Leach and Texas Tech unlikely to reach common ground

By John Hillman  |   Sunday, February 15, 2009  |  Comments( 13 )

Texas Tech Red Raiders
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Texas Tech has issued head football coach Mike Leach an ultimatum. Red Raider officials have given Leach until 5 p.m. Tuesday to accept their latest contract extension, or the offer will be withdrawn.

But Leach appears unwilling to accept the new pact. If the deadline passes without his signature, two years remain on the current contract, and Texas Tech would probably reopen negotiations at the end of next season.

The Red Raiders have laid generous terms on the table. Under the new agreement, Leach would receive $12.7 million over the next five years and become the third-highest-paid coach in the Big XII behind Mack Brown and Bob Stoops.

Obviously, the sticking points don’t involve compensation. Leach objects to clauses in the extension involving buyouts, termination payouts, outside revenue sources and contact with other schools.

Control remains the primary issue for both Texas Tech and its head coach. In the minds of the Red Raider athletic administration, particularly AD Gerald Myers, Leach embarrasses the school by seeking almost every Division I coaching vacancy.

Last fall, Leach’s name popped up as a possibility at Tennessee, Clemson and Auburn. He reportedly flew to Seattle without Myers' knowledge or permission to interview with Washington. In previous years, Leach sought head coaching jobs at UCLA and Miami.

A strained relationship between Leach and Myers has existed for many years, and the rift has surfaced in subtle ways. When Myers hired longtime friend Bobby Knight as Texas Tech’s head basketball, he allegedly assigned Leach’s parking spot to Knight. Although Myers offered Leach another nearby slot, the football coach parked in a nearby commuter lot and walked to his office the rest of the year in protest.

Last May, Leach approached Myers regarding a contract extension. However, the Red Raider athletic director declined to renegotiate at that time and deferred the deal until the end of the 2008 football season. Now, Leach has turned the tables and opted to play hardball with Myers.

Leach holds some powerful bargaining chips. Texas Tech won 11 games last year, the most in school history, and the Red Raiders reached No. 2 in the polls, the highest ranking ever achieved.

Under Leach’s direction the past nine years, the Red and Black have posted at least seven wins every season and never missed a bowl bid. With seven more victories, he will pass Spike Dykes as the winningest coach in Texas Tech history.

However, waiting another year to work out an extension entails some risk. Red Raider fans remember the late-season meltdowns against Oklahoma and Ole Miss more vividly than the 11 victories in 2008.

Questions abound for the 2009 campaign. Leach must find viable replacements for quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receiver Michael Crabtree.

Texas Tech also faces a formidable early season Big XII challenge. The Red Raiders rescheduled their game with Texas in Austin from early November to mid-September.

The key to the impasse may lie with Myers’ future rather than Leach’s results. Rumors circulate that the 63-year-old Myers, who served as Texas Tech’s head basketball coach from 1971 to 1991, may retire before next fall.

In that case, securing a long-term agreement with Leach would fall on the shoulders of the Red Raiders’ next AD. With the turbulent past history between Myers and Leach, the football coach probably prefers taking his chances with an untested rookie administrator.
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About John Hillman

John Hillman graduated from Baylor University in 1974 with a BBA in accounting and earned an MBA from Baylor in 1987. He worked for accounting firms until 1982 when he became the chief financial officer for an independent insurance claims adjusting service, a position he still holds today. ...
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