Prized Pupil
Tech's Leach is the most successful of Bob Stoops' former coordinators

By Berry Tramel

Published: November 11, 2006

NORMAN — Bob Stoops' prize, and least likely, pupil hits town today. The brightest bulb on Stoops' coaching tree is crazy old Mike Leach.

Four Stoops coordinators have gone on to commandeer their own major-college football programs. The lone success is Leach, whose Texas Tech Red Raiders play at Owen Field tonight.

In five seasons at Kansas, Mark Mangino has improved the Jayhawks but seems to stay in a constant state of turmoil. NCAA violations. Public-relations disasters. Blown leads.

In three seasons at Arizona, Mike Stoops has improved the Wildcats but in microscopic increments. Three wins, three wins, now four wins. That is not the Stoopsdust Arizona thought it was bringing to the desert.

In his first season at San Diego State, Chuck Long pilots a train wreck; the Aztecs are 1-7 and the worst team in a conference (Mountain West) that plays in anonymity.

But in seven seasons at Tech, the eccentric Leach, the law-degreed, pirate-loving, babble-talking, never-played-college-football Leach, has steered the Red Raiders to the same remarkable consistency they enjoyed under Spike Dykes.

Leach seemed the least likely of Stoops' lieutenants to excel. That's because he's most unlike Stoops.

Mangino, Long and Mike Stoops come from the same roots as Boss Bob.

Mangino coached eight years with Stoops at Kansas State and Oklahoma. Mangino grew up in Stoops country — high school in western Pennsylvania; college at Youngstown State.

Long played with Stoops at Iowa, then worked for him six years at OU. Their coaching roots wrap around both Hayden Fry and Bill Snyder.

Mike Stoops shared a bedroom with Bob for going on 17 years, then they played or coached together for 13 autumns. Mike is Bob's twin, in spirit if not in birth.

Leach has no such ties. He spent 11 months with Stoops, hired only because Stoops liked Leach's Kentucky offense.

Leach is not a Midwesterner. Grew up in Wyoming, went to Brigham Young and Pepperdine Law School. Coached at all kinds of unStoopslike places. College of the Desert. Pori, Finland. Iowa Wesleyan.

No nonsense is a hallmark of the Stoops Gang. Straight talk. Football-centered.

Leach, on the other hand, is all about nonsense, in a drier-than-Tombstone sort of way. Just this week, Leach branched off into a dissertation on how Americans have made a cottage industry of being offended.

Yet Leach has the most success of Stoops' departed coordinators.

Much of that is the jobs taken. Mangino and Long signed off for very difficult assignments.

None of KU's eight coaches in the last 40 years left with a winning record. San Diego State had great tradition under Don Coryell and Claude Gilbert, but that was a quarter century ago.

Arizona seems like a place you could win. Good weather, good recruiting base, decent budget. Truth is, Arizona and Texas Tech sport similar potential. Big difference: Mike Stoops took over Arizona during a down period; Leach took over Tech during a solid era.

Some people forget, but Dykes did an amazing thing at Tech. He elevated the Red Raiders in the pecking order.

When Dykes, the charming coot of a West Texan, took over on the South Plains in 1987, Tech had gone eight straight years finishing below Baylor in the Southwest Conference. If the Big 12 had formed in 1986 instead of 1996, no way would Tech have been included.

In the 10 years before Dykes' arrival, Tech had the seventh-worst SWC record, besting only TCU and Rice. SMU went 50-29-1, Houston 49-31-2, Baylor 45-34-1 and Tech 27-51-2.

Then Dykes took over and had one losing conference record in 14 seasons. Under Dykes, the Raiders positioned themselves for inclusion in the Big 12.

Dykes set a high standard for Leach. Leach has met that standard and more. Under Leach, the Red Raiders have passed Texas A&M in status.

Leach is 5-2 vs. the Aggies, and A&M has not finished ahead of Tech in the Big 12 South since 2000, Leach's first season.

No way should Tech be better than A&M, which has the edge in stadium size and alumni base and budget and tradition. Yet Leach has lifted Tech past A&M.

Leach's offense is gimmicky, no question. Stoops quickly moved away from the wide-split spread when Leach left. Those who say Tech never will win a national title with Leach's offense are right; but Tech never will win the national title with any offense. College football remains a caste society.

That doesn't mean Leach can't coach. He took over a solid program and made it even better.

Leach owes his career to Stoops, who gave Leach an Oklahoma platform from which to launch. Leach has repaid the debt by being Stoops' prize pupil.