Michael C. “Mike” Leach (born March 9, 1961) is an American college football coach. He is the head coach of the Washington State Cougars football team. Previously, he was head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team, leading the Red Raiders to winning seasons in every year of his tenure.
FIRING
On December 28, 2009, Leach was suspended indefinitely by Texas Tech pending investigation of alleged inappropriate treatment of Adam James, son of former SMU and New England Patriots running back (and former ESPN college football analyst) Craig James. On December 16, James suffered a concussion. He was examined the next day, and told not to practice that afternoon due to the concussion. According to a James family source, Leach ordered him to stand in the equipment room near the Raiders’ practice facility. According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, school officials claim they gave Leach an ultimatum to apologize to James in writing by December 28 or Leach would be suspended. His attorney, Ted Liggett, disputed the characterization of events as reported by the university and other news sources, and said that James had been treated reasonably in light of his condition.
Leach immediately sought an injunction that would allow him to coach in the 2010 Alamo Bowl. However, on December 30, Texas Tech fired Leach, calling his refusal to apologize to James “a defiant act of insubordination.” This was the day before Leach was reportedly owed an $800,000 tenure bonus and over $1,700,000 for contractual guaranteed income for 2009.[51] Texas Tech lawyers handed a termination letter to Liggett just minutes before the two sides were to appear in a Lubbock courtroom for a hearing. Liggett was also told that Leach would not be allowed to coach in the Alamo Bowl regardless of how the hearing turned out. School officials later said that other incidents had come to light during its investigation of Leach, but declined to elaborate. Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill was named interim head coach and led the team during their appearance in the Alamo Bowl.
In a statement, Leach said that he believed the firing was motivated in part by simmering acrimony over the contract negotiations. He also said he plans to sue Texas Tech for wrongful termination.
On December 31, Leach spoke with The New York Times in his first interview since being fired from Texas Tech. He said that he did not know where James had been taken, having only ordered him taken “out of the light.” He claimed the controversy stemmed from Craig James’ constant lobbying for more playing time for his son, whom he characterized as lazy and entitled.
On January 8, 2010, Leach formally filed suit against Texas Tech for wrongful termination and other claims. He claimed that school officials not only fired him without cause, but issued defamatory statements in a willful attempt to keep him from being hired elsewhere.[55] During a deposition for the case obtained by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Adam James admitted under oath that he found the closet incident “funny.”[56] In May 2010, District Judge Bill Sowder dismissed all but one of Leach’s claims on the grounds of sovereign immunity, but he allowed Leach’s claim for breach of contract to proceed, finding that Texas Tech had waived its immunity on this claim by its conduct. The judge also dismissed Leach’s claims against three university administrators.[57][58] Both parties have taken steps to appeal the decision, although Leach’s attorneys have said they would drop their appeal if Texas Tech would do likewise and allow the breach of contract claim to proceed to a jury trial.[59] Early in 2011, Texas 7th Court of Appeals ruled that Texas Tech was immune from Leach’s claim of breach of contract but that Leach can claim non-monetary reparations; Leach attorney Paul Dobrowski announced his intention to appeal to the Supreme Court of Texas.
Friday Night Lights series creator Peter Berg has hinted that he has written a movie script for the characters from the TV series that is based on Leach’s firing from Texas Tech.
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