Kiffin/ Leach Mania

I am definitely shocked for a variety of reasons. One is that State is not giving him that much of a raise. It's not like he's going from $1m to $4m a year. Two, recruiting is brutal in the SEC and he doesn't have a great recruiting history. Three, State has a culture of hard nosed football, running the ball, being physical, and playing great defense. That's not his style by a wide margin. Four, he's from Wyoming and Wash St is a rural western area not unlike Lubbock, but very different from Starkville. Five, he's towards the end of his career and I expected them to get someone young looking to prove himself.

So, yeah. The hire surprised me. I am way more curious than worried. I think this hire has the chance to be very polarizing for State. Unless he wins immediately there, people will be saying he's not the right fit.

Also, he has been known to tell university presidents to go frick themselves. He's not much on reverence. This is gonna be fun!

I just dont see it working out for them. I give them props for the hire though. But after the flashy WE GOT MIKE LEACH and you really sit back and think about it. I just dont see how it will work. I went and found a sad sad little WSU forum. And found a MSU asking for what to expect from him and here are some of their responses.

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The biggest issue, as you mentioned, is Leach’s inability to beat top-25 teams; particularly teams that play strong defense.

He doesn’t run the ball...at all, so while it’ll be fun to see him light up the scoreboard against lesser opponents, I’m not sure how the offense will fare against the big boys of the SEC. In your division alone, there are 3-4 teams more than capable of generating a pass rush with 3 down linemen and dropping 8 into coverage. That’s Leach’s kryptonite.

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Ok lets send notes to Kiffin

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He'd rather not think about defense at all beyond outcomes as far as I can tell. He wants turnovers and high energy/effort. After that details don't concern him

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No sour grapes here. I think you should be a little worried. I doubt his offense is going to work well against any of the SECs good defenses. He could do nothing against the better couple of good defenses we had in our conference each year and you’ve got like 8 of em in the SEC. I think leach was checked out for whatever reason at WSU and was going for one last big payday as he’s probably only interested in coaching a few more years anyways. My guess is ceiling of about 8 wins there.

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The thing we were always hoping for was some adaptation to the air raid offense (running the ball, using a TE, gadget/trick plays, reverse, wr hand offs) none of which we have seen in 8 years in Pullman. Same air raid offense no matter who we were playing.

Yes it works against inferior teams and against teams who don’t prepare, but during all of our bowl games, and against UW, Utah, Cal who are teams that actually play defense we struggled mightily. If he adds these wrinkles to the offense he can do some things but if not, I think you guys will be looking for a new coach in 3-4 years.

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Yup he’s gonna need to adapt. And don’t tell me about shovel passes or a Big Gulps. He needs to ADAPT. Throwing it 70 times against NFL caliber DBs and pass rushers is a recipe for disaster. And he’s so damn stubborn I just don’t see it.

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This next guy is awesome...I can picture everyone on ED watching games and doing everything this guy says.

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Get ready to shout, "JUST PUNT THE F'ING BALL!" at your TV as Leach has a seizure while trying to decide if he should punt on 4th and 4 at his own 49 yard line and wastes a timeout because he just can't help himself......... Get ready to yell, "REALLY MIKE?" when the QB lines up in the shotgun on 3rd and goal from the 6 inch line....... Get ready to yell, "GODDAMMIT!" when your team gets called for delay of game because Mike sent a WR onto the field with 10 seconds to go on the play clock and you watch the official standing over the ball to give the defense a chance to substitute........ Get ready to yell, "TAKE THE POINTS!" when Leach goes for it on 4th an goal from the 6 yard line instead of kicking the field goal and then being pissed as you realize that his decision to pass on the field goal cost you the game........... Get ready to be angry when a drive ends on downs after three incomplete passes when you had gained 40 yards on 3 rushing plays right before that. Get ready to be even more pissed when you realize that they only ran the ball 3 more times the entire game.......... Get ready to throw stuff at your TV screen as you watch a 14 point 4th quarter lead evaporate because the Air Raid is incapable of burning clock......... Get ready to sit around asking yourself how your team lost when it scored 59+ points (happened to us twice...in regulation)......... Get ready to laugh at the napkin that Leach calls a playbook as he scratches notes after an incomplete pass......... Get ready to yell "HOW THE HECK DID THAT HAPPEN?" when you lose the Egg Bowl as a 10 point favorite......... Get ready to shake your head when Mike calls out the team for being entitled or unfocused, coughs, chugs water, and than says they as coaches had failed to motivate them........ Finally, no matter how much you are paying him, get ready for him to interview for other jobs in a few years.

As fun as it was to watch Leach's teams at times, and even though I didn't want him to leave, I will not miss his arrogant, smug attitude and his baffling decisions. The dude is legit crazy and definitely somewhere on the spectrum. He is not a normal human being. It's what makes him a great coach....but it's also what keeps him from being a truly great coach

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Every year you will win a game you have no business winning
Every year you'll lose a game you have no business losing
There will be at least two teams in the SEC that hold your offense under 20 points every time you play them
There will be a team you drop 50+ on every time you play them
You'll suck in openers and off of byes
You'll lose to Ole Miss 7 times in a row
You'll beat Arkansas 5 out of 6
You'll win games where you barely score 20
You'll lose games when you put up at least 50
You'll have one game a year when the offense runs the ball 20 times for 200+ yards
The rest of the year, you might not run the ball 20 times combined
Your QB's will throw for 4,500+ yards and 35+ TD's, you'll record will be 6-6
You'll go to bowls!
You'll never seriously have a shot at winning your division
The team made good decisions, played hard and executed
It ain't my fault, ask the players
Each year the Air raid will only have 7-10 plays
Each year the Air Raid will have the same 7-10 plays
Every year Leach's name will be mentioned in the coaching carousel
Leach will be your coach until it's announced he has taken the job at Illinois.

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So anyway just some thoughts from the school that has had him the last 8 years.

I missed the part where we had a QB. I surely hope that Kiff can develop Corral. I think he can at least be as good as Bo Wallace.