I've made my decision. We need Mike Leach now. Consider this my endorsement as a decently intelligent fan. I've been pouring over our candidate list and I'm convinced Leach is the right man for the job. In fact, during Texas Tech-Oklahoma State this conviction became clear as day. I'm already planning on watching Texas Tech-Oklahoma without wearing any pants. Yep, I've got it bad.
But Mike Leach won't let me order a salad, so I'm fine.
I don't even care what he does for the rest of the season (losing to Oklahoma probably helps our chances), the Vols should hire him away. He fits all my criteria except for being a proven national recruiter. He's 47, smart, has been a successful head coach, has even been an immensely successful coordinator at Kentucky and Oklahoma, will strike fear into the hearts of our opponents. I think recruiting will take care of itself. In 7 years Leach has brought good enough players to Lubbock to legitimately contend for a national championship. Lubbock! The fifth or sixth best college program in Texas. Are you telling me that Leach with a good staff couldn't bring top recruits to the largest stadium in the best conference in America?
Plus, and this is key for me, he'll bring the fun back to UT football.
Admit it, you've not really enjoyed the past several years of UT football like you should have. It's okay, we're all confessing here. Because, deep down, you've always feared that we were on the verge of doing something stupid. Making a mistake that would leave you staring up at the ceiling all night long and trying to figure out why you cared as much as you do. Often these thoughts have been brought on by how bad our offense is. Since 2002 (minus two years with David Cutcliffe) our offense has been a trainwreck. It's time to change that in one feel swoop. Mike Leach will do it.
I've been paying pretty good attention to Mike Leach's teams since I read this New York Times article back in 2005. He's quirky, he's weird, he's smart, and he's everything we need. I'm sold. Let's make it happen. Otherwise, I'm going to have to talk about Wyoming, and I never want to talk about Wyoming again. Unless we're referencing it as Mike Leach's birthplace.
Remember how you felt when you watched Steve Spurrier and Florida? This is how I feel when I watch Mike Leach and Texas Tech. Let there be no doubt, he should be our guy.
(Note: This isn't to stay I wouldn't be happy with Gruden or Butch Davis, just that I think Leach is the best choice.)
Travis has become enamored of several objects, phrases or events which he frequenly references in the column. Among the most frequent:
'Bama Bangs - a term coined by Travis to refer to southern men's hairstyles that feature prominent bangs for no apparent reason. Brodie Croyle and John Parker Wilson are oft-cited violators of 'Bama Bangs rules.
Read More...
When Clay Travis, acclaimed author of Dixieland Delight, decided to spend the 2008 season up close and personal with UT football, he—and every other college football aficionado—thought he was in for a rollicking ride with one of the leading contenders for the national title. After all, when the Vols kicked off the season on September 1, the defending SEC East champions were ranked 18th in the country. As head coach Phillip Fulmer prepared for the game, he reflected upon a coaching career that included an astounding 147 victories, two SEC championships, and a national title. With 34 years at UT under his belt as both a player and coach, the Tennessee native had just signed a contract extension that projected to keep him at the university long enough to become the winningest coach in program history.
Read More...
There is no college ball more passionate and competitive than football in the Southeastern Conference, where seven of the twelve schools boast stadiums bigger than any in the NFL and 6.5 million fans hit the road every year to hoot and holler their teams to victory.
Read More...
The newly favored man is not really a man at all, but a hairless, effeminate, germ-fearing, non-meat-eating, exfoliating, wristband-wearing woman of the worst order. We as men are told that we must embrace the sacred feminine in ourselves, even if it doesn't actually exist, and become the very quintessence of woman, plus penises. This situation is untenable. This trend must stop.
Read More...
Clay Travis is the only former student manager in the history of college athletics to marry an NFL cheerleader. He managed to pull this off despite an irrational affinity for the television shows Dawson's Creek and My Super Sweet 16. While being raised in Nashville, Tenn., Travis developed a healthy obsession with college sports and Alyssa Milano. As a teenager his greatest accomplishment was taking a doo-rag wearing Luke Duke (balling as Tom Wopat) to the hole at the Nashville YMCA.
In the midst of a stellar legal career during which he specialized in rewarding the unjust and punishing the oppressed, Travis began writing for CBS Sports's SPiN section in September 2005...
Read More...
