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Mike Leach, Not a Bitter Lawyer

Sometimes I get emails from various folks wanting me to highlight their website. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I guess it just depends on whether or not I've already posted something similar or if it's even remotely entertaining.

Last night I received an email from Bitter Lawyer, which is a website that focuses on attorneys who have non-attorney jobs, much like our beloved Captain Mike Leach, who sat down to be interviewed. I could highlight the whole thing, but the interview talks about Leach's decision to go to law school (as a 7th grader) as well as going through law school and how he decided to get into football.

Again, if nothing else, this article perhaps paints a picture of a guy who isn't all about pirates or throwing verbal jabs at opposing coaches, NFL or college, or as a mad scientist.

The tenor of the article is that Leach chose college football after graduating from law school as a means of avoiding real life (that's something I've done) and taking a flyer on a job that he thought might be fun. And I hope that if anyone takes any generalization away from reading this short interview, it's that Mike Leach is an interesting guy, who does interesting things, but at the end of the day, I don't think Leach necessarily wants to be solely defined by what he does, but rather, it's more about who he is.  It just so happens that Leach has a job where reporters and bloggers foam at the mouth at anything Leach says, in part because most of his counterparts are either uninspiring or boring.

Here are a few excerpts:

Going to Law School: I will be patiently waiting for someone to create a .gif or photoshop this quote (emphasis mine):

What was law school like for you?

It was interesting. Law school was different than undergrad, where you have a lot of fun because there are gorgeous girls running around and you can take all kinds of courses. In undergrad, if I didn’t like a particular course, I’d just find something else. But law school was all law, all the time, and everyone there was pretty competitive. I was pretty young when I started at twenty-two. Most of the students were much older, and they had a lot of experience. They had been in business and had actually negotiated contracts before. For me, a contract was kind of like a Leprechaun. I had heard of them, but I hadn’t actually seen one. But despite that, I did well for myself. Not Law Review, but I did pretty well.

The BCS:

Every year we hear a lot of talk about how the BCS is lousy. And last month, some members of Congress suggested that the government ought to get involved and look into whether a playoff system wouldn’t be better. [HERE] What’s your take on all that?

I like a playoff system. But as for Congress, I think it’s really irresponsible for the government to waste taxpayer dollars on something like this, especially when there’s so much else going on. That takes a lot of audacity, and I think there are other things Congress should concern itself with.

Lots of topics covered, including what Leach would change in the NFL and college football, how his law degree helps him day to day, what Leach thinks is the best part of his job, a reference and a letter to Gary Spence.  Good stuff.