SOONERGUYS Blog

Mike Leach’s firing as Texas Tech head coach has moved from a story about alleged mistreating of a player with a high profile dad, to a story about the ongoing acrimony between Leach and the university’s officials and one of its influential boosters.

Jim Sowell, a wealthy Dallas businessman and former Texas Tech regent, grew tired of the “Mike Leach Contract Soap Opera” during last year’s negotiations over a contract extension with the Red Raider coach, according to e-mails obtained in a public records request by the Dallas Morning News.

Central to the contract negotiations was the $800,000 “completion bonus” which Leach was to get this week had he not been fired. During last year’s negotiations Leach wanted some portion of the bonus vested a year in advance. Sowell adamantly opposed that and wrote Texas Tech Chancellor Kent Hance that Leach was not worth the money he was asking and could be fired after the the 2009 season.

The emails can be read here: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/12-09/1231newleach.pdf

“Leach has been able to do one thing no Tech coach has ever been able to do before – make me disgusted with the Tech football program” wrote Sowell in an email to Chancellor Hance – not words you would want from a multi-millionaire booster of the program.

The hardball contract negotiations set the backdrop for what occurred this week, when the university suspended Leach after ESPN analyst Craig James complained that his son, Adam, a player on the team, was confined to a stadium mechanical room when he complained of a concussion. Doctors had reportedly cleared him to practice.

The drama got thicker on Wednesday when James used his role as commentator on ESPN’s Holiday Bowl broadcast to tell viewers his family was a “victim” in the controversy.  Interestingly, James has been discussed in Texas Republican circles as a potential future U.S. Senate candidate. 

Meanwhile, a prominent Dallas public relations firm posted a video reportedly taken by Adam James when he was kept in the mechanical room on December 20. See video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZqvajnhZDU

The firm, Spaeth Communications, was the media mind behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group that torpedoed the John Kerry presidential campaign in 2004. It is unclear who hired the firm to release the Adam James video – the James family or Texas Tech or university financial boosters.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Hance told ESPN that both the alleged mistreatment of James and Leach’s “insubordination” combined to cause the university to fire him. He confirmed that Leach’s decision to seek a court order allowing him to coach in Saturday’s Alamo Bowl was another reason he was terminated.  A university lawyer gave Leach a termination letter moments before a court hearing on the restraining order request on Wednesday morning and one day before Leach was to earn the $800,000 bonus.

Terminating someone for seeking redress of grievances in court is considered a violation of public policy and unlawful, which in this case could jeopardize any legal right the university might have to end the contract. The Texas Tech administrator’s publicized statements to ESPN can be used as evidence against the university in an employment lawsuit which Leach is expected to bring against the university.

The earlier Jim Sowell email suggesting firing Leach after the 2009 season is likewise very damning for the university. It suggests there was a plan to later dismiss him and the alleged “cause” for termination that was subsequently presented by the James incident and cited as justification for Leach’s dismissal was a mere pretext.

The conclusion one may draw from the emails is the university was offended by Leach’s hardball contract negotiations last year and decided to find any possible reason not to fulfill their end of the contract that the administration had reluctantly accepted. That may violate the school’s legal obligation of good faith which exists in all contracts in which it enters. I suspect this will be the basis of Leach’s ensuing lawsuit against Texas Tech. It will not be an easy one for the university to defend, given the emails that have already been made public by the Dallas Morning News.

Most importantly, if discovery in the lawsuit shows Sowell got involved in the Adam James incident investigation and Leach’s subsequent firing, then Leach’s lawyers can cry conspiracy and  make it extremely difficult for Texas Tech to avoid a jury finding the school liable for breach of contract.

So the university known for resurrecting the physically and verbally abusive Bobby Knight’s coaching career has suspended Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach for making a player stand in a dark “closet.”

Is it no coincidence this is occurring a mere two days before Leach would receive an $800,000 bonus if he remained the head coach on December 31, 2009?

We shift from the Bizarro World of Urban Meyer (where he’s been playing the “Where’s the Pea?” game with the Florida nuts), to Lubbock, Texas and find the Texas Tech administration seemingly moving toward sending Leach packing with no return ticket.

All because ESPN sports analyst Craig James is complaining his son, Adam, a player on the team, was mistreated when Leach made him stand in a dark equipment “closet” when he chose not to practice due to a concussion injury. (Others have disputed it is a “closet”, saying it is rather a storage building).

Oh no. Not that.

In other words, a high profile TV sports personality is throwing his weight around to get the most successful coach in Texas Tech history canned because his son’s feelings were hurt.  (Doctors have said there was no health risk to the son).

Can someone tell me when the pansies took over college football?

James was scheduled to be part of the broadcast team of the Texas Tech vs. Michigan State Alamo Bowl appearance on Saturday. But the conflict of interest was even too much for ESPN to ignore. They have removed James from the game. It remains to be seen how visible James will be on other ESPN broadcasts after this episode.

Speaking of ESPN, if we are going to suspend anyone, let’s suspend ESPN for subjecting us all to:

– Lou Holtz’ pre-season projection that Notre Dame would play in the BCS Championship at year’s end;

– A month of Bob Stoops-to-Notre Dame stories that were outright lies;

– Ignoring the Reggie Bush scandal at USC for another year, but managing to do an expose on how Florida State doesn’t have high academic standards (whoa… now that’s a revelation).

The only truth we know for sure is that Leach has been at odds with the university administration, including the athletic director, for several years. Most of the disagreement has dealt with contract negotiations and the football program’s spending habits.

Meanwhile, Leach’s lawyer is moving for a court order that would allow him to coach in the Red Raiders’ Alamo Bowl appearance on Saturday. Once again the lawyers try to save the day.

Stay tuned. 

– Mike

Some musings while pondering my bowl picks…

Tim Tebow’s televised crying after losing the SEC championship to Alabama shows how the excessive media idolatry of Tebow the last three years is so ridiculous. It is also no wonder how our star athletes can get their priorities out of whack.

Tebow is a fine player and may be an all around good guy. But his emotional display after the loss was as childish as his long-time ranting and raving to team mates when he was winning. Some found that endearing. Most of us got worn thin from it all.

There on Saturday was big star Tim Tebow crying like a baby. His teammates were caressing him and consoling him. Didn’t they play the game too? Oh, I forgot, this is and always has been about the Tebow “dynasty”– not about Urban Meyer or the rest of the Florida Gators.

Tebows attention (what will ESPN Gameday do their weekly feature on now?) has been surpassed only by the histrionic fans’ worship of him. That has no equal in college football history.

What can one say when a state university places a plaque on campus of a current college player’s locker room speech – and the school and alums think that is OK?

Oh well. I had no idea Superman could cry. Or that Nick Saban was really Lex Luther.

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The Sooners are off to the Sun Bowl and we’re trying to decide if Tacos in El Paso are worth making the trip. We haven’t missed a bowl game since Bob Stoops landed in Norman, but given the last three bowl games our friends are yelling “jinx” and discouraging any further bowl plans.Meh.Bigger question is, will Stanford alum Tiger Woods show up for the game? Look out El Paso fire hydrants (and women)!

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I would like to blame Mack Brown for poor clock management that almost cost the Longhorns their shot at a national championship. With Texas already in field goal range the Longhorns had to rely upon a video review to keep the game clock from expiring before they had a chance to boot the game winning field goal against Nebraska in Saturday’s Big 12 championship at Jerry’s World.But I can’t blame Mack. This one was on Colt McCoy.Apparently Colt wasn’t hearing the screams of “What are you doing!” from Mack and fans of all allegiances who were watching from living rooms around the country as the clock ticked down and he was scrambling around seemingly oblivious to the time of day. When he chucked the ball out of bounds the game clock ran down to zero.

Colt just about blew it. Fortunately for him, the officials put one second on the clock. UT kicked the FG to win. But the Texas Longhorn lost my Heisman vote (OK, I don’t really have one, but I can fantasize) on that one play. Of course his average play this year wasn’t much help, but I was prepared to give him my vote for his Heisman career until he lost his mind under pressure.

And, when one examines McCoy’s play against tough defenses, the Heisman-or-not picture is even more clear. Here are McCoy’s stats against the only two tough defenses he’s played in 2009:

Against Oklahoma: 21 of 38 for only 127 yards passing, 1 TD and 1 INT.

Against Nebraska: 20 of 36 for 184 yards, no Tds and 3 INTs.

Sorry, Colt, that does not equal Heisman.

— Mike