Mike Leach: The Mad Scientist Of Football

(CBS)  Geniuses march to a tune others don't hear, and often the stranger the character, the greater the innovation. Turns out it can be true even in football.

Last month the nation's college football coaches elected Mike Leach as coach of the year. Leach led Texas Tech to the top ten this season. He was competitive with the heavyweights with a middleweight budget and a fraction of their recruiting power.

As correspondent Scott Pelley reports, Leach is one of the few college coaches who has never played college ball - he's a lawyer by training. Even his biggest fans don't know quite what to make of him. That's why sportswriters have taken to calling Mike Leach the "mad scientist of football."

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On Saturday nights in west Texas, all roads lead to Lubbock, the home of Texas Tech University, 28,000 students, one masked rider, and the Red Raider football team, the powerhouse that shouldn't be.

This was the best season in the school's history: 11-1, the most passing yards in the nation, and a ranking that rose to number two before settling at number seven. All of this came, with a budget a fraction the size of its rivals and little pedigree in a game where tradition is everything. How did they do it?

The answer is in the mind of Mike Leach. 60 Minutes came to Texas to talk football. Instead, we met a man who wanted to do card tricks, show us his cabinets, and his walls, pointing out photos.

Even his players have to listen to lectures on subjects from Apaches to pirates.

They are lectures, which eventually, improbably, wind their way back to football, like this one did: "I brought this sword in, this pirate sword replica and I talked about how are you gonna swing this sword. Are you gonna swing it out of control where you're. And maybe hit a few people then they'll hit you? Or are you gonna go like this? Or practice precisely and swing it like that. And I said they sharpen their swords, they polish their swords. Even the most derelict pirates will do that, just like you do in the weight room with your body. Your body is your sword."

"One sportswriter called you a "football madman" directing a sideshow," Pelley told Leach.

"Yeah, well, I don't know," he replied. "I mean, I don't have any disagreement with it really."

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[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]