Leach Fights to Coach in Alamo Bowl

Both sides appear to be digging in what could the beginning of the end for Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, but the Texas Tech coach isn't going go down without a fight. Ted Liggett, Leach's attorney, filed a motion with the courts in Lubbock, Texas Tuesday morning to have the suspension lifted so that Leach can coach the Red Raiders in their 11th straight postseason bowl.

Liggett is anticipating a ruling before the day is over, though it's more likely a ruling will come Wednesday morning.

The school announced Monday that Leach had been suspended pending an investigation into allegations he mistreated injured receiver Adam James, the son of former SMU running back and current ESPN college football analyst Craig James. The suspension was announced days before the Red Raiders meet Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday at the Alamodome and just hours after the team arrived in San Antonio.

The timing didn't sit well with Leach or his attorney.

"Let the system play itself out and you never hear from him again, the bowl game is over," Liggett told FanHouse on Tuesday. "That's not the way Mike wants it. In our system, he has recourse and he's taking it. We very well could lose and that would be that."

Leach, who has been anything but orthodox during his tenure at Tech, was informed he was being suspended over allegations that during two practices this month he isolated Adam James from his teammates while the wideout recovered from symptoms consistent with a mild concussion. The discrepancy comes in when discussing exactly where Adam James was placed during the two practices that took place on Dec. 17 and Dec. 19 as Tech prepared for the Alamo Bowl.

According to the James camp, Leach told trainers to place Adam James in "the darkest place you can find" when the player showed up to practice wearing sunglasses to block the glare of the sun on Dec. 17. That place was an equipment room near the practice field. For two hours, he viewed practice while under the watchful eye of an assistant trainer, under the mandate he could not lean on anything or sit on the floor. If James left the room, he would be kicked off the team, according to the James family.

Then during the next practice at the stadium on Dec. 19, Leach was said to have told the trainers to find "the tightest, darkest place" for James. That place happened to be an electrical closet where he remained for hours while the team practiced nearby.

Liggett dismisses both portrayals.
"If this weren't Craig James' son, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
-- Ted Liggett
Mike Leach's Attorney
Liggett said both areas were either air conditioned or well-ventilated and that both situations were meant to keep James close as possible to the action, while also doing what was best for the injured player. Liggett went as far as to say a doctor later saw James and said not only was he fine but that the measures Leach had the trainers take actually helped the player's condition.

"Craig James is calling it a closet, an electrical closet," Liggett said. "What the hell is an electrical closet? Is that like a closet that has electric in it? What the hell is this guy talking about? It's not an electric closet and he wasn't in there for three hours. Both of those statements were made by ... I guess he is an aspiring politician. I'm not sure. I understand he wants to run for Senate. If he does, I guess this is a good way to get some publicity."

Liggett declined to comment when asked whether this was Leach's first run-in with the James family, but he did say the player's family background had an influence on the sweeping actions of the school.

"If this weren't Craig James' son, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I believe that," said Liggett, who has been Leach's attorney for the past 10 years. "There are several players on that football team, hell they could live in that building and no one would have any qualms with it."

Neither Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers nor Craig James has responded to repeated calls from FanHouse to respond to any of Liggett's accusations.

To begin with, Liggett takes great exception to how the entire suspension was handled. Liggett says the school flew Leach and his immediate family from Lubbock to San Antonio on Monday and allowed them to check into their hotel suite before informing the coach he would be suspended while an investigation into the allegations of the James family are investigated.

The school had also made provisions for several of Leach's extended family members as the bowl game has become an annual holiday retreat for the coach's family. Liggett denies reports that Leach had previously been asked by the school to offer an apology for this actions.

"This isn't something they decided in the air from Lubbock to San Antonio," Liggett said. "They knew exactly what they were going to do. That's what I'm flabbergasted about. If they knew they were going to suspend him, why did they take him. He's got five kids and tons of brothers and sisters, aunts, nieces and nephews. This is their holiday, they do this every year – 11 in a row. Why would they let them plan their holiday and their New Years around it knowing they weren't going to let him coach? That seems a little cruel and unusual to me."

What also seems a little odd is how a fight between Leach and the Texas Tech administration is playing out while the team tries to prepare for a bowl game. The school announced that defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill will serve as the interim head coach this week and until the investigation is complete.

But that will do little to mask the numerous questions and uncertainty Texas Tech faces as the legal matters plays out in court. A decision is expected at some point Tuesday, but either way it plays out will only lead to more speculation about the tenure of the program's winningest football coach.

The school could have certainly chose to leave Leach in place while it conducts its investigation as Kansas did in a similar situation last month with ousted coach Mark Mangino. But Leach, who has a law degree, also could have chose to allow the process to play itself out without taking it to court.

"Ridiculous!" Liggett said when asked if Leach was essentially creating more a distraction for his team by seeking an injunction in court. "The person you need to ask that to would be the people that put him on an airplane, rented him a suite, paid for his families tickets and then suspended him. Ask them."



"That seems a better question than why don't Mike sit back and let the system play itself out," he continued. "What reason does he have to trust these people after they did this? They've had plenty of time to investigate this. Go play the bowl and think of your student-athletes who have worked so hard. Play your bowl and then continue your investigation.

"Fire his [butt] if your investigation reaches that. My goodness, don't institute punitive actions on a man before your investigation is complete."

Liggett would not answer a direct question as to the whereabouts of Leach as of Tuesday, but later on he indicated the coach remains in seclusion in San Antonio.

"He's persona non grata at the hotel," he said. "He can't interact with the team, talk with the coaches or attend any meetings. Why?

"Then Gerald Myers tells me he just thinks I ought to get on the phone and tell Mike to come back home. I honestly felt like saying, `Why in the hell did you send him?' It makes no sense. The reason he has been suspended makes no sense. It's based on a series of statements by a gentleman with vested interests and the statements were inaccurate."

This situation could well be a huge mess before it's all over. It's not the first time Leach and the schools administration has been odds. It seemed last winter that things might come to a head as Myers insisted that some type of loyalty clause be placed in Leach's contract extension after he flirted with several jobs. Leach, who can come off as aloof and a non-conformist at times, refused to sign any such agreement.

Eventually, the two sides came to compromise and in February they agreed to a new five-year deal for $12.7 million to end the standoff.

But Liggett said seeing the issue between Leach and Myers as the major problem is too simple, hinting of issues with top administrators and some members of the Texas Tech Systems Board of Regents.

Chairman Larry Anders did not return a call left for him Tuesday afternoon at his Dallas-area office.

"Besides the fact they just suspended him from his job, I guess it's okay," Liggett said when asked about the relationship between Myers and Leach. "I will say this, I believe there is a (perception) that the root of all problems that Mike has had with the administration stems from a conflict with Gerald Myers and that's not true. There is more to it than that and there may be a day that it all comes out or this could end amicably and it won't."

On the surface, it seems like too much has happened for all to be forgiven should the investigation find no improper action. Liggett begs to differ.

"Mike is a different type of person. Mike lives and dies for the boys on his football team. That's where Mike's passion lies," he said. "Mike simply wants to be reunited with his boys so the winningest coach in the history of Texas Tech football can coach his boys to their 11th straight bowl game. He wants to do it again next year, and the next year.

"The problems with the administration, I think all college football coaches through one mechanism or another had problems with an AD, a chancellor. But it wouldn't be hard for Mike to pick up any of the pieces. Now, I can't talk about the people on the other side. But Mike doesn't live for them. Mike literally loves to coach."