Mike Leach: The Mad Scientist Of Football

Scott Pelley Profiles Texas Tech's Unorthodox And Successful Football Coach, Mike Leach

(CBS)  Leach seems fascinated by the world around him, but indifferent to how the world sees him. He's disheveled, tends to mumble, and talks in circles that only add to his mystery. He's known as a football intellectual. But, his eyes really light up when he talks about the simple, brutal collision of the offensive and defensive lines.

"I mean the reason they have football is because of the big guys and the, you know, when O Line D Line go one on one and you just get incredibly violent I mean that's what it's all about," he told Pelley. "And you get to see those guys just to war, you know? And it's got all the things that football entails. There's shouting, there's blood, there's boogers, there's a whole thing. I mean, there's spitting, there's fighting, there's ripped jerseys. There's someone grabbing someone's throat. I mean, it's why you have football."

"If you look at what Mike Leach has done for players, what he has gotten out of players, it's like magic," writer Mike Lewis said.

Lewis wrote "Moneyball," a book about how disadvantaged teams succeed in elite sports. "It's as if when he walks into a football program and grabs the quarterback, he sprinkles fairy dust on him, because the quarterback becomes a different human being," he said.

The "fairy dust" is Leach's inventive offense. It's a high speed aerial assault. Most teams run 70 plays in a game; Tech runs 90. Still, the most remarkable thing is not what Leach has, but what he's missing.

"When you're a superstar high school football player in that region, do you think 'Oh, I'm going to go to Texas Tech?' You got to Texas Tech after Texas and Oklahoma and Nebraska and even Texas A&M have passed on you and not offered you a scholarship. So this coach was taking athletes that had been kind of rejects of the big schools and using them to beat the big schools," Lewis said.

"Hurry, don't talk very much," Leach told his players. "Ok, here, listen, listen, listen, listen here. I got [a] former Red Raider. I want to introduce himself and say a few words."

"Hey guys, I'm Scott Pelley with 60 Minutes and I grew up in this town. One of my producers came in and said you know we've got to do the Texas Tech football team. And 'I said, I can't do that, I went to Texas Tech.' And we got in an argument and she won. So here we are. Now I'm going to ask a quick question and I need you guys to shoot this for me: how many of you guys are from Texas?" Pelley asked.

Most of the players indicated they were from the Lone Star State.

Leach gets his players wherever he can: when he needed a kicker, he didn't go to Florida or Oklahoma, he went to the stands.

Matt Williams was just a fan at a Tech Game until he volunteered in a promotional contest. If he could kick a field goal, he'd win free rent. "He takes one step and puts it right down the center for the goal post. I mean, that’s pressure. I figure it'd be easier to kick extra points after that," Leach remembered.

Leach sent an equipment manager to catch the contest winner. Williams joined the team and didn't miss an extra point since.

Leach is best known for quarterbacks, who have won six passing titles in nine years. This season, his most potent forces are quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receiver Michael Crabtree.

[luluche45]

Ole Miss Fans- apparently you did not learn the basics in kindergarten. Learn to TAKE TURNS. This story is about Texas Tech''s Mike Leach, not Houston Nutt. When 60 Min. talks to your coach it will be your turn.
Also, 1998, I believe- Tech beat you at your house. If your team is so great why are you 8-4 and why weren''t you playing in a BCS bowl?
Stop bragging until you have something to brag about.

[squallyg04]

Scott , I was disappointed in your comments to the team players regarding you getting the short end of the stick in having to do this story. You call yourself an alumni? We Red Raiders are very proud of our instituion and our football team. The team didnt need to hear any negative comments from smucks like you. I was furious you would say such a thing. They played their hearts out this season and we are all very proud of them. I suggest you dish out a large donation to the school as an apology. We need are alumni to spritiually, emotional, financially and postively support this fine institution.

[dan400man]

fgcubaseball: Um, better take remedial spelling this semester.

[ttu1969]

Hey jlk1091, Scott didn''t mention the Cotton Bowl score because the report was filmed weeks ago...

Nevertheless, your guys played one heck of a game and deserve full credit for keeping Graham and the boys out of their rhythm. How about a re-match next year; say in the BCS Championship Game?

[drputt45]

Politics, religion and football; three conversations you aren''t gonna win.

So, everyone is entitled to and has their opinions. Unfortunately, the sports writers have another apinion that few people agree with.

[jlk1091]

While I enjoyed the story about Mike Leach, I wonder why Mr. Pelley failed to remark that Texas Tech lost to Ole Miss (the same team that beat Florida 31-30 this year) in the Cotton Bowl with a score of 47-34. Ole Miss was able to accomplish this in Coach Houston Nutt''s first year with our team. GO REBELS!

[jackas13]

Good story, but if you were really looking for the young genius of football, you have to look at Gus Malzahn, who called the offense at Tulsa for the last 2 years and had the best total offense in the country for those 2 years. Before that he was responsible for engineering the "Wildcat" and the hurry up offense at Arkansas under Head Coach Houston Nutt, until Houston felt threatened. Gus is now headed for Auburn as the Offensive Coordinator. A young man that has pulled himself up by his own genius and now is becoming known and respected, Gus would be your subject for a true genius on a shoestring budget.

[fgcubaseball]

This was a great story, I am a student athlete at Florida Gulf Coast University, and I thought our baseball team has a great story for 60 Minutes. In 2008, our baseball team won our regular season conference championship in our first season in division one and we''re not allowed to advance to playoffs do to a reclassifying period. We were preseason ranked 240something out od 260something teams. We finished our season with a 38-15 record, while setting all sorts of school and coference records on our way to a champoionship. We had 3 players chosen in the MLB amature draft in June. There is a lot of great things about our small over achieving that I would like more of America to see. Can some one email me back at [e-mail] and let me know what you think of my possible story. Thank you and God Bless

[msredraider]

It''s nice to see a story about Texas Tech that isn''t condescending for once. Believe it or not, folks, great things come out of Lubbock! [JEH, BA ''02, MS ''04]

[msredraider]

It''s nice to see a story about Texas Tech that isn''t condescending for once. Believe it or not, folks, great things come out of Lubbock! [JEH, BA ''02, MS ''04]

[critrdoc]

Great story about a good football program but I''m not sure you could call them a powerhouse just yet. RE: the good old fashioned *** whoopin'' put on them in the cotton bowl by an SEC team (Ole Miss) that lost 5 games this year.