Mike Leach has a new book out entitled “Swing Your Sword,” and in it, the former Texas Tech coach writes that his biggest regret was not cutting Adam James, the son of ESPN broadcaster Craig James, who inevitably got him fired in December of 2009.
From SI.com:
My biggest regret was not cutting Adam James. I kept hoping he’d develop a work ethic. He had two position coaches, first Dana Holgorsen, then Lincoln Riley. He didn’t get along with either one.
According to Steve Pincock, the team trainer, James was “walking the field” in an indifferent way. James was wearing street clothes and had a baseball cap on backwards, which, injured or not, he knew was against team rules. I asked Pincock why Adam wasn’t dressed appropriately for practice. Pincock said he didn’t know. This was the first he’d seen him because Adam was late. I asked him why Adam was wearing sunglasses. Pincock said Adam’s eyes were sensitive to light because he had a concussion. I told Pincock to remove James from the field since he wasn’t dressed properly, was late, and had a bad attitude while the rest of the team was practicing hard. I told Pincock to put him somewhere dark and have him do something.
At no point did I say to lock him in a room. I never told Pincock what he should do with Adam beyond getting him off the field and putting him somewhere dark since his eyes were sensitive to light.
Months later, when Adam James was deposed under oath, he said he found the incident “funny” and that he did not believe that I should have been fired. In fact, he texted his father about the incident while in the equipment garage because he thought he would “like” it, since they both have the same sense of humor.
According to Pincock’s statement, he specifically told James not to go into the electrical closet by the media room. James admitted under oath that he ignored Pincock’s instructions. He admitted that he let himself into that closet and that he shot a video — a video that would start a firestorm of allegations — because he thought it was funny.
Check out the rest of SI.com’s story because it’s a pretty interesting read. What struck me the most was how removed Leach appears to be from the situation. It felt like I was reading a testimony from a trial instead of Leach’s personal feelings on the matter. He comes across as calm and composed, and a person that is only interested in sharing the facts from his side of the story. Good stuff.
This Adam James situation is he said, she said, but it’s not hard to choose sides. My take? I think it’s pretty clear that Leach is telling the truth in his book. And maybe that’s because he graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law and can make a damn compelling argument. But the consensus on Adam James is that daddy made sure he was given every opportunity in life and never had to work for what he wanted. It appears as though Craig James took the opportunity to get back at Leach for not turning his son into a star, even though Adam was the only person who stood in Adam’s way. But that’s just my opinion and I’m only basing my thoughts off of what I’ve read. I could be way off and Leach is every bit of the monster Craig James has made him out to be.
That said, considering he had a winning record every year at Texas Tech and ran one of the most electrifying offenses in college football, I hope Leach finds work again in the future. Like most college football coaches, I doubt this man is a saint. But it doesn’t sound like the Adam James situation should have been his undoing at Tech.
