chest.
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All you guys crying need to move on….. Tommy t is getting amazing coaches to come to tech. Who would not want to come to this university with this talent in coaching? I think any football player would be excited to be at tech with the possibly to be coached by NFL quality coaches.
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AXT Red Raider Alumni
Just wait and see how many recruits jump ship after today!!! Especially our 4-Star recruits like Scotty Young and Kevone Boone
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count your blessings red raiders.if tiffin had left before ttu hired tubbs coach tubbs would be at tenn. making big money.tubbs will have the red raiders in the top 10 real soon.you people are luck to have a coach who beats the likes of meyer,miles,saban,richt etc. on a regular basis.heck tubbs wouls still be at auburn if bobby lowder had left well enough alone.tubbs is one the top 5 coaches in the country.war eagle tubbs we miss you good luck at lubbock.
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RED RAIDERS BUNCH OF CRY BABIES.
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mike leach is a loser
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mike leach is a loser .
Actually Mike Leach is a winner……. 85-41………I would say thats a winner!!!
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TOMMY TUBERVILLE UNITE THE FAN BASE AFTER LETTING LINCOLN RILEY GO, WAY TO GO COACH, REAL SMART MOVE COACH.
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Among the #TexasTech staffers fired today: Lincoln Riley the OC for the Alamo Bowl, ST coach Eric Russell and CB coach Brian Mitchell
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Imafraid that the letting go of Riley will hurt the recruying, will it not,maybe Imwrong, I sure hope not. we have a lot of good recruits coming in from what I understand, best of luck, Raaiders..
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Randy…do you have a link?
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Maybe TT shouldd wear a cap that has a double cross on it, thats what you get when you let the same people that fired Leach hire the DOUBLE CROSS, what a circus, does anyone know say how to say bye, bye to the recruits, insane..
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Stage Coach:
You can kiss our recruits for this year good bye. There is not a chance in the world of them staying now. They let Riley go and he was the one who was recruiting all of them on the offensive side of the ball. The only chance we had of retaining our recruits was through Riley and now that he is gone….. So are the recruits
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4Rings
Rivals.com will have it. I personally heard it on Double T 104.3….. The only ppl being retained are Matt Moore, and Sunny Cumbie
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http://twitter.com/BFeldmanESPN
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I thought ST coach Eric Russell was quite a hire Leach pulled in last season. He had a great pedegree….Oh well out with the old.
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http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/1890467.html
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Sounds to me like Tubbs ahs got his broom out with Myers and co. holding it, not good, not good at all, dont see how it could be?
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riley gone = 4star recruits gone………..mother @!*&$%#
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Cumbie?! CUMBIE?! I have supported coach Tuberville up until this point. Cumbie over Riley and Russell. Absurd! I am officially outraged! It’s personal taste for me but could someone tell me what Cumbie brings to the table that Riley could not.
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More reading for those that like to get facts….
http://lubbockcountyregister.blogspot.com/2010/01/techs-toxic-chancellor.html
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Gil Brandt, who works for NFL.com and used to be vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, is an avid supporter of Riley, 26.
“This is totally unbelievable,” Brandt said. “If you can find a better coach at 26 years of age better than Lincoln Riley, I want to know where he’s at.”
Riley isn’t wasting much time getting back on track. He has already interviewed with Rice and Southern Mississippi and could have a job as early as next week.
“Here’s the whole thing….,” Brandt said. “Now you’ve got to sell your house.
“And for a team that had a winning record, for a team that graduated kids, had no [NCAA] sanctions, that’s the hard part to understand about this whole thing.”
A Muleshoe native, Riley had been with Texas Tech since 2006.
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“And for a team that had a winning record, for a team that graduated kids, had no [NCAA] sanctions, that’s the hard part to understand about this whole thing.”
That sums up my anger!
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Cumbie?! CUMBIE?! I have supported coach Tuberville up until this point. Cumbie over Riley and Russell. Absurd! I am officially outraged! It’s personal taste for me but could someone tell me what Cumbie brings to the table that Riley could not.
Less salary and less expectation of promotion
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Wish you well, lincoln riley, you are a good man and you are better off,and away from this a–bomb and its fallout,if you read the comments by Gil BRANDT , a professional that has many years experince says this is stupid you can take that to the bank, what goes around comes around supporters of TT..
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If a coach is ever to come back to Tech, I would vote for Lincoln Riley,but I think he’ll be joining TEAM LEACH and will only when the house is clean of the garbage.
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My expectations have certainly been lowered. Good bye recruits.
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As usual the AJ won’t let the story out due to moderation
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Is still anyone out there who still believes the crap about keeping the offense and just a tweak here and there?
2010 is a rebuilding year and now we still start running off players to make room for the kind of players Tuberville wants.
Sorry guys, but blame the Hance, Myers, and Bailey.
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make room for the kind of players Tuberville (Hance) wants.
Hum, like James. Kids with wealth parents!
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Techsters, it’s time to find a new favorite team. SEC don’t fly in the Big 12. Hide and watch.
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I think this may be a very banner year for Red Raider football, at least for those of us that wish the Raiders success! Though they won’t say it most of the negative cry babies on here are hoping for a colossal flop this fall, which proves they are not true Red Raider fans. I love the way stuff is being bantered around like listing a link for those who want to get the facts when the site has a disclaimer that the article may or may not be true. I believe this will be a great year for Raider football and will support them to the utmost. Go Tech!
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Where are all you let’s “just get along” and “move on folks”, awe I bet you are helping Adam James pack.
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Hey TeamLeach, Cumbie played in the system.
That being said, I think our Receivers prospects are not near as good as before. It will be interesting to see how good the OC and TT are at persuading them to stay.
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Raider4ever, kind of like Rush wishing Obama would fail?
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Hey watchdog,
Very interesting link to the article in the Lubbock County Reqister. I wonder what the statute of limitations is on some off those things.
Maybe someone should look into all those allegations.
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Yeah, he’s so great, he couldn’t even beat Central Michigan.
Well, Tech fans and players were lied to by Tuberville. He said it would be crazy to mess with the success of Tech’s offense….so what does he do? He gets rid of Lincoln Riley and is bringing in a guy that couldn’t even beat Central Michigan. Not only that, but Tech’s recruiting program is now going to go down the tubes. Not only are the offensive recruits not going to want to play under Tuberville’s boring running scheme, but the defensive recruits that liked Ruffin aren’t going to want to go to school at Tech either.
So let’s survey the damage Myers and Hance have brought us. We go from the top 25 recruiting program in the nation to who knows what. We go from an all-world offense back to 3 yards and a cloud of dust. As one writer said, Tuberville prefers winning games 14-10 instead of 55-10.
Ain’t it great Tech fans? We’re essentially back to boring Spike Dykes football. And all for NOTHING…..not one thing. Writers are saying Tech could have been in place to compete for #1 in the Big 12 South division if Leach had stayed. But now, even if they do well, it won’t be the same. Back to boring, mediocre football and trying to convince players why they should come to Lubbock to fight the dust and play in just another boring system. Don’t forget, this “great” new Tech coach went 5-7 in his last year at Auburn. Great coaches don’t go 5-7. They just don’t.
I realize people are touting the new offensive coordinator as the best thing since sliced bread. But the facts are….NOBODY did it as well as Leach and it wasn’t even close. We HAD the best coach and got rid of him for nothing.
Texas Tech nation seems to know they are being played for fools. But there’s nothing we can do….except protest loudly by withholding our support and money. That’s not going to happen, no matter how mad people are about the Leach situation.
Talk about deja vu. This is going to be like going back 15 years. Back to when people heard the name Texas Tech and just shrugged their shoulders.
We have been lied to, and we have Myers, Hance and Bailey to thank for it. And this new Tubby coach…..he’s not exactly starting out well by lying to the Tech faithful. He said nothing much would change. And ever since he arrived, it’s done nothing BUT change, and change very significantly. Even Gil Brandt (of the Dallas Cowboys) couldn’t believe Lincoln Riley was let go. In his words…..”If you can find a better 26 year old offensive coach, I’d like to see him.” But Tubby threw him aside like trash. This doesn’t exactly look like we have the brightest guy coming in.
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god you guys whine like kid who got his lunch money taken! i guess all you doom and gloomers know these 4 star recruits who are going to jump ship! if i were them i would jump ship because of reading these boards and seeing that the tech fan base is two faced.
Yes leach is gone yes they hired one of the best coaches avail in the country yes he brings in his own staff!!! thats how this stuff goes.
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The more I read the posts here the more amazed I am by the lack of real info and the gut viseral responses that are coming out. People do need to vent and mourn; but for how long? Not one person here has a clue as to what recruits will come, who will be on the side-lines for sure, and what the season will be like in the Fall. Yet Prognosticators abound spinning wild stories, speaking doom and gloom, sharing half truths, calling for a revolution, declaring the sky is falling. Like my Mom used to say, “it will be all better when it stops hurting!” The world as we know it has not come to an end.
I do feel bad for all the eye patch salesmen ;-)
Tech Alum
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trueredand black: god you guys whine like kid who got his lunch money taken!
I bet you were the bully taking the money! What’s wrong is wrong.
Strive for honor evermore…
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Raider4ever
I do agree this could be a a good to great year for TECH. When you look at the Coaching staff being assembled and then the TECH schedule things are lining up for a very good year. I just hope that TUBS and Myers can finalize the contract tomorrow.
TECH FOOTBALL SCHEDULE for 2010 this was published back in November not sure if it will change.
9-4 SMU
9-11 at New Mexico
9-18 Texas
9-25 Open
10-2 at Iowa St.
10-9 Baylor at Cotton Bowl
10-16 OSU
10-23 at Colorado
10-30 at A&M
11-6 MIssouri
11-13 at OU
11-20 Weber St.
11-27 Houston
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JB
You are judging 60,000 strong by 20 posters! Team leach has said on a number of blogs and threads that they support TUBS and the Raider team. See their site below.
If what they stated is truly their mission – then maybe they should change their name.
STRIVE for HONOR EVERMORE
http://teamleach.org/index.html
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That 61,100 and growing and with latest news today probably faster….might even get a few players now.
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http://www.ttu.edu/administration/president/councils/athletic.php
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WOW………………….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the link TT Watchdog 113. I thought this whole thing might be about
to go NUCLEAR ! Ha ha, little did I know.
Wonder how his bidness as$ociate, Harold Simmons will feel about all this lovely press Kent has brought
onto his little toxic / nuclear waste dump, down at Andrews? Nothing like a GoB local to know how to pull all
the right strings & get something like this passed, you know, “to help the local economy”.
If some young reporter wants to make a name for themself, get busy, dig it out, write a book, take this bozo
down. You won’t get rich, but you might get famous. This is the kind of story that 60 Minutes, tick, tick, tick or
some of the other whistle blower programs loves.
HEY KENT, HAROLD SIMMONS AIN’T HAPPY ABOUT ALL THE FREE PUBLICITY YOU ARE BRINGING TO
HIS DUMP IN ANDREWS COUNTY. TIME TO RESIGN KENT, GET OUT OF THE LIMELIGHT, FIND ANOTHER GIG.
As always I remind you,
KENT HANCE IS A SNAKE IN THE GRASS & ALWAYS HAS BEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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