Leach Wants Out at TT, Bradley Wants in at Penn State?

Texas Tech

A Lubbock radio station is giving out “Keep Mike Leach at Tech” shirts this week, and many worry that this cult hero of a coach could bolt for Clemson, Washington or one of the many other openings expected in the off-season. One reason for the concern is that Leach has just two years remaining on his contract, the shortest length of any coach in the Big 12. Leach has gone 73-37 in his nine years here, and with an 8-0 record this season, he has secured the program’s ninth consecutive bowl berth. Coaches with that kind of track record typically have at least a five-year contract cushion. For instance, the contract for Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops expires in 2013, and Mack Brown’s deal at Texas ends in 2016. Leach’s expires in 2010, which opposing coaches can use against him in recruiting. He is earning $1.75 million this year, meaning he is not among the five highest-paid coaches in the Big 12. The situation has raised eyebrows around college football, where Leach is respected for his quirky but effective style. His pass-based system has helped turn quarterback Graham Harrell into a Heisman Trophy contender. Harrell leads the N.C.A.A. Football Bowl Subdivision in passing yards with 3,147. The system also helped Michael Crabtree evolve into one of the nation’s most productive receivers. He is tied for first in the F.B.S. with 14 touchdown catches. By whipping the ball around the field and making defenses dizzy with his team’s aerial antics, Leach has thrived in a place with a small local recruiting base and little history of top-line football success. That is why other coaches are puzzled that Tech has not bent over backward to keep Leach. – New York Times

Penn State

Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley has been Penn State’s stand-in coach the past month while an injured Joe Paterno watches from upstairs. But will Bradley still be the man patrolling the sideline if the 81-year-old Paterno retires? Former Nittany Lions’ All-American linebacker LaVar Arrington, a three-time Pro Bowl performer who played seven years in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and New York Giants, thinks that would be the right call. Penn State has no succession plan in place, so if Bradley is the Lions’ coach-in-waiting, no one in the Graham Spanier administration is saying. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette