LAJ's Don Williams talks with Captain Mike Leach and because he hates not having the last word (emphasis mine):
"I never questioned the handling of the (A&M) players in any way and have always expressed the utmost respect for their coaching staff," Leach told The Avalanche-Journal."I’ve always said that it is truly exciting to play Texas A&M - the quality of coaches they have, the great team and great tradition and, above all, the quality of players they have," Leach continued. "I’ve always known A&M had great players. The fact that they have the luxury to put a third- or fourth-round draft pick on the bench, to me, identifies what a truly great team they are.
"It’s an honor for us at Texas Tech to have the opportunity to play them. There are numerous players on our team that will never get a look or play a down in the NFL, so you can imagine how exciting it is for me and them to go play a team the magnitude of Texas A&M and look over there on the bench and see third- and fourth-round draft picks."
Williams article points out the timeline of the entire situation, and as this war of words has been on display since Sunday, TAMU head coach Mike Sherman issued an official statement on Tuesday from TAMU's sports information office. To which Leach responded:
"How can anyone not be shocked that they’re offended by this?" Leach told The A-J. "How is that possible? I mean, they’re the ones that keep issuing these official statements. I haven’t issued any official statement. I just answer questions when somebody asks me one."
Yeah, I'd really like to write something witty or clever about this entire exchange, but I really don't think I can top any of this.
But it gets better because Leach isn't done taking on folks, up next is the NFL.
DMN's Kevin Sherrington didn't have the luxury of seeing Williams' article linked above when he provided his two cents on the NFL vs. Leach feud:
Frankly, that's what makes him fun. Consider his take on the draft order of the state's top quarterbacks, which went Matthew Stafford, McGee, then Rhett Bomar, with Harrell and Chase Daniel bringing up the rear as free agents."I ranked them Harrell and then Bomar," Leach said. "Stafford I liked also."
For a few moments, he didn't say anything. But you could sense it coming.
And sure enough . . .
"You know, the NFL likes size so much, Brandon Williams should have been drafted as a quarterback," he said of his former defensive end, picked by the Cowboys. "He's tall, about 240 pounds, and he can throw it a real long ways. As a matter of fact ..."
And just when I was about to hit publish on this post, I ran across The Chron's Brent Zwerneman discussion with Mike Sherman, and Sherman is not giving anyone a free pass:
Responded Sherman on Tuesday, "I'm not one to say that's just Mike being Mike. You're not going to get a free pass with me. I don't get a free pass. I would never comment about any of his guys."McGee won the starting job last preseason, but was injured in the second game and never fully recovered. Sherman, who said he tried calling Leach on Monday to no avail, wasn't sure what to make of Leach's comment.
"That could have been taken as a shot at Stephen McGee that if he was so good then why didn't he play?" Sherman said. "Or it could have been taking a shot at the Cowboys, or at (former A&M coach) Dennis Franchione.
"Coach Franchione's job wasn't to try and make Stephen an NFL quarterback, it was to win football games. And if it was his feeling that running the football was his best choice, like it was when I was here (as an assistant) with R.C. (Slocum), then that's what he did."
I should also mention that according to Tech Talk's Chris Level, Leach attempted to call Sherman on Tuesday, but his calls were not accepted. Take that for what it's worth.