Skip to content

Mike Leach admonishes 'God Squad' players in locker room video

Mar 12, 2010, 10:00 AM EST

33 Comments

Mike Leach, possibly the only coach ever fired for placing a player in a shed, is scheduled to give a deposition today in Lubbock as part of his wrongful termination lawsuit against Texas Tech, stemming from his firing in Dec. of last year. In honor of that, I suppose, Orange Bloods has found a couple of videos of Leach locker room rants, one in particular which I found interesting. In it, he tells “Some of you God Squad guys” that praying is okay, but that God wants them to concentrate on defense.

“If you’re not doing that, you guys who are throwing the book around all the time, you’re defying the book.”

Video following the jump.


I’m not an expert on the Bible, so I don’t know what God thought of man coverage. My assumption is that he preferred zone. But a recent, unearthed relic does reveal that Jesus only played offense.
The Leach video clips were obtained under the Texas Open Records Act, and despite some salty language are actually rather mild when compared to other coaches one can think of. They probably wouldn’t even move the needle on the Bobby Knight meter. But it’s interesting to see a Texas football coach kind of on the outside looking in when it comes to praying and using the Bible for motivation. “You God Squad guys” is probably not a term heard by many Texas athletes. Leach, by the way, was raised as a Mormon.
The other video clips can be found here.

“What does God say? ‘If you’re lukewarm, I’ll spew you out,’” Leach says. “If you’re a defensive player, I don’t need one side of the brain on playing defense and one side thinking, ‘Oh gee, I wonder, this. I wonder that. I wonder the other thing.’ No, no. Screw that.

“Your whole head’s got to be on defense. Your whole head has to be on offense. Your whole head for that play has to be on special teams. If you’re not doing that, you guys who are throwing the book around all the time, you’re defying the book.”

The timing of the videos’ release is probably not coincidental. Leach’s attorneys questioned Texas Tech Chancellor Kent Hance on Thursday, and Adam James, the infamous player in the shed, and his father, ESPN’s Craig James, are scheduled to give statements on Saturday, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Not sure how these videos could impact anything, but it’s curious that they are being released now.
Leach, by the way, has possibly the greatest Wikipedia paragraph ever: Leach spends time during each off-season learning as much as he can about various things that interest him. Aside from pirates, he has researched topics such as Native American leader Geronimo, American pioneer Daniel Boone, grizzly bears, chimpanzees, whales, and American artist Jackson Pollock.
***
Videos: Mike Leach Locker Room Rants Released [SportsbyBrooks]
Video shows Mike Leach behind closed doors at Texas Tech [Orange Bloods]

Skip to Comments (33)
More Off the Bench
Back to Homepage
  1. Mark - Mar 12, 2010 at 10:55 AM

    They’re all nuts in Texas. You got crazy coaches, tea baggers, secessionists and wackos in general. Look at the actions of politicians and judges. What a group.

  2. S-T - Mar 12, 2010 at 11:10 AM

    Nice job on the insightful, educated comment, Mark.

  3. Joe ray - Mar 12, 2010 at 11:13 AM

    your right about that let them leave the USA,wouldn’t miss anything since they sit at the bottom of the list in every category.All the inbreeding in the south,(people there don’t move so they end up marrying their cousin or some other relation,)after more than 2 centuries of this they have created a very “shallow” gene pool.Any wonder why the south is so steeped in ignorance and ideas that they don’t even know where thier belief systems come from.

  4. Anti-Bubba - Mar 12, 2010 at 11:17 AM

    Have to agree with Mark. The best thing that could happen to the USA would be Texas seceding. The whole state is an embarrassment.

  5. Paul in KY - Mar 12, 2010 at 11:20 AM

    Comments like these were probably one of the ‘straws’ that broke the camel’s back in Coach Leach’s case. I say this as a DFH who likes a coach who would criticize the Jayzus-squad.
    It will be interesting to see where & when Mr. Leach resumes coaching.

  6. Kevin O'Keefe - Mar 12, 2010 at 11:27 AM

    Yeah, Mark! And You? Well, you must be of the growing group of individuals out there that believes others need to go to work and pay taxes for you so you can enjoy government entitlements. Only question is as more people garner to your way of thinking who will remain at work paying the taxes for all of your government sponsored entitlements and luxuries? Wow! Most of you haven’t thought that far ahead now have you!

  7. eric b - Mar 12, 2010 at 11:28 AM

    Wow, now I actually like this guy.

  8. Jim Guida - Mar 12, 2010 at 11:35 AM

    While you boys are bickering about statehood, I have a more urgent question. Did Leach only have the one shed for punishing players? And did he ever consider building a second shed? I understand Bobby “Two Sheds” Knight used a similar form of punishement.

  9. Pablo - Mar 12, 2010 at 11:39 AM

    “Yeah, Mark! And You? Well, you must be of the growing group of individuals out there that believes others need to go to work and pay taxes for you so you can enjoy government entitlements. Only question is as more people garner to your way of thinking who will remain at work paying the taxes for all of your government sponsored entitlements and luxuries? Wow! Most of you haven’t thought that far ahead now have you!
    Hey, you may want to visit the census website before saying something. The blue sates pay the bulk of the per capita taxes. The red states get the bulk of the per capita expenditures . And the biggest expenditure of entitlements is in the southeast, Texas, and the appalachians. The bast thing that could happen to America would be to split ip up between the the Jesus states and the rest of us. You’d go bankrupt, and we’d be laughing.

  10. D Lan - Mar 12, 2010 at 12:13 PM

    Well, Mark. Your comment reveals that you were constantly picked on and pushed around by athletes in middle and high school. I played basketball in middle school and high school and also football in college. As a former PG and RB, I can tell you that my butt was lit on fire much worse than this. Many times I deserved it. If anyone has a problem with this video, please do not allow your children to play competitive sports or join the military because this video is light compared to the yelling that they will received in the armed forces or on a team. As team players, you are always accountable for your mistakes. Your mistakes can cost a loss (sports) or a life (the military).

  11. Jim In Texas - Mar 12, 2010 at 12:13 PM

    Mike Leach looks like a fool trying to quote passages from the Bible in order to get his point across. From the background grumblings, I’d say some of the players agreed. Being a Texas implant my true loyalties lie elsewhere in another conference but I do like the enthusiasm the fans of my new home state give to the game and I hope to join their ranks. Texas Tech may have to take a couple steps backwards before going forward with a new coaching staff, but doing the two-step is pretty normal around here.

  12. TEXAS Heartland - Mar 12, 2010 at 12:20 PM

    You people are sad! Jesus never cared about “games” He cared about “souls”. Our country has lost its way and will pay a price for that. Texas is no better or worse than any state. By the way, we do have a balanced budget with a SURPLUS here and NO STATE TAX.

  13. Dj quest - Mar 12, 2010 at 12:43 PM

    C’mon Mark…
    Inbreeding…really??? While I agree that Texas has it’s share of problems, we (the rest of the United States) would be hard pressed to survive w/o the contributions that Texas has made to the Union. Hell, the best case for Just-in-time production is Dell…
    Ignorance and ingnorant statements are plain silly in a day and age where credible information is readily available. Being that you are writing on this blog, it is safe to say you have internet access. Use wiki or google sometime and learn about Texas and the Southern states in general. It will do you a world of good.
    Cheers!

  14. Kevin O'Keefe - Mar 12, 2010 at 12:45 PM

    Pablo Escobar,
    I guess that is why left wing states like California, Florida and New York are doing so well financially. They are all virtually bankrupt! The rest of the states are are going to have to bail them out. The federal government will have to step in to honor their bond payments and the reat of the tax payers will fit the bill. Problem with liberals is that they are idealogues. Ideas are good, but as I say in my company board meetings…”Who is going to pay for that?” Normally I get a “I don’t know…I just thought you should hear the side of it”.

  15. Okie - Mar 12, 2010 at 1:12 PM

    It would really be interesting to know what had happened prior to thhe talk from Leach. Not knowing that kinda makes it look like the tapes were released for noise in the Bible belt.

  16. Dug - Mar 12, 2010 at 1:30 PM

    Sir, you are preaching to choir. I was born and raised a normal, red blooded American. A year ago I moved to Texas (Houston) as a result of my wife’s job transfer. These people are insane. They pretty much believe that the death penalty is valid as a punishment for speeding. And God forbid your opinion differs from theirs. Tolerance is not practiced here. Period. Very Christian though, just ask them.
    An awesome coach was run out of town because he knew a slacker when he saw one. James is nearly universally disliked by his teammates both for his work ethic (non-existent) and his playing skills (minimal at best). Entitled kid, pouted, and got a coach fired.
    Shame. When Leach comes back, no matter where, I will be a fan of that team. (Notre Dame being the only exception).

  17. Pablo - Mar 12, 2010 at 1:42 PM

    “I guess that is why left wing states like California, Florida and New York are doing so well financially. They are all virtually bankrupt!”
    Maybe if their federal tax dollars were not subsidizing the redneck states, they could afford to balance their budgets. The point of my post was to point out that people complaining the most about entitlements (red staters) are the ones who receive the most entitlements. And the ones who complain the least, are the ones who are paying the bills. As I said, go the census website, look up federal tax payments vs federal expenditures by state. Look up welfare statistics while you are there. You’ll see that backwater hilbilly states like Texas are getting a pretty good deal.
    Oh, and exactly when did Florida become a left wing state. 15 to 10 in the US house, a split senate, a GOP governor, and an overwhelmingly GOP state house.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_House_of_Representatives

  18. Bubba Gump - Mar 12, 2010 at 3:15 PM

    Just to set the record straight, we Texans don’t give a rats a** what you yankees think, say, or do. We will continue to put to death those that deserve to be, continue to fight for the right to have guns, and do it in the name of freedom. Take your welfare sucking, bleeding heart logic back to the rock you climbed out from under. Oh ya………….AMEN

  19. Tony - Mar 12, 2010 at 3:15 PM

    California certainly has it’s budget troubles, but they are due to the rich conservatives in this state having undue influence over the political process and killing fairness in our tax system.
    Thankfully, California schools (and intelligence) have not declined to Texas levels….

  20. Tony - Mar 12, 2010 at 3:18 PM

    I’m impressed, Bubba. You know how to work a keyboard really well!

  21. b-rent - Mar 12, 2010 at 3:40 PM

    Yeah… Where are you from? Must be heaven… But, I’ve always heard ignorance is bliss!

  22. Tony Metler - Mar 12, 2010 at 5:04 PM

    >>Just to set the record straight, we Texans don’t give a rats a** what you yankees think, say, or do. We will continue to put to death those that deserve to be, continue to fight for the right to have guns, and do it in the name of freedom.

  23. Gelardia - Mar 12, 2010 at 6:37 PM

    Man, Leach always seemed like a bit of a whack job whenever I watched him in interviews. Not a major one, just like something is a little bit off. Like people who are not there 100% mentally but yet are geniuses at math, chess or music. That’s what Leach seems like to me. The guy is just off.

  24. woo - Mar 12, 2010 at 7:02 PM

    Soory Pals, Marks right. I hope leach wins.

  25. rtito - Mar 12, 2010 at 10:07 PM

    as opposed to obama his record is great he bailed out only the rich peoiple ie..bankers car companies you know the disenfranchised .but non of that is important the whole country will collapse under obama but you will support him only cause of one issue …….sad but true.oh and you by nomeans suggests that you are smarter than any one on the contrary …

1 2
Leave Comment

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

More Off the Bench
Back to Homepage