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Leach Is Out At Texas Tech, But Who’s In?

Jan 4, 2010, 9:51 PM UTC

â†µTexas Tech athletic director Gerry Myers is advised to treadâ†µcarefully in his search for a new football coach. Tech fans tend to beâ†µgun-happy and lawless in the best of times, and most of the fanbase isâ†µsolidly on the side of the deposed Mike Leach.â†µ

â†µâ†µBizarrely, Baylor head coach Art Briles has shot down rumors he might leave, which is probablyâ†µthe first time in the history of the Baylor football program that theâ†µhead coach has discouraged interest in a move. So he’s out. Yourâ†µoptions, then:â†µ

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â†µâ†µThe retread. Former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville,â†µlast seen unenthusiastically participating in every defensiveâ†µcoordinator rumor mill across the South, has been sufficiently roused from his torpor to express anâ†µinterest in the job: â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥“I’d be interested in visiting with them,” Tuberville said. “Iâ†µâ‡¥haven’t had any contact yet with anyone down there.”â†µâ†µâ†µThat’s close-ish to the right geographic footprint for Tuberville’sâ†µrecruiting, but since the reason Tuberville is available was hisâ†µspectacularly ill-fated decision to hire spread guru Tony Franklin*,â†µTexas Tech’s signature aerial bombing style would be an uncomfortableâ†µfit. And if Tuberville wants to bring along the offensiveâ†µassistants/anchors that sunk his ship at Auburn, surely Tech wouldâ†µpolitely decline. Tommy’s got an open mind, though:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥“It’d be crazy to change it,” he said. “That’s a trademarkâ†µâ‡¥of Texas Tech now. It’s helped put them on the map. It’s helped inâ†µâ‡¥recruiting, I’ve noticed. Mike’s had a good chance of gettingâ†µâ‡¥quarterbacks and receivers to come there - in the past, (Tech) wasn’tâ†µâ‡¥able to get them. We’ve run a lot of the spread over the years, and I’mâ†µâ‡¥very familiar with it.”â†µâ†µ“We’ve run a lot of spread over the years” may be a dirty,â†µgritted-teeth lie (or “marketing”) but it is an indicationâ†µthat Tuberville will bend over backwards for the opportunity. Tech, asâ†µof yet, has not bitten.
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â†µUPDATE: Tuberville reportedly is interviewing Tuesday on the Tech campus in Lubbock.
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â†µThe Vegas wedding. AKA the Bill Stewart: in theâ†µaftermath of an emotional bowl victory, the interim head coach isâ†µpromoted to the head job and surrounded by expensive assistants youâ†µallow him to hire once you sober up and grimly consider the damage done.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe man in this case would be spectacularly-named Texas Techâ†µdefensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill. McNeill has the dual advantages ofâ†µnot being a special teams coach and not looking like the mayor ofâ†µMayberry, but his resume is seriously thin. He’s been a position coachâ†µfor 23 years and fell into the DC job at Texas Tech after the previousâ†µguy stepped down due to “personal reasons” after a 49-45 lossâ†µto Oklahoma State. He was the interim guy and got the job; if he got theâ†µhead job at Texas Tech he would be the Gerald Ford of football coaches.â†µ

â†µâ†µAlso the guy has no game:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥During 30-minute news conference Wednesday, McNeill said he wasâ†µâ‡¥“very interested” in the job with a “double yes withâ†µâ‡¥exclamation marks.” â†µâ†µâ†µSomeone hook that guy up with the cast of Jersey Shoreâ†µstat.â†µ

â†µâ†µMeanwhile, Stewart’s not exactly disproving the widespread criticismâ†µof his hiring, riding Pat White’s senior season to a Meineke Car Care Bowlâ†µvictory. This year West Virginia went 9-3 again but managed to lose to aâ†µ6-6 Florida State team with no business in the Gator Bowl. Ace recruiterâ†µand assistant head coach Doc Holliday, one of the expensive assistantsâ†µbrought int to keep the ship afloat, has just taken the head job atâ†µMarshall. If Tech continues to experience success after thisâ†µhypothetical hire, how long before the offensive coordinator gets hiredâ†µelsewhere? â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Luke Skywalker. I guess this requires Spikeâ†µDykes to be Darth Vader, but other than that it’s pretty apt: Sonnyâ†µDykes is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach atâ†µArizona. He’s the son of Texas Tech legend Spike Dykes, a currentâ†µBroyles award nominee, and spent seven years learning the Air Raid underâ†µLeach. He’s a weird hybrid of a return to Tech’s old culture and aâ†µcontinuation of its current one.â†µ

â†µâ†µA problem: Arizona was just shut out in ugly fashion by Nebraska andâ†µfinished this year 58th in total offense and 61st in scoring offenseâ†µdespite the benefit of a 2OT game against Oregon. For what it’s worth,â†µthey did have an unusually tough schedule with nine Pac-10 conferenceâ†µgames, a road game against Iowa and a home game against MAC championâ†µand fringe top 25 team Central Michigan. In 2008, though, the Cats wereâ†µ8-5 and finished 33rd in total yards, and 16th in scoring. â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Usual. I.e. pick off a high-performing head coachâ†µfrom a local smaller conference. In this case it’s Houston head coachâ†µKevin Sumlin getting the most attention. Sumlin just had an explosiveâ†µyear with Case Keenum that saw the Cougars notch wins over Oklahomaâ†µState and Tech itself en route to finishing 1st in passing and totalâ†µoffense and second in scoring offense. Houston was the only team in theâ†µcountry pass-happier than Tech. â†µ

â†µâ†µSumlin didn’t overlap with Leach at Oklahoma, but he hasâ†µexperience with the system, clearly enjoys the whole idea of goingâ†µ“guns up” and has made Houston one of the better teams inâ†µConference USA. He’s also just 45. He’s only got two years of headâ†µcoaching experience and just two years as a “co-OC” atâ†µOklahoma, though, and so may be a bit green for a Big 12 job. Not thatâ†µthe rest of the names on this list other than Tuberville have moreâ†µexperience.â†µ

â†µâ†µ*(Franklin was undermined from day one at Auburn and fired midseason;â†µwhen I attended the Auburn-LSU game in the halcyon early days of theâ†µFranklin regime one elderly fan in our proximity had a series of tinyâ†µconniption fits, each one prompted by the Tigers going no-huddle andâ†µthen looking to the sideline for a play call. Auburn fans were notâ†µreceptive to new-fangled trickery, to say the least. Lord knows whatâ†µthat guy must think about Gus Malzahn’s wild, motion- andâ†µmisdirection-heavy glorified high school sets. Probably something aboutâ†µcranberry juice.)â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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