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Mike Leach stirred up plenty of national controversy during the NFL Draft when he called out Eric Mangini for dogging Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree, stating that Mangini should probably win something before he started questioning Crabtree’s character.
Well, Mangini never really answered — although he did sign Graham Harrell on the Browns, awkward! — but Leach hopped on the air with KNBR in San Fran with Murph and Mac recently to discuss various aspects of his program, Crabtree and the Grateful Dead. Who he apparently likes. Which makes much more sense when you hear him talk. Man is he laid back.
On loving the Grateful Dead:
“You know, I like the Dead. You guys out there get to hear them all the time – they just get together and play on Broadway or something like that. But I’ve never been to a show.”
On His Comments About Crabtree Mangini:
“Well, there’s some stuff on ESPN with regard to something about him being a diva, which is laughable, because he’s the furthest thing from that. Pretty much what you heard with regard to his comments is the real guy. The truth is always right at the surface with Michael Crabtree, because he’s one of the hardest-working, most competitive people I’ve ever dealt with. And he’s dead serious when he says that he wants a coach that will push him and make him better and make him work hard.”
On Crabtree’s skills translating to the NFL and “system receiver” criticism:
“I think they unequivocally translate to the NFL. Wes Welker led the league in receiving and he was one of our guys too. In fact, over the last two years we had the leading receiver in the NFL and the leading receiver in college football simultaneously. And I think he’ll do really well in the NFL and I think the biggest thing to have an impact early is the ability to adjust quickly.”
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