On Amazon Prime they have the A Football Life series from NFL Films. I watched the Chuck Noll and Tom Landry shows last night, and it seems a lot like Coach Leach is a hybrid of Noll/Landry.
With Noll, he's got that thirst for knowledge and seems to know a little bit about just about everything. According to the show, Noll had this desire to learn just about anything that struck his fancy, whether it be photography, playing an instrument, flying, etc. And reading a few things online, it appears he was easy to distract with non-football related topic. Leach sounds like him with his Sasquatch and pirate interests, writing about Geronimo, etc. Leach is perhaps less "refined" in his tastes relative to Noll, but still eclectic.
With Landry, he's got the "system" and flat demeanor. I was especially struck by the discussion about Landry that he felt that it didn't matter who he had on the field (in reference to the Staubach/Morton QB situation), all they had to do was execute. They showed a clip of Landry talking when asked about losing a player and he said one player didn't make a team. Sounds a lot like Leach. And looking up quotes from Landry about ups and downs, he focused on keeping an even keel. A lot like Leach.
Now, I don't know about his personality-wise. It sounds like both Noll and Landry were very detached and had very distant relationships with most of their players. I don't know how personable Leach is with his players.
Perhaps Leach is a student of these men. Or maybe he's just old school like them. Regardless, it was interesting to see the similarities. Now, if he can just get the kind of success they had for WSU ....
With Noll, he's got that thirst for knowledge and seems to know a little bit about just about everything. According to the show, Noll had this desire to learn just about anything that struck his fancy, whether it be photography, playing an instrument, flying, etc. And reading a few things online, it appears he was easy to distract with non-football related topic. Leach sounds like him with his Sasquatch and pirate interests, writing about Geronimo, etc. Leach is perhaps less "refined" in his tastes relative to Noll, but still eclectic.
With Landry, he's got the "system" and flat demeanor. I was especially struck by the discussion about Landry that he felt that it didn't matter who he had on the field (in reference to the Staubach/Morton QB situation), all they had to do was execute. They showed a clip of Landry talking when asked about losing a player and he said one player didn't make a team. Sounds a lot like Leach. And looking up quotes from Landry about ups and downs, he focused on keeping an even keel. A lot like Leach.
Now, I don't know about his personality-wise. It sounds like both Noll and Landry were very detached and had very distant relationships with most of their players. I don't know how personable Leach is with his players.
Perhaps Leach is a student of these men. Or maybe he's just old school like them. Regardless, it was interesting to see the similarities. Now, if he can just get the kind of success they had for WSU ....
