Double-T Nation News:
There is a whole slew of activity over at Bruins Nation, where radio station KLAC has reported that Mike Leach wants $2.5 million, otherwise he won't take the job. And then sort of a transcript from KLAC from a commentor on DumpDorrell:
The commentor then says it must be Neuheisel, and I wasn't sure if that was from KLAC or the commentor giving his own two cents.
BN is updated 3 other times and says that the UCLA AD is interviewing Philadelphia Eagles defensive backs coach John Harbaugh, OSU head coach Mike Riley, and Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox.
Let's see if we can't break this down. What we do know is that Leach is in Jacksonville trying to coach up his team for Tuesday's Gator Bowl game. Leach is a quirky guy, but I do think that Leach is incredibly loyal and I just don't see him in negotiations while prepping for the Gator Bowl. I'm not saying he wouldn't be interested in UCLA, as I've said before that I think that he would, but I just don't think he would do things like this. Next, we've been told in the past that the UCLA AD has not contacted Gerald Myers about the coaching vacancy. The quoted comment above seems to implicate that Leach was contacted before and that would seem to be completely incorrect, at least according to our AD. Myer acknowledged that the UCLA AD and he were close and that he wouldn't think that Leach would have been contacted without first asking for permission. Of course, I haven't considered what Leach's agent may, or may not be doing behind the scenes, but there's usually a process to this an it just doesn't add up, at least for me.
Again, all of the pieces just don't fit for me to think that this story with Leach as UCLA's head coach has any legs.
Texas Tech Football:
In news on the field, there's some pretty big news about some position changes. In LAJ's Don Williams' Gator Bowl Notebook, he writes that linebacker Ryan Hale will be moving to the blocking back/tight end position currently held by David Schaefer. Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen had this to say about Hale:
I find it amazing/funny that the staff just sort of decides to make a change during bowl practices, but more importantly, I wonder what this might mean for tight end Adam James, who I thought would move into that position next year.
In perhaps bigger news, Deton Lewis will be moving from the "H" inside receiver position to to Danny Amendola's "Y" inside receiver position. Holgorsen had this on the position change:
Interesting. I too think that Lewis has shown some real flashes this year and certainly has game-breaking capabilities. It also makes sense to get your best players on the field and it would be silly to keep Lewis behind Morris all of next year as well. I wonder who backs up Morris next year?
Williams is reporting that starting running back Mikell Simpson has returned to the team and will play while it still looks like starting cornerback Chris Cook will not play.
And I would think that this is exciting news for the players as former Dallas Cowboys safety Bill Bates will visit the team today. Pretty cool.
LAJ's Don Williams main article today focuses on the relative youth of this Texas Tech squad. Here's the eternal optimist, head coach Mike Leach:
Doesn't sound like a guy negotiating with another school, right?
Even senior Danny Amendola is excited for this group:
Texas Tech Basketball:
LAJ's Jeff Walker previews today's game and writes about how the men's team is preparing for Big 12 play.
I'll have my preview up later this morning as well as the game-day thread.