That Quirky Coach

Everyone talks about how quirky Mike Leach is.   He could never coach in a major market because the media would "gobble" him up like a Thanksgiving turkey.  Yesterday on ESPN Radio in Seattle one of the media people said that Coach Leach couldn't even name many of the guys on his defensive unit because he doesn't care about defense.

 I won't mention his name but his initials are Brock Huard.

Well, that quirky coach is doing a masterful job of keeping the attention off his players going into this week's Apple Cup.  He gave a great rendition of why he doesn't talk about injuries.  He said the starting quarterback will be decided :27 seconds before the game.

Who's getting the last laugh now.

In fact, the Vegas odds makers don't even have a line out yet because nobody knows if Luke Falk will play after suffering two concussions in consecutive weeks.  Or was last week's injury something else that really isn't being disclosed?

Because of that quirky coach, we will never know.

Just a few weeks ago many of the Cougar supporters were wondering if Mike Leach really was the right guy for the job.  I have to admit, I was one of them.  He wasn't producing the wins expected for a $2.5 million coach.  He didn't know how to manage the clock.

As we enter the final week of the season the Cougars are the 20th ranked team in the nation and could very well finish the year with 10 wins, barring a win in a bowl game.  The Huskies, on the other hand, are battling to reach 6 wins and become bowl eligible.  The Cougs enter the game with an impressive 8-3 record including 6 wins in their last 7 games.  If it weren't for the last second missed field goal against Stanford, they could very well be playing for the Pac 12 North title.

The big turnaround for this year's team is on the defensive side of the ball.  Alex Grinch has brought an attacking style of defense that has left many of the teams reeling.   Oregon State Coach Gary Anderson mentioned to Husky Coach Chris Petersen following last week's game that the Cougar defense was the most physical group they played all year.

Pretty good considering that quirky coach couldn't even name many of those players.

Right Brock?