Tommy Tuberville is still working on changing the culture in Lubbock. He knows his team doesn’t have the talent yet defensively, but this victory could go a long way towards shaping the future.

Tommy Tuberville joined WJOX in Alabama with The RoundTable to discuss Texas Tech’s upset win over the Oklahoma Sooners, running an offense that throws the football more often, having a good feeling about his game plan against the Sooners and the lightening delay having any kind impact on his team before the game.

Congrats on the win. How is life on the Texas Tech campus?

“Well this week is pretty good. Last couple of weeks it wasn’t very good. You go week-to-week in this business. It is like Groundhog Day. You win or lose you get up the next day and go back to work and this week we are obviously getting a few accolades with how our guys played. I was proud of them. It’s tough throwing the football and we do throw it. If we hadn’t run the ball in that game for 160 yards we would have never had a chance, so it all comes back to playing defense and running the ball, which opened up the passing game and we got a heck of a quarterback now. He’s closing to being ranked the top passer in the country now with what he’s done the last two weeks even though we are 5-2. He is pretty much just on top of all the games we won.”

That quarterback is Seth Doege, who averages around 50 throws a game. Do you enjoy running an offense that throws the football more?

“Yeah. I really do. You go back and look at the snaps we have. Texas A & M for instance, we lost a game 45-40, but we had an 119 offensive snaps in that game. In the SEC you’d probably average 65-70. Kansas State we had 105 snaps and against Oklahoma we had 98 snaps. It gives you more opportunities. We are still kind of making this a more physical football team. When I got here it was if you can’t throw you are going to lose. We are trying to put together a defense with what we were doing on the offense and if we can do that we are going to have a good football team. Right now we are getting in the mix. We are young. I didn’t take one senior on the defense to the game Saturday against Oklahoma. They were all freshmen and sophomores with a couple of juniors sprinkled in there. We’re still learning, but I was proud with the way we played. We played very hard and the mentality here is if you can’t score 50 points you can’t win. We are trying to change that. We are going to win a game sooner or later that is 17-14 or 14-10. Something like that. It’s going to be a culture shock around here. This league is so potent offensively. Everyone was saying: ‘Coach you are going into this game and you are the sixth ranked offense in the country?’ I said, ‘Well Oklahoma is 4th. Baylor is 2nd and Oklahoma State is 3rd.’ They play offense over here now. We gotta get ready each week and take them as they come.”

Did you have a feeling that you had something on film that could beat this Oklahoma Sooners team? The defense was excellent as well:

“The big thing was defense. When you go on the road you are not going to outscore many people. You gotta play defense and the thing we were able to do is that we were able to make them punt four times in the first half. I think they punted four times all year. You talk about an offense? This team has an offense line that is as good as you will see. They’ve got tight ends. They’ve got receivers that can play. They got a quarterback that has been phenomenal. What we try to do is the reverse. I said guys listen if they are not going to huddle then we are not going to huddle on defense. We are going to run the same defense the first seven or eight snaps and see how we handle it. You know what it worked? Our guys were able to line up. We didn’t flip our corners right to left. We kind of lined up play and caught them off guard a little bit by not trying to blitz. We only had one man coverage snap the whole game of their 85 snaps. That’s pretty unusual. We just played zone and being able to do that and get them off the field early and every time we pretty much got the ball in the first half we scored. We were up 31-7 with six minutes to go in the third quarter. I knew they would come storming back, but we would make enough plays to escape that place with a victory.”

Did the lightening delay benefit your team at all?

“No. Not really. I was hoping it would. They had 85,000 people there and it was sold out. It was their homecoming and we go out and warm up and the officials come in and say, ‘Coach it’s probably going to be an hour.’ It was a little cramped of a dressing room. I guess we did the exact opposite of what they did. They ran indoors. They were working out and running plays and our coaches – we give our players and I have done this before – we did this at Auburn. When we have a 30 or 40 minute ride on the bus to the stadium, which when you play OU you have to stay in Oklahoma City. I give them a big sack of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and bars. We go back in and our coaches are listening to George Strait on the radio. We got the music up in the coaches locker room. Our players are listening to Lil’ Wayne and they are all eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I’m thinking you know this doesn’t look right? We are playing one of the top teams in the country and our guys are eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They didn’t have a worry in the world and we played like it. We played lights out on both sides. I was proud. We played hard and that’s hard to do. It’s hard to beat anyone on the road in this business, but to do that and play the way we did. I was really proud of them. We played  hard. We are not that talented. We got a pretty good offense now. We can score some points. It’s just defense where we don’t have the weapons yet to say hey we are going to go out and shut somebody out. We are far from that.”

Listen to Tommy Tuberville on WJOX in Birmingham, Alabama here

Feldman assisted former Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach with his new book, Swing Your Sword.  In the book, Leach details his firing from Texas Tech and the role ESPN’s Craig James played in his firing.  I have yet to read the book, but snippets released to the public paint ESPN in a very unflattering light.

I personally don’t see how this situation can be resolved where Feldman returns to work at ESPN.  I see it ending with a lawsuit against ESPN that eventually gets settled in return for Feldman’s silence forever on the matter.  There will be a long line of suitors for Feldman’s services and here’s to hoping he lands on his feet softly.

While I’m fully in agreement with journalists supporting Bruce Feldman, I’m not so sure once guys go to work for ESPN that they can still be called journalists.  Sure, they have journalism backgrounds and perform journalistic tasks, but the world wide leader is a whole other animal. When you go to work for ESPN, it’s almost like you shake hands in blood and become brothers/sisters for life.  I realize that it’s been reported that ESPN gave Bruce Feldman approval to do this book, but I can’t help thinking they gave him approval with a wink.  I just can’t shake the feeling that the higher ups at ESPN would expect Bruce Feldman to alert them of anything potentially negative about the WWL before it went to the editors and eventually into print.  That’s where the problems lies.  At ESPN, you can only be a journalist if what you’re reporting doesn’t negatively portray ESPN.  Unfortunately, Bruce Feldman found out the hard way.

Mike Leach has been doing 100% of  the promotion on this book and this morning was asked about the Bruce Feldman suspension at ESPN.

Mike Leach joined WQAM in Miami with the Big Dog, Joe Rose to talk about how he feels about ESPN suspending Bruce Feldman, whether or not he think Craig James has become the golden boy at ESPN, what he thinks of Texas Tech siding with Craig James as opposed to him when it came to Adam James, and if he thinks Craig James was doing things behind his back when he was the head coach at Texas Tech.

How he feels about ESPN suspending Bruce Feldman:

“I think ESPN just isn’t going to let little inconvenient details like the facts get in the way of their agenda. The bottom line is we don’t have anything in the book that isn’t 100 percent factual and we don’t have anything in that book that’s not totally backed up by documents. Furthermore Bruce had permission ahead of time to do this book from ESPN. The guy that got the car in the ditch for them was Craig James. That’s where they ought to be looking. Not Bruce Feldman.”

Whether or not Craig James has become the golden boy at ESPN:

“He evidently is because if you look at the public reaction, if you look at the blogs, everybody sees through it and understands it. People are recognizing the truth and nobody appreciates Craig James’ role in this. It’s insulting to everyone’s intelligence. Between Craig James and ESPN both they’re starting with this. Me being too dumb to see through what they’re doing and then it became well the public is too dumb to see through what they’re doing. Then with this thing with Bruce they think it’s almost like they’re so smart that we won’t understand it anyway and they’re so powerful that we have to do whatever they want no matter what. Everyone is seeing through it and everybody resents it.”

On the university taking Craig James side when it came to Adam James:

“I was gonna cut Adam after the bowl game and I think they knew that. After the bowl game it’s a nice transition, he gets some nice experience, and then the next semester starts and then he is somewhere else or certainly not on the team. I think it woulda worked out well for everybody other than the fact that they tried to get me fired, which ultimately they did. In the case of our chancellor, the biggest thing is they had a certain amount of acrimony over the previous contract negotiations and didn’t want to pay the money. The biggest thing was the administration, and really only one member of the administration, and two regents that he had in his pocket because in ten years, the administration at Texas Tech I thought was pretty good. I think they lost face on the contract negotiations and decided that they were going to hide behind sovereign immunity to not pay me.”

Whether or not he thinks Craig James was doing things behind his back when he was the head coach at Texas Tech:

“There’s no question he was doing things behind my back. He was one of those guys that was ridiculously high maintenance and I had to deal with on a daily basis almost. So did some of my other coaches. Ultimately he started calling the Chairman of the Board of Regents and things when I wouldn’t indulge his deals as far as playing his kid. He definitely did things behind the scenes no question to deteriorate the efforts of our staff.”

Listen to Mike Leach on WQAM in Miami with the Big Dog, Joe Rose

Leach previews the book in the following interview, claiming that James hired a PR firm, Spaeth Communications, to help hook his son, Craig James in touch with ESPN’s Craig James. The younger James’ concussion story, you’ll remember, was part of what led to Leach’s firing. He also says Tech then used the same information from the PR firm to continue the crusade in hopes that it wouldn’t have to pay him.

I should mention that Leach describes all this while out fishing on the Atlantic Ocean, a goofy side-note that won’t surprise anybody who is familiar with Leach and his eccentricity. It will be interesting to see if his book brings the whole issue up nationally and/or helps him get the opportunity to finally tell his side of the story in court. There’s also the possibility that this may adversely affect Leach’s chances at landing a high-profile coaching job when he does return to coaching. Though I don’t think Leach is too worried about ruffling feathers.

Mike Leach joined 105.3 The Fan in Dallas with Richie and Greggo to discuss what his new book uncovers surrounding his ongoing battle with Texas Tech, the roles of Craig James and his son Adam during the lead-up to his dismissal, his thoughts on Adam James as a player, and his claim that the PR firm helped put Adam James in touch with ESPN’s Joe Schad.

What does your new book uncover surrounding the investigation leading to your firing at Texas Tech?:

“The quick summary would be, No. 1, Texas Tech wasn’t satisfied — and by Texas Tech really it was just the Chancellor and two regents — … were dissatisfied with the contract that they’d agreed to and negotiated. A day later, they send a memo out saying, ‘If we fire him by November, we don’t have to pay him.’ So they never planned to fulfill the contract, they never offered any defense for it, they haven’t paid me in 2009, the season I already worked and their only defense is sovereign immunity, which is a medieval doctrine. … The evidence against them is ridiculously compelling and we’re just looking for our day in court. Right now we’re battling to see if we can be heard.”

On uncovering some things surrounding Craig James in the investigation as well:

“The other interesting thing is Craig James hired a PR firm and Craig James used a PR firm who funneled a bunch of false information to ESPN. And then the chancellor at Tech utilized the same PR firm to smear me nationally in order to try and take my contract. Craig James was upset and bitter about how much playing time his son had and I think he knew I was going to cut him after the bowl game. And their documents outline their strategy to smear me nationally, their strategy to try to get witnesses to change their statements and then their strategy to distribute the false video that Adam James took on his phone.”

More on Adam James and whether his ability warranted the type of attention that he and his father were apparently demanding:

“He played about five plays a game. The problem was he didn’t have a real good attitude and his effort wasn’t good. He didn’t have any scholarship offers coming out of high school, which is why he accepted a grey shirt at Texas Tech. … But the biggest thing is he never got out from under his dad’s coattails. … They’ve got some sham allegation that I tried to force him to play with a concussion. He’s a player that played five plays a game, when just shortly before that we benched the starting quarterback for a month because he had a concussion. Interestingly enough, he played every snap.”

On his book detailing James’ hiring of the PR firm, which had Adam James forward his names and cell phones to Joe Schad:

“Joe Schad did contact Adam James and players and then Adam, of course, would go around and try to find the occasional malcontent … to try to make negative comments. It was literally orchestrated specifically by Craig James through Adam and Joe Schad. That’s in the book in the words of … the PR firm that Craig hired.”

Listen to Mike Leach on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas here

Billy Gillispie joined 105.3 the Fan in Dallas with Richie & Greggo to discuss his two-year layoff from coaching, what he kept himself busy with, how bad he wanted to get back in to coaching, why he’s entirely convinced that he can be successful at Texas Tech, whether he had other offers to return to coaching the past two years, and to reflect on his brief stint as the head coach at Kentucky.

What did he do for two years outside of coaching?:

“I stayed around the game quite a bit watching players and watching games. I’ve watched more NBA basketball here locally. … I’ve done a ton of volunteer work, which I had never had the opportunity or time to do. … It’s been really good for me.”

How bad did he want to get back into coaching?:

“I’m definitely glad to be back. I was always coaching no matter what I was doing. I went from being a high school coach to being the head coach at Kentucky in 15 years and everyone knows how I go about it, I go full steam ahead and never take a deep breath. I’ve been able to use this time as a blessing.”

Can he win at Texas Tech?:

“You better believe it. I’m really looking forward to that. I think they have some really good players returning and I think they’ve signed a nice group. … We’ll definitely go assess those things and add maybe some other guys in this late signing period. But when you have a place that has a great university and a great community that really cares about athletics and sports and a great conference … you can definitely win.”

Did he have other offers during his time off?:

“There were some things that I was interested in last season that didn’t happen. … And then this situation came along and these things happen so quickly. It just came along and I just think I’m a perfect fit out there. They have a great, young athletic director out there … and he’s already a star at age 39. … Our philosophies are so similar and we just hit it off.”

Looking back, what went wrong at Kentucky?:

“I think we did great there at Kentucky, it was just that I only had two years. … The first year, we had a ton of injuries. I’m not bragging, and I hate to even say this, but I was lucky enough to be the Coach of the Year in that league. … We went to the NCAA tournament and the next year we won 22 games, just lost a couple of close games in the last part of conference. … We just didn’t win enough games and that was my responsibility as a head coach.”

Listen here to Billy Gillispie on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas

So with the recent firing of Randy Shannon from Miami, the talking heads have been speculating about the possibility of Jon Gruden being the next head coach of the Canes, but if it were up to Leach, it would be him because he believes he would be a great fit.  With the issues that led to his departure from Texas Tech and the ongoing litigation he is in the midst of, it seems highly unlikely that he would be on the university’s radar, but you never know.    Donald Trump recently sent a message to Miami’s president urging them to hire Leach.  Take that for what it’s worth, but you never know.  Crazier things have happened.

Mike Leach joined ESPN 1080 in Orlando to talk about whether he would like to be the head coach at Miami, whether Cam Newton should win the Heisman Trophy, and why he thinks Jon Gruden would have a hard time adjusting to the college game.

Whether he would like to be the head coach at Miami:

“Sure, I think a lot of people would.  I think it is a great opportunity for anybody.  They have got a great tradition and all the rest.  A great recruiting base and you could do big things at Miami.”

Whether he interviewed with Miami a few years ago and what he is going to do to let them know he is interested:

“It wasn’t really much of an interview.  It was just kind of throwing stuff on the table.  I wanted to bring my staff and I think money was an issue too.”

How important the state of the athletic facilities and the fact that Miami doesn’t have an on-campus stadium comes into the decision-making process for a coach:

“I think no matter where you go you are working on something, and they have always been an off-campus facility.  Sure an on-campus one would be more appealing but they have always had an off-campus facility.  The other facilities, they have worked around it with great success, so I think you can continue to do that.”

Whether he thinks Miami is still one of the premier colleges to coach at and whether he thinks he can have success there:

“Oh I do.  I have had success everywhere else, you know and I think it just has to do with everybody doing their role.  Players, coaches and everybody involved.  I mean no one guy does it himself but I think that you get a good staff, and you get good people and you work together every day I think your chances for success are pretty high and then the other thing you consider when you are at Texas Tech…  See Texas Tech started out in the border conference, which was a really soft conference, then Texas Tech went to the Southwest Conference, which was a pretty good conference, then they went to the Big XII, which was a great conference, but in that ten years that me and my staff were in the Big XII we won more bowl games than all of the years that Tech had the rest of the years combined.  You know so we have got a pretty good team and a good plan.”

Which offenses he has enjoyed to watch this season:

“I think Oregon does a real good job, first of all I think they are on the ground but what they do well is they utilize all their space and all the skill players put their hands on the ball and then they have got a really good quarterback.  A lot of teams talking about dual-threat quarterbacks, this guy or that guy, which generally means a guy can’t throw and that he runs pretty good and we are going to pretend we can throw. That guy at Oregon really is a dual-threat guy.  He can do both, and I think as good as the running back is I think that the quarterback is really the key because he can deal it off to everybody in a variety of directions and then of course you really have got a difference-making running back that multiplies their yards even further…  I would say that Oregon is a really good one.  The guys that throw it around pretty well.  I don’t like the ones where we had one or two guys where they are just going to hand it to him or throw it to one or two guys.  I want to see the field utilized and all of the skill positions used.”

What he thinks about TCU heading to the Big East:

“I think it will be kind of interesting.  I think it will be sort of exciting because you get to see teams so far from off playing one another, I think that will be interesting.  I think the road games are going to be tough for TCU and I think the road games at TCU are going to be tough for the Big East.  I think it is going to be harder to beat TCU than the rest of the Big East thinks it is going to be and I think it is going to be tougher for TCU to beat those other Big East teams than they think it is.  I think they are both in for more than they have thought and I also think that when you consider the distance and all of that I think there is going to be more movement and I don’t think movement is over.  Do I think TCU will be in the Big East 20 years from now?  I really doubt it.  I think there will be more shifting around.”

Whether Cam Newton should win the Heisman Trophy:

“I would give it to him now.  He is the most imposing force in college football and any allegations against him I think you have got to prove before you take anything away from him or deny him anything.  I am in the middle of a bunch of false allegations and got a little litigation to clear my name going.  So if the allegations against him are false then I mean the worst thing in the world would be to deny him something.  So yeah as of this day and they have not proven anything, absolutely.”

Why he thinks Jon Gruden would have a hard time adjusting to the college game:

“I think the biggest thing would be recruiting and then the academic end of things.  I think recruiting, fund-raising, and academics.  You have to deal with, pay attention to and focus whether your kids go to class.  You have got to go out there and recruit, recruiting is critical.  You have got to put the tie on and go out there and try to raise money.”

Listen here to Leach on The Beat of Sports on ESPN 1080 in Orlando

Mike Locksley, currently the head coach in Albuquerque, has won just one time in his first 15 games and lost 72-0 to Oregon to open this season. He also only coached 14 of those games because he was suspended for one last year after punching one of his assistant coaches. The lack of on-field success and presence of off-field blunders may have Locksley facing an early exit.

Rumors this week out of New Mexico seem to suggest just that, that the Lobos are looking at replacing Locksley with Mike Leach. You’ll remember Leach was shown the door at Texas Tech last year after a player came out and said his treatment for a concussion included being made to stand in a dark place for hours at a time.

Leach pretty much played dumb on such rumors during an interview in Dallas.

Mike Leach joined KRLD in Dallas with Rage to discuss Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville’s decision to punt late in a loss to Texas, Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez’s hot start, the rumors that he’s going to be the next coach at New Mexico, whether he’d be interested in the Lobos job and, of all things, what kind of cut he asks for when he gets his hair cut.

On Texas Tech punting the ball when it should have gone for a first down late in a loss to Texas:

“The loss is going to count the same whether you lose by 10 or you lose by 17 and you’ve got to give yourself a chance to win. I remember we upset the Aggies one time and we beat Kansas one time in a similar situation. The Kansas play ended up being on third down and we ran it because we knew we’d do either/or on fourth down. [On Saturday] if they convert it and they march down and score, they have a chance to win the thing. If you punt it, there’s really no chance to win unless he fumbles the punt. You have to go out there and try to win those things and play until the clock says zero. The difference between losing by 10 or 17, there really isn’t one.”

On Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez:

“Well, I think it’s too early to say. I think everybody’s optimistic about him and I think that it’s a problem that Nebraska certainly wishes would’ve gotten sorted out during camp. … Nevertheless, he did some really good things against Washington. Nebraska just flat out demoralized Washington. I think I’d say it’s a really good start for him. … I thought it was a great win for Nebraska and, for them, hopefully it’s kind of a statement of things to come.”

On rumors that he’ll be taking over at New Mexico:

“Well, I plan to get back into coaching. All I’ve heard on that is just on a rumor level. Mike Locksley’s a good person, a good coach. He’s had some adversity and hopefully he gets through it. At some point I plan to get in at the right situation, right time and all that. As far as New Mexico, I haven’t heard anything on it beyond just some blogs that have been forwarded to me. I don’t know any more about that than you do and I suspect you know more than I do.”

On whether New Mexico would be a desirable place to go next or he’s looking for a more high-profile job:

“I don’t know about that. A high-tempo program, great fans, great place and all those other things. … I’m happy with what I’m doing now, so I’ll keep doing that and at the end of the season we’ll see what happens. I think New Mexico is a great program. It’s always had really good potential and it’s a great state. But like I said, they’ve got Mike Locksley and I think he can do good things here and we’ll just let it ride at that.”

On what he asks for when he goes in for a haircut:

“I try to just keep it the same and cut a little more off. I’m just trying to be comfortable but between the lines and get you one of those haircuts that you don’t have to think about very much. Not too short, not too long, just kind of shape it up a little bit because my hair tends to go straight up.”

Listen to the interview with Mike Leach on KRLD in Dallas here

Contrary to Leach, Tuberville is known for having a great defense, not offense.  The old saying, ‘offense wins games, defense wins championships’ rings true with Tuberville as he was able to win the ’04 SEC Championship at Auburn, which by the way, they were shunned a chance at the BCS Championship because USC and Oklahoma were also undefeated.  Tuberville has his work cut out for him on the defensive side of the ball.  The only big question left unanswered on the offensive side of the ball is, who is going to be the quarterback?  Taylor Potts and Steven Sheffield both hurt themselves during spring practice but have training camp to prove who the better quarterback is.  It remains to be seen how Tuberville’s style and preferences will merge with the current personnel on both sides of the ball, but long-term this was a rock, solid hire.

Tommy Tuberville joined 1620 the Zone in Omaha to talk about whether he feels that he won’t be able to speak his mind as head coach in the Big 12, how hard it is to juggle coming into a new school and trying to install his style of play but at the same time play to the players’ strengths, and whether he has noticed a huge difference from a style standpoint between the SEC and Big 12 while watching game film during the offseason.

Whether he feels that he won’t be able to speak his mind as head coach in the Big 12:

“Well sometimes I think you do.  You need to stand up for your school and your team.  I have been reprimanded a few times in some of the other leagues by just making a few comments about some officials and that is what usually gets you in trouble, coaches don’t know anything besides coaching football, at least sometimes we think we do but it is a deal where there is a lot of controversy and everybody is trying to protect their turf.  As you go through that I have probably said a few things that I should have kept to myself.  But we are in a good conference.  We do hate to see Colorado and Nebraska leave, I do personally.  I had a chance to coach against Nebraska several times when I was at Miami down in the Orange Bowl.  Most of those were for national championships and of course we played Nebraska down in the Cotton Bowl I guess about three years ago when I was at Auburn.  A lot of tradition at Nebraska and Beau has got the team coming back strong and unfortunately they are moving to another league.  We will get one year and hopefully there is a chance that we could cross paths, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings.”

How hard it is to juggle coming into a new school and trying to install his style of play but at the same time play to the players’ strengths:

“Yeah you have got to be careful because you can’t make too many changes in the first year because it is kind of like a machine when you start taking one part and move it somewhere else.  It might make that machine a little weaker.  Just because you might think it will make it stronger it might not work, but I like the nucleus that we got on offense  – but most people know that I am a defensive guy and we are going to play defense.  We don’t have enough defensive players as we speak, now I have got a good nucleus of guys that I think we can do a lot of things with, but we are not to that point yet where I think we can go out and play with 22 guys with some depth, and blitz and run like I hope we could do in the future – but the big thing I liked our team, again, I went to Ole Miss and started that program, went to Auburn and now Texas Tech.  The thing that you want you is you want to make sure that your players understand work and what you expect out of them.  We have had great response, laid it on the line for us.  I am excited about the season.  I think we can win some games this year.  I think we might win some that some people think that we can’t win but it all goes back to organization in getting 40- 50 guys to play a game because it takes that many.  It is not a 3 or 4 player sport.  You have to have 40 or 50 guys ready to go every Saturday and they have got to have a chance to win in this league.”

His thoughts on his QB’s and whether their health determined not to name a starter until after training camp:

“I’d probably still gone onto two-a-days because really if you have got 8 or 9 practices because they say 15 but you have some in shorts, there are some days that you really can’t do anything.  There really wasn’t enough time and then of course they get hurt, the both of them the first week, so it kind of threw us into a tail spin.  It is kind of unusual but I know about the backup quarterbacks than I do the guys that are going to vie for the starting quarterback position but both are competitors, both are very good, both have got strong arms, both have started, both have won games, both have lost games, they understand this league.  I am excited for them to teach me something about this league but also see which one steps upfront.  We will not have a merry-go-round of quarterbacks.  We are going to have a starter; we are going to have a backup.  I am a true believer that your team rallies around one guy not two so we will take that direction and see who it is.”

Whether he has noticed a huge difference from a style standpoint between the SEC and Big 12 while watching game film during the offseason:

“Not in players.  There are great athletes in both leagues and it is the philosophies.   Over there if you don’t play defense you are not going to have a chance, and you have got play defense and you have got to run the football.  It is a physical league.  Urban Meyer tried to come in and run this so-called spread offense and throw it around with Chris Leak and then Tim Tebow, he got away from it.  Now he ran it but he ran the ball more.  There is nobody over there that throws the ball 50-60 times a game, like they do in this league.  Now there is more than one way to skin a cat but in my eyes, you still have to play defense and if you look at the teams, like for instance last year.  Nebraska and Texas had the two best defenses in the league and they played in the championship game.  Well it is always going to be that way.  You are not going a team gets into the league saying, man we could score 50 points a game but we don’t care much about defense.  That is not going to happen.  You can win games but you are not going to get into the championship.  So I was hired to get us to the championship game and have a chance to win and I feel like by doing that we have got to continue with our offense, maybe run a little bit more but also play some defense.”

Tommy Tuberville on 1620 the Zone in Omaha with Kevin and Mike (the interview starts at the 1:35 mark)

Leach was fired as the head coach at Texas Tech in late December after an allegation of improper treatment by Adam James. The son of ESPN analyst Craig James, who was battling a concussion, alleged that Leach forced him to stand in a dark shed while the team practiced. Leach has never disputed those facts, but was fired when he refused to apologize.

Now wrapped up in a lawsuit with Texas Tech over wrongful termination, Leach says he’ll likely spend this season as a television analyst, but that he looks forward to getting back into football at a later date. Speculations have run rampant that he could be a prospect for the newly opened position at Vanderbilt.

Mike Leach joined KRLD in Dallas with Newy Scruggs to discuss what it’s like to be out of coaching, the Big 12 shakeup and what his plans are to get back into coaching.

On how he’s getting through the time without coaching:

“It’s been remarkably active. I’ve brought all these books with me [to Florida] and I thought, ‘Well, this’ll be great, I’ll relax and read these books.’ It didn’t really come to that because I’ve had so much going on. Travelling, I’ve been in and out of here and I’ve been called by a number of schools just to meet with them. And then, of course with the lawsuit, periodically there’s stuff to handle with that. But I’ve been travelling a lot. I haven’t got any of those books read.”

On the Big 12 shakeup:

“I don’t know. I guess I don’t know the entire big picture on that … because these guys have obviously thought it through to some point in a pretty good fashion and so I can’t say what’s smart or not smart. … First of all, they talked about the 16-team conferences, which, I don’t know. To me, the perfect conference size is 10. You play most people and then you get a few non-conference games. But obviously it’s about money and who controls it and how many eyes are watching their television sets. … My suspicion is that what we’re seeing right now is going to be a little bit short-term. Something’s going to change. I’m not saying the Big 12 is going to go away. I don’t know what is going to change, but something’s going to change.”

On Tommy Tuberville, his replacement at Texas Tech:

“I’ve know him over the years, but he didn’t have much to do with this. My deal, and this is well-publicized, is about money and doesn’t have anything to do with Tuberville. It’s about money and about a few corrupt administrators there at Texas Tech. They signed an agreement that they, at no point, planned to honor. And so I think that’s pretty clear.”

On whether he’s bitter towards Texas Tech:

“I think to a point, there’s always some disappointment. We accomplished a lot there at Texas Tech. There’s only about 160 Division I coaches in the history of the world that can say they’re the winningest coach in the history of their program. … I’m one of those guys. And it has to do with the honor that I’ve had in working with the coaches and players that I’ve been able to work with and what we’ve been able to build together. … With that said, when you start dealing with dishonest people who do dishonest things, obviously there’s going to be things that happen. I was a casualty of that.”

On whether he’d be interesting in coaching at the professional level:

“I’m not against the pros at all. I like college a great deal and the thing is is that you have to keep in mind that the things at Texas Tech were kind of a revolving door as far as the administration went. When I was there, we had five presidents and three chancellors and there were power struggles between those two almost consistently. In the course of three chancellors, I got along with two of the three. And the five presidents, I got along with four of the five, which I think is pretty good over 10 years. One football coach, over 10 years, had to adjust to the revolving door of eight different administrators.”

On what’s next:

“There’s a lot of great schools out there and I’m looking forward to coaching at the one that’s a good fit. The NFL, right now, I think it’s the best time ever to win in the NFL. But I think the key element is the head coach has to have control over the 53-man roster and has to have control over who’s selected in the draft. Or at least the owner, the GM and the head coach have to be on the same page.”

Listen to the entire interview with Mike Leach on KRLD in Dallas here

That’s not the only part to the story and this one was fishy to all.  In February, Leach and the school agreed to a five-year, $12.7 million contract. Tech’s termination letter said Leach was fired with cause, meaning the university believes it does not owe Leach any of the remaining money left on the contract. According to terms of the deal, Leach was due a $800,000 bonus on Dec. 31 if he were still the head coach at Texas Tech. It gets fishy at every point of this story and will only get better when Leach is able to “really” talk about the details of this. I am assuming there is some sort of gag order until the situation is fully done. Then it will get better for the media and Leach. Until then we know this, Leach is out as head coach and will find it hard to get another job for a while and James is still a Red Raider.

Mike Leach joined Joe Rose on WQAM in Miami and talked about his head coaching style, if he is thinking about ever coaching again, and the process of dealing with the high school athletes and their exposure around the country during recruiting.

Asked he is worried about getting back into coaching:

“You know I don’t worry very much. I try to do the best I can, be passionate about what you are doing, do the best you can and see where it takes you. At the years at Tech we won 20 games in two years and had the highest graduation rate in the nation at any public institution. You know administratively they had other agendas that went other directions and certainly that will unfold. But no, I am excited about football and the opportunity to coach again in the near future. I am just enjoying being with my family and being in Key West.”

Asked what he thinks he will be like out of coaching for a year and watching it on Saturdays:

“I don’t really know, I know that when I came down here I hooked up the TV thinking I was going to watch some of that. I brought a bunch of books planning to read all of those and I haven’t done hardly any reading and no TV watching. The phones rang a lot from people in all different directions and around this place you can get bored and just go for a walk or you get on your bike and just ride around the island. The news haven’t worn off down here and I haven’t had time to do any of that make sure you didn’t get bored stuff.”

Asked what he was doing different with the guys he was getting at Texas Tech that others aren’t doing in the passing game around the country:

“We spend a lot of time trying to make sure everybody touches, make sure all the positions touch it and then after that figure out what a guy is best at and then channel the ball to that guy in the situations the best you can. I think that the thing that we do is really just try to break it down and capitalize on all our resources. I think that has to do with all the space you have which would be as much as the field as you can, all the positions and make sure that each one touches and contributes to the offensive effort. I guess that’s what all the meeting and film watching and fuss is all about.”

Asked if he thinks he is perceived different through the media than through people that know him:

“That probably goes both positive and negative. I don’t really pay a great deal of attention, I just try to do the best I can and try to do what I feel’s best. Hopefully folks will follow along and you know I have had a lot of people do it in a positive fashion.”

Listen to Mike Leach with Joe Rose on WQAM in Miami

Texas Tech fans will soon love Tuberville and his style of coaching. He has said that he doesn’t plan to change much on offense except that he plans to run the ball more often to give their offense more balance. In years past, Mike Leach’s offense has been too predictable with the pass which might be the reason they couldn’t win the big games. It was their defense that would ultimately be the demise of the team and Tuberville plans to change that. He hasn’t hired a defensive coordinator but plans to do so in the next few days. Tuberville was hired to come to Texas Tech to win championships. He has been in six championship games and has won three of them, but I don’t think he will have enough time to build a championship team in Lubbock because he is going to bolt for the SEC at the first chance he gets. Red Raiders fans, enjoy the one year with Tommy Tuberville.

Tommy Tuberville joined KILT in Houston to talk about what it was that he said to his team the first time that he met with them, the hiring of Neal Brown as his offensive coordinator, and the changes that he will make to the offense, and what his stamp will be on the Texas Tech program.

On what it was that he said to his team the first time that he met with them:

“Well that I am there for them and that it is not my team it is theirs and I did it yesterday at 4 o’clock. I walked in and a hundred young men sitting in front of me wondering what in the heck has gone on in the last month. I kind of explained to them that is what life is about and that is what sports are about. Overcoming obstacles and understanding that you have got to look forward, you don’t look back and nothing is going to be forever rosy. Mike did a very good job here. He got Texas Tech going in the right direction and won a lot of games. As I told them, our job is to look forward and continue on that but try to make it even better. As I told them, this isn’t going to be the last time in their lives to have some disappointment in front of you. It is how you overcome that that makes you a better person.”

On the hiring of Neal Brown as his offensive coordinator and the changes that he will make:

“It is interesting in coming in there and looking at what Tech has done and obviously you wouldn’t want to change anything. Particularly because what they have been recruiting with the players and the type of personnel. We will make some slight changes in terms of running the ball a little bit more and putting the quarterback under center some. You want to keep that high profile offense because every job there is one thing that helps you in terms of recruiting and they have done something here that has really sparked their recruiting over the last seven or eight years. Obviously throwing the ball and being very good at it and scoring a lot of points and we are obviously not going to stop that. Neal Brown, and when I went out and looked for a type of coach that run this type of offense, there really aren’t many out there that really know the offense like they need to be able to set game plans and techniques and coach the quarterbacks and offensive line. So Neal Brown was a young kid that I have known for a long time that in the last couple of years they have been third in the country throwing the football and total offense in college football. That is what parked me on Neal and again, subtle changes not a lot but we still want to be fun and exciting to watch.”

On how you balance the nature of coaching with what you are telling potential recruits:

“Well unfortunately that is what money has done to our sport. Especially in coaching and it has really catapulted. It is really to the highest bidder. Lane came from California, usually there is not a lot of circumstances like his. One year in Tennessee, as I heard him saying in the press conference, that this was the only other job that he would leave for maybe other than a pro job. Unfortunately it came open for Tennessee and fortunately for Lane Kiffin and USC. It is hard to do that. They usually don’t happen this time of year. Usually they are in December. Texas Tech opened at an unusual time of year. So did USC and when those things happen usually what happens with a coach somewhere leaving is not going to be a very [phone went out] so to speak. I know they would have loved to done it a different way but really there is no way to do it. I just hate for some of the things that happened in terms of the recruits and some of the things that happened around Knoxville when that happened. As you can tell they are very passionate about football in the SEC and it showed there with the Tennessee fans really almost rioting after all of that happened.”

On what his stamp will be on the Texas Tech program:

“Well we are not going to be one-dimensional and that is not saying that it was bad. But to play in conference championship games, Big 12 games, win championships and win national championships, you have got to be balanced throughout and we are going to continue to score points, recruit high-powered offensive players, we are going to run the ball a little bit more but we are going to have more defense. I am bringing in a defensive coordinator, we will get that word today, that we are going to be a little bit multiple. We are going to recruit more speed. We are going to be more dominant on the defensive side of the ball. There are times when you have to win games 13-7, 10-6, even if you are a high scoring team because the weather might affect you and you might have a bad day dropping balls or the quarterback might get beat up a little bit and you might not have a great day so you have to win games on the defensive side of the ball. That is my responsibility from now until the season to get the defense up a notch and keep the offense going, maybe bring it up a notch and try to be more balanced. It will still be fun but win more games maybe in a sensible factor. Maybe 35-14 and not go out and just be one-dimensional in the Big 12.

On what he makes of the competition in the Big 12 South:

“It is very good. Obviously people are saying, Coach can you compare the SEC to the Big 12, especially the Big 12 South? It is really a very even comparison because the Big 12 South is probably a lot more offensive than in the SEC. There hasn’t really been a lot of great offenses in the SEC in the last six or seven years. There has been some good ones but where the SEC is very good is defense and kicking game with speed on returners in those scenarios and obviously a very physical running game. I think the teams in the Big 12 South, such as Texas, such as Oklahoma, have got balance and are a lot more like the SEC teams in terms of being physical and playing great defense but throwing that offense on top of it, I thought that was a very good game in Texas and Alabama and it showed a little bit. I wished Colt McCoy hadn’t got hurt. It would have been a better game but you could compare the teams. A very physical Alabama team to a team that wants to be a little bit more finesse but Texas really come on with their defense and Will Muschamp.”

Tommy Tuberville on KILT in Houston with Marc and John