As he’s well-known for his fondness of pirates along with many other eclectic/meteorological leanings, it should come as little to no surprise that Mike Leach‘s new book is titled, in part “Swing Your Sword”.
It should also come as no surprise whatsoever that, within the pages of the book, Leach comes out swinging at the school that fired him and the helicopter dad who (allegedly) orchestrated it. And he pulls no punches and minces no words in doing so.
Leach was fired by Texas Tech in late December of 2009, ostensibly due to his “treatment” of Red Raider wide receiver Adam James — son of ESPN college football analyst/aspiring politician Craig “Black Hawk” James — and the subsequent injunction he sought against the university after they had suspended him for Tech’s bowl game. While that was his former employer’s public stance, it was long thought by many, including ourselves, that the seeds of Leach’s dismissal were planted months prior to his firing during what were contentious contract negotiations, with the James episode — and subsequent smear campaign — merely serving as an “easy out” for the school publicly.
Based on one excerpt released today, that was exactly how the situation appeared to one of Tech’s regents, who expressed embarrassment via an email to the vice chairman of the Texas Tech University Board of Regents as to how Leach was treated:
… Also, on the day of my firing, former regent Windy Sitton confirmed that my termination had nothing to do with the Adam James situation, but resulted from the ill will generated by the 2009 contract negotiations.
She wrote an email to Jerry Turner that we obtained:
“Jerry, I know his firing has been in the works since the Chancellor and the AD were outmaneuvered by Leach. That is our problem.
“The problem rests with the arrogance of the Chancellor and the ineptness of the AD. Everyone sees through this injustice to Mike Leach and Texas Tech. The Sitton family has given scholarships and have had multiple seats since 1976. We will not renew our options [on] our 12 seats or for that matter our PSLs for Basketball. This whole thing smells, and we do not want to be a part of this blight on Texas Tech.”
In another excerpt that deals specifically with the James Gang (our description), Leach at one point states that his “biggest regret was not cutting Adam James. … We thought he may have simply been the victim of his dad’s little-league father tendencies, and that he’d eventually find a way to be his own, independent person. But that didn’t turn out to be the case. I should’ve cut my losses, but I was really hoping that he’d improve and stuck with him.”
Leach also wrote of Adam James’ sense of entitlement and lack of work ethic, allegations that were first aired shortly after the infamous “electrical closet” incident came to light.
He could’ve fit into the role of tight end for us, but because he didn’t work hard he was only marginally effective. We could never get him to move out from behind his father’s coattails. Together, they believed that playing time was determined by politics and influence rather than hard work.
The excerpt goes on to detail the events surrounding the infamous Adam James episode, including Craig James — the ESPN employee — calling Tech chancellor Kent Hance — the one accused of arrogance in Sitton’s email — demanding that Leach be fired.
I’d highly recommend reading both excerpts in their entirety, although, obviously, it should be noted that this is one individual’s version of the events that transpired in December of 2010, albeit a version backed up by court depositions, emails and other various forms of little things called “facts”.
