Leach's Lawsuit Against Texas Tech Will Go Forward

Texas Tech and ousted football coach Mike Leach had better dig in because it appears the two sides are headed for a fight.

A judge ruled Wednesday that Leach's wrongful firing lawsuit against the university can go forward. The only problem for Leach and his attorneys is it may not be as speedy as they would like.

Leach was fired with cause Dec. 30, as his team prepared to play in the Alamo Bowl, amid allegations he mistreated receiver Adam James, who was suffering from a concussion. Leach was in the first year of a five-year contract extension that was to pay him $12.7 million. Texas Tech contends it does not have to pay any of Leach's remaining contract.

The state was attempting to have the case thrown out on grounds of sovereign immunity, while Leach's side wanted to proceed at a rapid pace. It looks now as though Leach will get his day in court, but State District Judge William Sowder ruled against a motion for a speedy trial, according to the Associated Press.

"I see no reason to give Mr. Leach any special treatment in this case," Sowder told the court. "So this case will take an ordinary course of action."

But Leach's side still felt Wednesday's motion was a victory because they can proceed in the direction of a trial.

"We're pleased with the court's decision today," attorney Ted Liggett told reporters.

The most interesting part of Wednesday's proceeding was Leach's attorneys seeking to speed up the depositions of school administrators and the process of obtaining documents pertaining to the case. One attorney for Leach, Paul Dobrowski, told the court the interest in moving the trial along at a rapid pace was partially because his client "cannot get a job" because of the actions taken by Texas Tech, according to the AP story.

Leach does have a complicated situation because he was said to have ordered James, the son of ESPN college football analyst and former SMU running back Craig James, confined in dark small areas twice last month while he suffered from concussion. Schools are certainly sensitive to the treatment of players these days, which does make him a problematic hire.

Dobrowski told the judge Wednesday that Leach had tried unsuccessfully to get interviews for head coaching jobs at USC, Tennessee, East Carolina and South Florida in January. Under ordinary circumstances with the unparalleled success Leach had in 10 seasons at Texas Tech and the consistently high numbers his offenses have put up, Leach would have at least been a viable candidate for some of the top college jobs in the country.

Leach's name did briefly come up as a possibility at South Florida, but it was a long shot given that the job came open because Jim Leavitt was fired in part for player mistreatment as well.

Still, Leach seems in an uphill battle to win his suit with Texas Tech because there does seem to be significant evidence that James was mistreated. The state still does have a shot at getting the case dismissed on the grounds of sovereign immunity, which means a state agency or entity cannot be sued without the permission of the Texas Legislature, because the judge said that would be ruled on at a later date.