Friedgen Out At Mayrland

[H2o]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5938838

 

You guessed it, likely Mike Leach. In a couple of years Maryland will own the ACC.

[HopsGuy]

Here's a good piece on Ralph Friedgen.

[The Senator]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5938838

 

You guessed it, likely Mike Leach. In a couple of years Maryland will own the ACC.

You are correct, sir.

 

Apparently not a 'done deal ' quite yet - 1st-year AD Kevin Anderson needs to make it look like he's calling the shots and not wealthy alum/booster/Leach-pal Kevin Plank - they will make it look like they conducted a legitimate search before officially naming Leach HC first week in January.

 

(I opined on this on the main board a few days ago - link)

[KD in CA]

http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=5938838

 

You guessed it, likely Mike Leach. In a couple of years Maryland will own the ACC be on probation.

 

Fixed

[The Senator]

Fixed

Interesting take - I'm guessing you think there's history of scandals and/or NCAA violations in the programs with which Leach has bee associated. Care to name one?

[HopsGuy]

Interesting take - I'm guessing you think there's history of scandals and/or NCAA violations in the programs with which Leach has bee associated. Care to name one?

 

Well, there was just the one "scandal" where it looked like Aaron James was being inhumanely punished for complaining about a concussion. I don't claim to know the details of the story, but it appears to me that what James was subjected to (being put in a dark room) didn't meet the standard for what I would consider abuse (considering that some doctors say concussion patients should avoid bright light). Also, there was some damning footage that showed James dogging it through practice. The only reason it was a story is because Craig James works at ESPN. The elder James played on the most corrupt team in the history of college football that we know about. The 30 for 30 documentary on "Pony Exce$$" showed just how good some players had it in the 80s. Some say James engineered the exit of Leach from TT. Some say this is the height of hypocrisy. I say that Craig James still thinks the players should be in charge.

 

Other than that, Leach has been shown to be a guy that can use what look to be less than blue chip players to beat some of the best teams in the country. He's also a quirky guy that is way into pirates. People love successful folks that are also a tad bit goofy.

 

I feel bad for Friedgen because he did was the NCAA says you're supposed to do: (1) run a clean program, (2) graduate your players. He got his teams to bowl games most of the time, but never really challenged for the ACC title. We all know that winning is the only thing and the ends justify the means. I think we'd all be better off if the NCAA would just admit this.

[The Senator]

Well, there was just the one "scandal" where it looked like Aaron James was being inhumanely punished for complaining about a concussion. I don't claim to know the details of the story, but it appears to me that what James was subjected to (being put in a dark room) didn't meet the standard for what I would consider abuse (considering that some doctors say concussion patients should avoid bright light). Also, there was some damning footage that showed James dogging it through practice. The only reason it was a story is because Craig James works at ESPN. The elder James played on the most corrupt team in the history of college football that we know about. The 30 for 30 documentary on "Pony Exce$$" showed just how good some players had it in the 80s. Some say James engineered the exit of Leach from TT. Some say this is the height of hypocrisy. I say that Craig James still thinks the players should be in charge.

 

Other than that, Leach has been shown to be a guy that can use what look to be less than blue chip players to beat some of the best teams in the country. He's also a quirky guy that is way into pirates. People love successful folks that are also a tad bit goofy.

 

I feel bad for Friedgen because he did was the NCAA says you're supposed to do: (1) run a clean program, (2) graduate your players. He got his teams to bowl games most of the time, but never really challenged for the ACC title. We all know that winning is the only thing and the ends justify the means. I think we'd all be better off if the NCAA would just admit this.

I feel bad for Friedgen as well. That said, Leach's programs have always been clean and scandal-free (aside from the incident involving the ever-so-whiny Adam James and his even whinier daddy, Craig - himself a play-for-pay destroyer of programs from way back). Leach also placed huge emphasis on academics and had the highest graduation-rate of any public university Division 1 program...

 

Leach is not some head-banging throwback. He's idiosyncratic and incurably outspoken, but nothing suggests he's a sadist or an idiot who would endanger a player. In fact, he is one of the more well-read and thoughtful men in the game, with a large curiosity and a law degree from Pepperdine. More importantly, he's a serious, demanding educator whose team has a graduation rate of 79 percent, eighth best in the country and first in the Big 12 Conference. He trails only Notre Dame (94 percent), Stanford (93), Boston College (92), Duke (92), Northwestern (92), Vanderbilt (91) and Wake Forest (83) in turning out grads, while he also has made nine bowl appearances in nine years.

 

(Link - Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach deserves another look, and another chance - Sally Jenkins, Washington Post)

 

 

In fact, one of my favorite Leach stories is another disciplinary incident involving their leading WR's reluctance to hit the books...

 

Leach also has a penchant for creative forms of discipline, which has obviously led to his current trouble. Last spring he was unhappy with split end Edward Britton for not hitting the books. Leach demoted him during spring practice, and, to further make his point, had a desk placed on the 50-yard line. After practice he ordered Britton to sit at the desk and study, even though Lubbock was experiencing a cold snap. There Britton sat, in an overcoat and hood, reading at a desk in the middle of the football field. "If he does good studying out there, we'll decide if we're going to actually let him practice," Leach said.

 

Some parents might object to that sort of treatment. Others might thank him.

 

(Ibid.)

 

 

Regarding the James incident - which raised no NCAA eyebrows, rankling only members of the James family (and Craig's ' extended ' family at ESPN) and Texas Tech officials still fuming over Leach's contract negotiations...

 

Several current and former players have come forward to attest that he's a humane teacher. "Leach has unusual methods for doing things a lot of times, but he's never cruel and never out of line in doing them," former offensive lineman Cody Campbell told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. It turns out the alleged torture chambers were an equipment garage and an auxiliary room, where injured players are often sent to rest or do calisthenics, and where James had access to trainers and ice. "It's not like its some dungeon," former lineman Glenn January said.

 

(Ibid.)

 

 

I know there are plenty of Leach-bashers out there - and I certainly understand that, given the frustration the guy has inflicted on Longhorns, Aggies, Sooners, etc., with lesser recruits and less-than half the funding of those programs. Don't really know why others express such vitriolic hatred for the guy, though, other than maybe they're just plain ignorant.

 

But everything that you correctly point out as criteria for a successful NCAA football coach - clean program, graduating players, integrity, winning games, and bowl appearances - would indicate that Leach certainly should be a leading candidate for any major NCAA head coach opening.

 

JMO.

 

.

Edited December 24, 2010 by The Senator