Leach to Wazzu

Re: Leach to Maryland

No offense, but this insane -- I say that as a matter of opinion, not fact, so we just disagree.

But Mike Leach was an OC at Kentucky for two years, an OC at Oklahoma for a year. And an HC at Texas Tech for 9 years, during which he ran a one-dimensional gimmick offense and put no premium on defense until Ruffin McNeil got there, and there still wasn't really much defense on the field ever. During that time, he had QBs who fit his scheme -- weak-armed, but accurate and able to take the ball in the dhot gun and get rid of it fast enough with the extra time to a gaggle of receivers who spread the field. Kliff Kingsbury, Graham Harrel. It's an offensr that many defenses have actually caught up to, because so many have used it with succes since, and you don't see the same kind of success in general using it today. During several of Leach's middle years, his teams at Texas Tech had a way of beating up on weak teams -- they never really set up a tough non-conference schedule -- and then losing to any good team. The only real exception I remember was the 2008 team, in which he destroyed a ranked Kansas team and beat Texas in that Michael Crabtree killer. Which brings up another point. For a few of those years he had a pro caliber receiver who fit that spread he runs and some serviceable receivers who were good enough in open space. Wes Welker. then Michael Crabtree. My questions: Leach has never proven anything. He doesn't have a National Championship. Texas Tech really lost to the top teams more than it beat them. They feasted on weak teams. He has only one HC job in the past and I'd contend that it is likely that it was the perfect place for him to sit back and snatch up the recruits Texas and Texas A&M were passing on. And in West Texas, you can find good players doing that, even if you are not much of a recruiter: And Leach never had the stomach for that.

Put him in Maryland, and let's see how he recruits. Let's see if 1) that spread really is viable with the players he has and can get, OR if he is adaptable enough to change and start coaching a different offense. I won't rule it out; he is a film junkie and does take his craft seriously.

But to claim that he is better than all of the hires made so far, ignores the fact that he really doesn't have much of a track record, runs a carnival offense that may not translate to the kind of talent Maryland can get -- and he has never shown an ability to coach any other way, he has a propensity for creating controversy, and he doesn't know a lick about defense -- and in the ACC, defense does matter. You don't have all the teams running the spread that the Big 12 had when Leach was coaching Texas Tech. Teams like Oklahoma State, Missouri, etc. who were willing to get into track meets. Ones they lost.

As I said, I won't predict disaster. Leach is a hard worker. I will wait and see how he adapts. I think with the recruits Maryland will always be able to get, he will be as good as his players. And in a school like that, 8 wins and a bowl game should be considered a success. If a coach consistently delivers that, he should get a long tenure there. I just know that Leach is a wildcard, there are a ton of question marks, he comes in with major baggage and he doesn't know defense. That tells me he is not a blue chip coach, similar to some of the other hires already made. He's just "different" and for some reason, a small contingent on this board are seduced by the flash.

 

Re: Leach to Maryland

I'm worried this ends up being like Mark Duffner all over again. Jermaine Lewis and Geroy Simon were good receivers, but all I remember is them losing 56-35 every week.

This move is ALL about selling season tickets. Pure and simple.

 

Re: Leach to Maryland

My definition puts Leach's, "I'd like to go a whole season and never run the ball" (paraphrased) into the carnival category. I do NOT put the run-spreads that coaches like Urban Meyer or Chip Kelly run into a carnival category. I never have. They are not that different than some other time-tested offenses that have always been run in college football. When the whole "Leach to Miami" thread started, I actually said I could see a Chip Kelly type coach there with the type of players Miami gets. Leach would have kept the ball out of the hands of Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, and a bunch of other great backs Miami has had doing what he has always done.

 

Re: Leach to Maryland

Agreed, if Mike Leach isn't the coach of Maryland next year, it won't be because Maryland didn't try and they didn't talk.