Mounting evidence suggests Texas Tech officials fired Mike Leach over last year's contract negotiations. When AD Gerald Myers refused to negotiate, Leach's agents went around Myers. Of course Leach's icon status as the Captain and head pirate put Tech administrators in an embarrassing situation. Eventually they acquiesced. Now former regents admit the year old sour grapes festered to a boiling point. So it goes. Administrators take offense to a successful coach's negotiation tactics and try to ruin his life by fabricating a story about child abuse. One might sincerely believe that Myers enjoyed Leach's popularity. It made Myers look good for his supposed superior wisdom with reeling in such a catch. But, Myers and others chose the low road letting their egos get in the way. Now they have created a bigger mess by defaming Leach's character, provoking mass outrage, and leaving their ethics at the door.
Board of Regents member Jerry Turner sheds light on the firing:
In April, 2008, Mr. Leach's agents from the sports agency IMG sent the school a proposal for a contract extension for $15.25 million over five years that would make Mr. Leach one of college football's 10 highest-paid coaches. At that time, Mr. Leach had a 65-37 overall record at Tech with eight straight bowl appearances.
According to a person familiar with the negotiations, Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers sent back a short note declining to negotiate. The note said the school would understand if "better opportunities" came up. Mr. Myers declined to comment for this article.
In January, 2009, Texas Tech board members say Mr. Leach's agents at IMG sent them an email about the coach's contract situation that was not sent to the athletic director. The regents were infuriated by the move. "They were trying to get us to put pressure on the athletic director and force Tech to come to the terms they wanted," says board member Jerry Turner. "The way they tried dragging people into the negotiation process, we took offense to that. It's hard to really forget things like that."












