We're sure you still want to read about Leach. It's just a guess, I know, but everyone seems excited. And when I'm excited, I want to learn and take in as much as I possibly can. It's why I'm reading Leach's book, Swing Your Sword, again while scouring the Internet for all sorts of fun links. I'll assume everyone else is like me.
Your evening session of links begins with Chris Brown's superb piece on Leach and Washington State, and how this will all work. It's comprehensive, in-depth and just all-around excellent. This shouldn't be surprising as anything Brown does is awesome, and he loves Leach, as well.
But all this is important because it is possible to win at Washington State; from 2001 to 2003, the Cougars had three straight ten win seasons. It may be that the Pac-10/12 is much better top to bottom than it was then, but this is not as big of a rebuilding job as, say, Kentucky was when Mumme and Leach went there.
Just read it, then read it again. Then go ahead and read the Air Raid Bible from Brown. And read that again, too. You will get smarter by reading what Chris writes, and that's the goal here.
When you're done there, make sure to head over to Sports Illustrated for Stewart Mandel's take. Mandel writes about Leach bringing excitement and wins back to Pullman, and speaks of a bright future for the Cougs.
For the first time in eight years, fans beyond the West Coast will tune in to Cougars games. When they do, they'll probably see a revved-up crowd (start stocking up on pirate gear, school bookstore) enjoying another 48-45 shootout. If any of those viewers happen to be fans themselves of struggling midlevel programs, they'll probably ask themselves: Why didn't our athletic director hire him first?
And one more time for those who missed it: Michael Lewis' profile of Leach from years ago. It's still a great pieceand if you haven't waded through the other posts this week, this is your reminder to take the time to read it.
Mark will be back with more links in the morning, but these are good nighttime long reads for those of you looking to learn more.