I posted this a few years ago. With all the talk about search firms for hiring, it will always remind me a plane ride I had in 2008 with John T. Montford. (A really cool guy by the way.)
As the story goes, the search firm developed two finalist—Rich Rodriguez and Mike Leach. All of the “extra curricular” stuff about Rich Rod was accurate—the wife, looking for houses, all of it. It was also evident that he was not really interested in the Tech job long term. That left the “quirky offensive coordinator from Oklahoma”.
As John T. told me, after the Rich Rod debacle, they felt like they had to make a hire quickly. John T wanted to hire Art Briles right out of HS. Myers was not as optimistic about giving an unproven HS Coach the reins. Myers thought he needed some seasoning before taking over a college job. What they agreed on, and the directive they gave the search firm was the they were adamant that they wanted an offensive minded coach. They wanted to put points on the scoreboard and they wanted to inject enthusiasm to the program. After the Rich Rod interview, they immediately called to set up an interview with Leach.
They were to meet at the OKC airport in a private conference room that Tech had secured. The plane ride up to OKC was contentious according to Montford. John T wanted Briles. Myers wanted Leach. Per John T, he reminded Myers serveral times that Myers worked for John T, not the other way around. To his credit, Myers never flinched on hiring Leach. To Montford’s credit, he recognized that Myers had to live with this decision. The big overriding factor was “we couldn’t screw this (the hire) up.” Tech had just gone thru over a decade with Spike and had not hired a HC since 1986 when Myers was still coaching basketball. For those that do not remember, Tech hired David McWilliams, then the UT Defensive coordinator, coached at Tech one year, then went back to UT at the end of the 1986 season. McWilliams had just replaced Jerry Moore—a good guy, but a bad coach. With that backdrop, they went to go interview the dude who would become to be known as “The Strange One”
Montford told me that the interview was one of the most bizarre and strange job interviews he had ever sat thru. As they walked into the conference room, Leach is sitting at a round table, head down, doodling in a note pad. He is drawing up plays. “That was his resume so to speak” is what Montford told me. They had very little conversation about who would fill out the staff, but Dana was the one of the guys that Leach was adamant about. Sonny Dykes as well. Robert Anae was the last name mentioned for OL Coach. That was the jist of the interview. No talk about defense. No talk about culture. No talk about current roster, facilities, campus—nothing. Ultimately, Myers and Montford brought up a contract, salary, etc. Leach’s response was on brand for Leach “Oh hell, I don’t care about that stuff, let the lawyers figure it out.”
Montford, seeing an opportunity to get Briles to Tech, asked Leach his thoughts on the HS Coach from Stephenville. Leach knew him, and “would give him an interview”. They wrapped the interview up, and Myers and Montford got on a plane heading back to Lubbock. Montford felt better about Leach, but wasn’t all in. He wanted an insurance plan, a safety net in case Leach didn’t work out. So, “On the plane ride home, I told Gerald that if he wanted Leach, he had to hire Art Briles. If Leach didn’t work out, we had our replacement already on the staff.” Myers acquiescence and Leach agreed—never fully understanding the intent of hiring Briles at the time. Briles was hired away from Stephenville to be on Leach’s staff.
The rest, as they say, is history. Leach would put together one of the best staff’s top to bottom Tech had ever seen. The first year and a half was rough—Mike told me that himself in 2007 when I was fortunate enough to sit next to him on a plane coming home from Austin. (That’s a whole other story.)
I know given all the issues going on now with Hocutt, Wells, etc. that this may seem random. It is. I’m not trying to praise Cesar, or become Brute. Just wanted to pass this story on. There will be a lot of knashing of teeth today, tomorrow, next week, next month. And there will be about 1000 threads essentially saying the same thing. That is what RRS is here for to some extent. Anyway—enjoy your Sunday.
Wreck Em.
As the story goes, the search firm developed two finalist—Rich Rodriguez and Mike Leach. All of the “extra curricular” stuff about Rich Rod was accurate—the wife, looking for houses, all of it. It was also evident that he was not really interested in the Tech job long term. That left the “quirky offensive coordinator from Oklahoma”.
As John T. told me, after the Rich Rod debacle, they felt like they had to make a hire quickly. John T wanted to hire Art Briles right out of HS. Myers was not as optimistic about giving an unproven HS Coach the reins. Myers thought he needed some seasoning before taking over a college job. What they agreed on, and the directive they gave the search firm was the they were adamant that they wanted an offensive minded coach. They wanted to put points on the scoreboard and they wanted to inject enthusiasm to the program. After the Rich Rod interview, they immediately called to set up an interview with Leach.
They were to meet at the OKC airport in a private conference room that Tech had secured. The plane ride up to OKC was contentious according to Montford. John T wanted Briles. Myers wanted Leach. Per John T, he reminded Myers serveral times that Myers worked for John T, not the other way around. To his credit, Myers never flinched on hiring Leach. To Montford’s credit, he recognized that Myers had to live with this decision. The big overriding factor was “we couldn’t screw this (the hire) up.” Tech had just gone thru over a decade with Spike and had not hired a HC since 1986 when Myers was still coaching basketball. For those that do not remember, Tech hired David McWilliams, then the UT Defensive coordinator, coached at Tech one year, then went back to UT at the end of the 1986 season. McWilliams had just replaced Jerry Moore—a good guy, but a bad coach. With that backdrop, they went to go interview the dude who would become to be known as “The Strange One”
Montford told me that the interview was one of the most bizarre and strange job interviews he had ever sat thru. As they walked into the conference room, Leach is sitting at a round table, head down, doodling in a note pad. He is drawing up plays. “That was his resume so to speak” is what Montford told me. They had very little conversation about who would fill out the staff, but Dana was the one of the guys that Leach was adamant about. Sonny Dykes as well. Robert Anae was the last name mentioned for OL Coach. That was the jist of the interview. No talk about defense. No talk about culture. No talk about current roster, facilities, campus—nothing. Ultimately, Myers and Montford brought up a contract, salary, etc. Leach’s response was on brand for Leach “Oh hell, I don’t care about that stuff, let the lawyers figure it out.”
Montford, seeing an opportunity to get Briles to Tech, asked Leach his thoughts on the HS Coach from Stephenville. Leach knew him, and “would give him an interview”. They wrapped the interview up, and Myers and Montford got on a plane heading back to Lubbock. Montford felt better about Leach, but wasn’t all in. He wanted an insurance plan, a safety net in case Leach didn’t work out. So, “On the plane ride home, I told Gerald that if he wanted Leach, he had to hire Art Briles. If Leach didn’t work out, we had our replacement already on the staff.” Myers acquiescence and Leach agreed—never fully understanding the intent of hiring Briles at the time. Briles was hired away from Stephenville to be on Leach’s staff.
The rest, as they say, is history. Leach would put together one of the best staff’s top to bottom Tech had ever seen. The first year and a half was rough—Mike told me that himself in 2007 when I was fortunate enough to sit next to him on a plane coming home from Austin. (That’s a whole other story.)
I know given all the issues going on now with Hocutt, Wells, etc. that this may seem random. It is. I’m not trying to praise Cesar, or become Brute. Just wanted to pass this story on. There will be a lot of knashing of teeth today, tomorrow, next week, next month. And there will be about 1000 threads essentially saying the same thing. That is what RRS is here for to some extent. Anyway—enjoy your Sunday.
Wreck Em.
