Team Leach, it's Time to Cut the Cord

As my first blog post I have to address the silliness that is going on in Lubbock and among the Texas Tech faithful. This post will likely tick some people off, but hey, losing ticks me off, so deal with it or stop reading now.

First, let me ask this question: How many of you who swore you would never watch ESPN or follow Tech football because of the Mike Leach debacle have failed to follow through with your promise?

Ok, now that all of you have proven to be unfaithful to your word, let’s move on.

They say that generals fight that last war. I would argue that a lot of Tech fans are attempting to play the last season (or two). This is especially true regarding one group of Tech fans, the Team Leach followers. They are called so because they are heartbroken that Mike Leach is no longer the head pirate at Texas Tech. They whine, cry, whine some more, and have a generally negative disposition when it comes to Tech football simply because Mike Leach is gone and has been replaced with Tommy Tuberville.

The Team Leachers are easily identifiable. They are usually recognized by providing unprovable accusations such as “Leach would have won.” or “Leach would have put up 55 on Texas.” These are just a couple examples of the silliness I have seen since last night’s loss. Let’s dissect this just a bit more.

Mike Leach’s first year at Tech, he went 7-5, including a loss to East Carolina in the not-so-prestigious GalleryFurniture.com Bowl. In Tuberville’s first year at Auburn, they went 5-6; however, the second year, they tied for the SEC western division title.

Leach finished his career at Tech as the winningest coach in the school’s history at 84-43. That’s a .6614 winning percentage. Tuberville was at Auburn from 1999-2008, which is almost the exact same time period that Leach led Tech. Over that time period Tuberville had an 85-40 record. That’s a .68 winning percentage. Sure, that doesn’t sound like a big difference, but you have to consider that the SEC is, has, and probably always will be the premier college football conference. This is proven by the fact that 6 of the 12 BCS national champions have come from 4 different teams within the SEC. The other 6 champions are dispersed between 5 different conferences.

Leach’s best year was in 2008, when Tech finished 11-2 including a Cotton Bowl loss to Ole Miss. Despite Tech’s stellar season, they were destroyed at Oklahoma 65-21 and didn’t even make it to the conference championship game. Prior to that year Tech hadn’t even had a 10-win season under the Holy Mike Leach. However, while at Auburn, Tuberville tied for 1^st in the Western division 4 times, won the division outright twice, and won the conference once. He also won the Sugar Bowl in 2004, thus capping off an undefeated season. Note: The only reason Tuberville didn’t get to play for a national championship is because two other teams were also undefeated this year (USC & OU). USC won the championship, but had two wins later vacated due to NCAA rules violations (Cheaters!).

The point is, it’s time to move on. You Leachers sound like the chunky kid in elementary school who just realized someone ate your Klondike Bar. Actually, I think you sound more like an adolescent girl whose boyfriend just broke up with her. You’re emotional and irrational. The only difference is, this break up occurred almost 10 months ago and you’re still sitting in your bedroom crying.

Even worse is the fact that you’re sitting there whining about the loss of your boyfriend Leach, while another, better person is eyeing you. That person has a better history of success and all you want to do is talk about your ex. Sure, Tuberville doesn’t have the flair of Mike Leach, but you know what? Leach never was going to take you to the dance. Even in his best year, he couldn’t get to the conference championship game. Tuberville, however, has been there and done that. He may not be as flashy, but that’s ok. He’s the one you want to take home to mom.

A lot of Leachers seem to be worried about Tech’s “identity.” Whatever that is? I wonder how many other teams’ fans are sitting at home complaining that their team has lost its identity. Whine all you want to about the white helmets, the Raider Walk, and the loss of the Air Raid, but until a stat column is created for “wins due to identity”, just keep it to yourself.

There is an old adage that you win with running and defense. Tech has notoriously had neither. Coincidentally, we’ve never even won the Big 12 South much less the conference. Tuberville knows how to run the ball and play defense, but by all means, let’s sit around and cry in our Leach Brand Kool-Aid because we don’t throw the ball 60 times a game. Good coaches win games. Great coaches win championships. Mike Leach won games and that’s it. Tommy Tuberville has won championships and consistently contended for them.

Team Leach, last season is over, and so is 2008. Move on. Take your Mike Leach posters off your ceiling. Cut up all your old Leach pictures. Burn all his letters. It’s time to end the mourning process. Sure, you can disagree with Tuberville’s play calling and personnel decisions (though booing your own players during a game is idiotic and harmful to the cause of winning), but let go of Leach. He’s gone, and he aint coming back. The relationship is over and he doesn’t love you anymore, Sweetheart.

The empirical evidence is in, and Tuberville is clearly the better football coach. Mike Leach was an offensive coordinator in a head coach’s job. Tommy Tuberville is a head coach. Will there be growing pangs? Likely, but remember, your crush, Leach, had a first year record of 7-6 followed by a 7-5 season. Why y’all are trying to get rid of Tuberville after 3 games is beyond me.

Anyways, go ahead and reply to this blog with emotional rants like “Team Leach!” or “Leach woulda won!” and prove my point that you are letting the facts get in the way of the truth. Tommy Tuberville is better than Mike Leach, and the evidence supports that, so let go. Move on. There are bigger fish in the sea, and Tech finally caught one.

If you continue with this silly little Leach love-fest, you will continue to look like morons and sound like UT fans who cry about everything. Get behind your team and your coach!

Wreck ‘em Tech!

Michael