Leach's team wins !!!

[Soonerus]

...good for him...

[Leroy Lizard]

The announcing crew were really pumping up Ruffin for the vacancy. I seriously doubt that will happen, although I can see him coming in as an interim for the year.

[Soonerus]

Ruffin < Blake...

[Blues1]

It would be a SMart move to do ahead a hire Ruffin - The quicker they find a coach the quicker all this become past history ~~~ Jmho...!

[Leroy Lizard]

Ruffin < Blake...

I agree. Ruffin's daring decisions only look good because his players pulled it off. He's just another Les Miles.

[oulucas]

Think Bill Stewart from West Virginia.

[Soonerus]

They almost have to hire the dufas...

[Indy Sooner]

Think Bill Stewart from West Virginia.

You beat me to it...exactly the same situation and two guys seemingly cut from the same cloth- folksy, good with parents (plus for recruiting), but probably somewhat weak on the X's and O's (although competent assistants can shore up deficiencies here).

Since Tech is apparently looking to cut back on coaching costs, he will probably get the gig-- they probably wouldn't even have to raise his salary much.

[JLEW1818]

if they hire him... I will like it

he is not a head coach


just me

[Soonerus]

if they hire him... I will like it

he is not a head coach


just me

u gottit...

[Sooner47]

Ruffin McMuffin ain't no Mike Leach but he's definitely gaining on Mark Mangino. I would love for him to be the next HBC at Tech - much easier win for OU each year.

[CrimsonandCreamForever]

In a way, you almost have to feel bad for him. Everything was going fine until his boss gets fired, he makes some gutsy calls in a nothing-to-lose situation that wind up working out for him to win their bowl game, but no who really wants to coach at Tech immediately after Leach? Sure, they'll do fine for a while, but when they can't keep up the recruiting like Leach did, the bottom will fall out. Then Ruffin'll be everyone's favorite scapegoat. Really sucks to be him, maybe not right now, but it will later on.

[Leroy Lizard]

He doesn't have to take the job.

[bstuff1979]

I wouldn't mind Ruffin. He kind of looks like Carl Winslow, which is nice. Obviously, I'm not a Tech fan, but if I were I'd hope that they go after Skip Holtz. Of course, I don't think anyone with half a brain would want to coach there after seeing the pr savvy and eloquence displayed in the firing of Leach.

[VA Sooner]

Think Bill Stewart from West Virginia.



Same situation, hiring the interim coach to dispel all bad feelings quickly.

But as said before, saves the immediate future without really having a proven record.

Unless you want to treat the Texas Tech program as a second or third-tier program, direction of which is as unproven as Ruffin is.

No knock against Ruffin... he's just not proven yet.

Then again... the program wants to save money. Better yet, change to division II program and save a lot more money.

[TUSooner]

I agree. Ruffin's daring decisions only look good because his players pulled it off. He's just another Les Miles.

Zang!!!!!
That made me smile.

[Jacie]

First, it is not nor was it Leach's team last night. The comments of the current players (how quickly they turned on him) are evidence of that. Interesting to hear Bob Davie commisserating with Leach since he was unceremoniously dumped by Notre Dame and never made it back into the coaching community

As for McNeill, Tech saves a ton of money hiring him since it would be his first head coaching job and as Leach had just been given a new contract based on 2008, even with the buyout Ruffy is a bargain. They would also get kudos for hiring a black but then again, you get what you pay for. For most of his career, over 20 years, he has been a position coach, only rising to Defensive Coordinator at Tech in 2007.

There are similarities to the West Virginia situation. Stewie had been a career assistant/position coach. His only head coaching experience was a 3-year stint at VMI, compiling a record of 8-25. I think the West Virginia athletic director was a little too high on that Fiesta Bowl game to make a reasoned decision on such short notice. So far, Stewie has delivered a pair of 9-4 seasons working with Rich Rod's recruits. Not too bad, considering his resume. Puts him on par with Don Nehlen, the standard at WVU before Rodriguez showed em they could rise to the top of the food chain. The question is will the hillbilly fans be content with 2nd place in the Big East every year?

As for the Red Raider faithful, they are hosed and the rational amongst em know it, no matter who is brought in. They are not a top tier program and only through the antics of the pirate were they able to pretend for a short time that they could crack the OU/UT stranglehold on the Big XII South.

[IronHorseSooner]

IMHO, I think this is a bad situation for him. On one hand, they just fired his good friend and mentor, but they might hire him because he would be cheaper than, let's say Skip Holtz, Tubberville, Briles, etc. If they don't retain him, then he's out after just winning a bowl game. He seems like a good, loyal guy, too. But, the first thing I would do, no matter the coach, is boot AJ off that team. He's a wart on the arse on that team. If he does, I bet Ol' Yellerteeth picks him up because he was treated SOOOO unfairly.

[bluedogok]

I think James' only hope of playing is by going to a I-AA school. I have read that he has already been on campus for three years, first as a baseball player then he quit that and went out for football and has been there for two seasons (classified as a redshirt sophomore). Transferring to another I-A school would cause him to lose another year leaving him only one season of eligibility remaining. There are plenty of I-AA programs in the state but I kind of doubt that he gets a scholarship offer from any since they have fewer to hand out, so daddy will probably have to pay his way.

If he was smart, he would give up on football because he definitely seems like he is not cut out for the sport.