Way back in 1999, Mike Leach was the offensive coordinator for Bob Stoops’ first team at Oklahoma.
Leach moved on the following season to become the head coach at Texas Tech. Ten years later, Leach was fired for his alleged treatment of a player, and his former boss spoke today about his “disappointment” over the series of events that lead to the current situation.
“Just disappointed for Mike,” Stoops told the Tulsa World. “Just feel for him. Again, I don’t know all the details of the situation and I feel it’s unfortunate that it has to be this way. ...
“Mike has a long track record there and a long track record of success and doing things well, and this is the first I’ve ever heard of any allegations against him. So I’d like to think he’ll surely be able to overcome it and be attractive to someone else as he moves forward. I pray he’ll be able to overcome it.”
As far as where and how Leach moves forward, coaching-wise, it’s obvious that he likely won’t be a head coach in Div. 1-A in 2010. At least, it seems obvious as there are no prime jobs open right now -- would Leach want the Central Michigan job? Didn’t think so. (No offense intended, Chips.)
Could he become an assistant somewhere? That’s highly unlikely, so it’s seems more likely that Leach will sit out the next season and will then become one of the most sought-after coaches on the market in 2011.