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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Give and Take: Letters

Time to rethink Leach experiment

It is time for WSU president Elson Floyd and athletic director Bill Moos to take a serious look at where the Cougar football program is going. They felt an urgent need to fire Paul Wulff and bring in Mike Leach, who they felt had “rockstar” quality. With tremendous financial support, Leach walked into a good situation (the program was not in shambles) and has failed to move it forward. Yes, they did go to a second-rate bowl last year, but did so with mainly Wulff”s recruits.

Leach’s “air raid” offense has become a detriment to their success. They have been repeatedly defeated by teams who throw much more efficiently. When they face teams who have a defensive structure, run to the ball and tackle, it is ineffective, and by contrast, exposes the weakness of their defensive play. I will not even mention the kicking game. Coach Leach’s lack of game management has led to several defeats, including the bowl game. Seems the “rockstar” can’t coach. Three years is enough time to begin to make some evaluations. The players work very hard and week after week are the scapegoats for poor performance (losing culture, too young, too tight, zombies, etc). Floyd and Moos brought him in, they need to begin to either get him help or get him out.

Time also for The S-R and other media outlets to stop carrying his water and begin some objective analysis.

Jeff Reyburn

Spokane

Letters policy

We welcome letters of up to 200 words on all sports and outdoors topics. All letters are subject to editing. Writers are limited to one letter every 30 days. Please include your signature, street address and telephone number where you can be reached for verification.

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