Media calls out Leach for dragging his predecessor under the bus

[PeteTheChop]

After the Holiday Bowl upset, Brand X implied Leach brought up "the ghost of Paul Wulff" in a feeble attempt to redirect criticism for the "dung heap he (Leach) had just deposited on national television."

Is Coach Leach out of line for suggesting reporters should look up CPW's record for proof how far the program has come in the past 6 years?

It is clear some in the WSU media and fan base seem to still think fondly of Paul Wulff even though others view him as kind of a failure.

 

[dgibbons]

After the Holiday Bowl upset, Brand X implied Leach brought up "the ghost of Paul Wulff" in a feeble attempt to redirect criticism for the "dung heap he (Leach) had just deposited on national television."

Is Coach Leach out of line for suggesting reporters should look up CPW's record for proof how far the program has come in the past 6 years?

It is clear some in the WSU media and fan base seem to still think fondly of Paul Wulff even though others view him as kind of a failure.

The column was the dung heap. Leach didn’t reference Wulff at all. He was referring to history. If you think Leach is a big meany, or whatever, so say. No need to make up lies.

“Kind of a failure” is a tad bit of an understatement.

 

[CougPatrol]

If Leach can’t handle media scrutiny from the likes of Blanchette and Patchin, where’s he gonna go?

And I don’t know if it’s true or not, but why would Leach bring up Paul Wulff? That doesn’t seem like something he’d do.

 

[OrangeGravy]

There's always a subset of fans that dislike a new coach from the beginning and spend the entirety of the coach's tenure jumping on anything that even remotely puts that coach in a bad light often stretching the largest of canyons to make a connection. With Leach's personality there are just more of those fans than usual. They're often the loudest and busiest people on the interwebs.

 

[SaveFerris]

The last guy performed worse than awful, made excuses at every turn, went out whining every step of the way and continued well after the fact. What is he owed?

 

[YakiCoug]

The last guy performed worse than awful, made excuses at every turn, went out whining every step of the way and continued well after the fact. What is he owed?

At best, scorn perpetually.

 

[roses04]

Leach didn't blame Wulff, he was simply trying to point out how far this team has come in 6 years and where they are now of n relationship to our history. 9 wins and the fan base is upset, am I happy how the season ended? Hell no! Winning 9 games in a year is not easy, and unfortunately the blow out losses make it look bad,even Ohio st had a blowout loss, which kept them out of the playoff. The blowout losses are frustrating, but let's not become Oregon st fans, who took winning seasons for granted, and look where they are now.

Building a consistent winner at WSU takes time and good results from recruiting and player development. That's all Leach was trying to say in his grumpy pissed off attitude after a couple of blowout losses. Then a couple of hack sports reporters claim he is trying to drag Wulff into this,which is crap, but I am sure Wulff is telling his therapist his ED problems are Doba's fault.

 

[Observer11]

It would be best for everyone's sanity to simply purge the Wulff years from their collective memories. Never to be spoken of again. It's an era that simply is an outlier to the data for WSU historically.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

I'm not a fan of Leach saying that we should accept AC blowouts and bowl losses because Wulff sucked, but at the same time, it is important for people to maintain perspective. I'll say at $4 million per year, I'm expecting double digit wins sooner than later. 4-8 would be very poorly received with the new contract. Leach has earned that money......but he needs to keep earning it and raise the game a little more now.

 

[dgibbons]

I'm not a fan of Leach saying that we should accept AC blowouts and bowl losses because Wulff sucked.

Leach didn’t say that.

 

[BiggsCoug]

Who cares if Coach T gets drug under the bus. He sucks.

 

[Coug95man2]

If Leach can’t handle media scrutiny from the likes of Blanchette and Patchin, where’s he gonna go?

And I don’t know if it’s true or not, but why would Leach bring up Paul Wulff? That doesn’t seem like something he’d do.

Who says he can't handle them? Just because he has a response that some may not like or he says like he's cranky, doesn't mean he can't handle it. One of the oddest things in today's culture. Someone says something another doesn't like... and the tables are turned to imply they can't handle it. Like CML is the snowflake in this situation... weird as hell. Media and others are melting over this and it's CML that is throwing the temper tantrum? Nope. And this isn't necessarily pointed towards you Patrol but the "media" is all up in arms over his this... But they're the ones going on and on about it. He responded. He's done. He probably isn't even thinking about it again. But some are, certainly the media is...

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Leach didn’t say that.

There's obviously some paraphrasing going on.

 

[Coug95man2]

There's obviously some paraphrasing going on.

No. It isn't paraphrasing. Look at his quote. Now to play devils advocate, which era of football is he talking about? Literally? Are you ASSUMING he is talking about CPW or could he be talking about Erickson? How about Walden or Sweeney? He's talking about what we talk about all the time. How many 9 win seasons in our history have we had?

We've accomplished a massive culture change at WSU Athletics over the past decade or so. We've hired some great coaches for soccer, I really like what Greeney and Co are doing. Our more recent baseball coach, I believe, is building something great. We're really trying at basketball... and football is doing GREAT. Track is a chink in my debate but I also recognize how Oregon can suck the wind out of the PAC12 North area. But I do believe the IPF will help significantly in that area.

Anyways, side bar there. Regarding what CML said... He didn't specify any given coach. He was talking about our history. That is all.

 

[Loyal Coug]

The column was the dung heap. Leach didn’t reference Wulff at all. He was referring to history. If you think Leach is a big meany, or whatever, so say. No need to make up lies.

“Kind of a failure” is a tad bit of an understatement.

Well I went over and read the article. (The Luani article is much better , BTW. Wearing his WSU shirt and Raiders hat a week ago ).

No, CML did not mention Wulff, or Doba for that matter.

The most laughable part was a link within the article to another Brand X editorial written in Sept 2016 after we started 0-2. Basically reaming CML out for not producing the results that were expected. Yeah, we were all on the ledge at that particular moment. But then we had also just come off a 9 win season and Sun Bowl victory over Miami. So Brand X names Wulff by name, attributes it to CML, then links their own editorial written just after we won 9 games in Year 4 after winning 9 games in 4 years? That somehow legitimizes their anger?

 

[dgibbons]

There's obviously some paraphrasing going on.

If by paraphrasing you mean that author was making $hit up, then yes.

 

[BiggsCoug]

Brand x sucks. It has sucked, does suck and will suck in the future.

 

[ttowncoug]

BX was loyal to the core to Paul Wulff and his staff.

I have no problem with what Leach said. He's right. His staff has elevated this program from where it was.

What was short sided though, is the amount of resources Leach has vs. Wulff and others. The Pac 12 windfall has propped up those "sails"...

 

[dgibbons]

BX was loyal to the core to Paul Wulff and his staff.

I have no problem with what Leach said. He's right. His staff has elevated this program from where it was.

What was short sided though, is the amount of resources Leach has vs. Wulff and others. The Pac 12 windfall has propped up those "sails"...

Sure, but the tide has raised all (or almost all) the boats. What programs are not rolling out shiny new facilities? And Leach was recruiting based on blueprints rather than bricks and mortar for awhile.

 

[PeteTheChop]

What was short sided though, is the amount of resources Leach has vs. Wulff and others.

This is something a lot of Coach Paul Wulff supporters point out to this day. Heck, we've all probably heard them from time to time.

What if the CPW era had featured the same facilities (plural) upgrades and all the "bells and whistles" that CML and his staff have benefited from while building a legitimate Top 15 or Top 20 national program?

My understanding from some of those loyal to CPW (including at least one ex-Cougar coach) is that WSU's facilities shortcomings really hindered recruiting under the Paul Wulff regime.

The question, perhaps, is how much?

 

[PeteTheChop]

Brand x sucks. It has sucked, does suck and will suck in the future.

Brand X seems to be unpopular in these parts because the staff appears to have a touch of, shall we say, hubris.

But they are an example of a WSU media outlet that appears to defend Paul Wulff at a drop of the hat.

 

[kayak15]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. This little fracas is bordering on the absurd. man2 is spot on. Leach was speaking about our history. Nothing more; nothing less. We're not there yet but are making significant progress. 'Oh, oh, Leach is denigrating his predecessors. He's a bad man.' Good Lord, how did his statement morph into that? There is a lot of thin skin out there. Snowflakes galore. Some people just have to assume the worst in others to justify their own opinions. Ridiculous.

 

[dgibbons]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. This little fracas is bordering on the absurd. man2 is spot on. Leach was speaking about our history. Nothing more; nothing less. We're not there yet but are making significant progress. 'Oh, oh, Leach is denigrating his predecessors. He's a bad man.' Good Lord, how did his statement morph into that? There is a lot of thin skin out there. Snowflakes galore. Some people just have to assume the worst in others to justify their own opinions. Ridiculous.

I don't think it was some kind of misunderstanding.

 

[mister noon]

the question that prompted his response was from a brand x reporter - the way it was posed suggests to me that they have some sort of hard on for CML- he seems to know it and his response was not unlike his response to the same source trying to corner him at midnight at the pullman airport as he returned form the infamous meeting with the lame duck UT AD

neither the brand x 'reporter' nor CML seem to like each other much and it shows - it's like they aren't asking post-game football questions - rather tying to pin him into a corner so they can get a big 'scoop' for a sensational headline on their site

they didnt like his response and voila they blast him on their site in an effort to create 'news'

the question prior was fair and about the game and he answered in a civil manner - the tone changed after that brand x question was posed

obvious he doesn't like stupid questions and won't dignify them with a straight answer

 

[YakiCoug]

Leach didn't blame Wulff, he was simply trying to point out how far this team has come in 6 years and where they are now of n relationship to our history. 9 wins and the fan base is upset, am I happy how the season ended? Hell no! Winning 9 games in a year is not easy, and unfortunately the blow out losses make it look bad,even Ohio st had a blowout loss, which kept them out of the playoff. The blowout losses are frustrating, but let's not become Oregon st fans, who took winning seasons for granted, and look where they are now.

Building a consistent winner at WSU takes time and good results from recruiting and player development. That's all Leach was trying to say in his grumpy pissed off attitude after a couple of blowout losses. Then a couple of hack sports reporters claim he is trying to drag Wulff into this,which is crap, but I am sure Wulff is telling his therapist his ED problems are Doba's fault.

What Leach said was sarcasm directed at some members of the media who annually ballyhoo husky recruiting classes as Alabamaesque and who belittle what WSU brings in. These same media marvels then feign shock and dismay when WSU loses to the UW.
What isn't feigned are idiotic sentiments expressed by those who'd rather have an Apple Cup win be our second or third victory of the year than 9-8-9, even if we beat both eventual division winners during the season.

 

[BiggsCoug]

This is something a lot of Coach Paul Wulff supporters point out to this day. Heck, we've all probably heard them from time to time.

What if the CPW era had featured the same facilities (plural) upgrades and all the "bells and whistles" that CML and his staff have benefited from while building a legitimate Top 15 or Top 20 national program?

My understanding from some of those loyal to CPW (including at least one ex-Cougar coach) is that WSU's facilities shortcomings really hindered recruiting under the Paul Wulff regime.

The question, perhaps, is how much?

Is a lack of facilities what caused Coach Turd to leave Coach Leach 6 scholarship offensive linemen of which 4 were 260lbs or less?

Coach Turd needs to stop pointing fingers at everyone else and be accountable.

 

[YakiCoug]

BX was loyal to the core to Paul Wulff and his staff.

I have no problem with what Leach said. He's right. His staff has elevated this program from where it was.

What was short sided though, is the amount of resources Leach has vs. Wulff and others. The Pac 12 windfall has propped up those "sails"...

While I agree with some of the points in that editorial, it's true that loyalty knew no bounds.

 

[PINGDUDE4]

Really seems odd that they seem have an agenda. I guess they do not have to be fan boys but geez that is bizarre.

There seems to be some of school of thought that the media is even tougher than that in Texas or the south. No they are not , that is a myth. A reporter asking questions like that with that tone to a Tom Herman or a Gary Patterson or a Bob Stoops would be thrown out and probably run out of town. .

 

[PINGDUDE4]

NM

 

[Coug95man2]

Really seems odd that they seem have an agenda. I guess they do not have to be fan boys but geez that is bizarre.

There seems to be some of school that the media is that even tougher than that in Texas or the south. No they are not , that is a myth. A reporter asking questions like that with that tone to a Tom Herman or a Gary Patterson or a Bob Stoops would be thrown out and probably run out of town. No wonder Leach looks irritated that is not normal and is bizarre.

No. No it isn't odd or bizarre. Being from the media world, recognize this happens more than not, in every media outlet. If they aren't doing this, they aren't doing their job.

 

[HHusky]

I believe it would be fairer to paraphrase his remarks as "You've never won much so stop talking about bad starts and endings of seasons."

 

[PINGDUDE4]

I believe it would be fairer to paraphrase his remarks as "You've never won much so stop talking about bad starts and endings of seasons."

Did they ask Pete what it felt like to be 1-3 in bowl games ? Or were they not doing their job ?

And did he say at least I did not run up as big of bar tab in Phoenix as Sark would have.

 

[OrangeGravy]

I'm not a fan of Leach saying that we should accept AC blowouts and bowl losses because Wulff sucked, but at the same time, it is important for people to maintain perspective. I'll say at $4 million per year, I'm expecting double digit wins sooner than later. 4-8 would be very poorly received with the new contract. Leach has earned that money......but he needs to keep earning it and raise the game a little more now.

I say things like this sometimes with respect to coaches and on the surface it makes sense. When I think on it further though, sports is a zero sum game when it comes to W-L in a closed conference system. It doesn't make any sense to attach an expected number of wins to a coaches salary unless he's clearly at the top or bottom of the scale. Leach is what, somewhere in the middle to upper half of the PAC? I would say it's reasonable to expect him to finish in the middle to upper half of the PAC most years allowing for unusually high or low finish every now and again. An expectations of double digit wins every year would never be reasonable unless you were paid in the top 2 or 3 of the conference by a good margin. Would you expect double digit wins at $4 million per year if everyone else in the conference was paid $4 million?

I'm not trying to bust your chops at all Flat! It's just my analytical accountant brain and how it works. Sometimes being in my head is like getting sucked down an internet rabbit hole! It helps to let it out now and then. Or I could just have one foot on the spectrum!