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Leach vs Riley Debate

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I see people want to rehash the Leach vs Riley debate. Go for it. I’ll say that I don’t think it’s valid to compare yet for two reasons:

1. People are comparing apples to oranges. A guy in year 3 vs a guy in year 14. Leach still has Paul Wulff recruits on the roster. Riley 2.0 inherited a team that was 8-5 the previous year. You just cannot make an accurate comparison.

2. Transitive law (or the transitive property) does not apply to sports. Read this and this. For those too lazy to click the link, who just want to show up and say dumb shit like “Leach stinks, Angry is wrong” yada yada, here is the pertinent clip:

Here is an example of an unsound application of the transitive property: “Team A defeated team B, and team B defeated team C. Therefore, team A will defeat team C.”

That is pretty much exactly what you guys are doing. Do you realize you’re committing logical suicide?

A more accurate, though still flawed, comparison would be Leach’s first two years at WSU vs Riley’s first two years at OSU.

Leach was 9-16 after his first two years at WSU. After Riley’s first two years at OSU, he was 8-14. Leach is 5-13 in conference play over his first two years, and Riley was 2-14 in conference play over his first two years. If you’re going to make comparisons at least try to make it apples to apples. Note: we can’t compare beyond year three since Riley bailed on OSU to coach the Chargers to a 14-34 record, then came back to inherent Dennis Erickson’s work. Leach inherited Paul Wulff’s disaster.

Now would I take Leach over Riley today? Yes, and the reason is that with a decent roster Leach has proven he can take teams to bigger bowl games. Both coaches are flawed, so in that case give me the guy with a higher ceiling.

113 COMMENTS

  1. I saw Leach on tv the other night, and if not for the lack of an argyle sweater, I’d have sworn I was watching my lesbian aunt Patti. They have the same exact body type and haircut. For that reason, I’m going with Riley (even though I’m a big aunt Patti fan)

  2. Whittingham would be a better comparison to do vs Riley.

    Of all the PAC12 coaches, I’d probably only take Shaw or Mora over Riley. The others would be able to recruit better but not coach them up as well as Riley. Those two can do both.

    • Shaw is getting exposed as a tough talking pillow. Remember, he is supposed to be an offense guy. He has steadily depended on the defense to hide his flaws. He recruits really well but his coaching acumen is very mediocre. Michigan State made him look like a knot head. One game for sure doesn’t prove anything. Yet Michigan State did not fall for the tough talk bs and stuffed a very unimaginative bunch of bullies. The USC blunder is another sign. It is a slow deflation, but a trend never the less. Hard to know what to make of Mora. He has a superstar team of recruiting assistants and the pr product shows it. He often out talents the opposition, sometimes out motivates the opposition, but rarely outwits the opposing team. More often than not the other guys out prepare Jim Mora teams. But he has more horses and more horsepower. and wins despite Mora’s limitations His teams play below potential and often play to the level of the opposition. Lately, Riley has been able to outscheme and outwit Mora. I have been critical of Riley but not totally blind. He should get some credit and so far, with a limited sample, he has shown to be a superior tactician to Mora. I think that if Riley paid a bit more attention to detail and less to legacy, he could eat Shaw’s lunch. Shaw has a built in money/location/recruiting advantage and uses it, for now..

  3. I don’t give a shit about transitive property’s or whether who’s right or who’s wrong. I just put forward the link because whether you’re an angry cougar or an angry beaver, you still are angry.

    Whether you are in year three or your 14, it still makes a difference whether you produce quality individuals versus quality football players. I think Riley does that. I also think Leach is an arrogant bastard and he’s got skeletons in his closet that weren’t dealt with when he went to Washington state.

    So, I’ll go back to my original question who would you rather have now?

  4. I’m not a Leach fan. IMO Wulff should have had one more year. I think he had the pieces in place to put together a 6-7 win season in 2012 and build some momentum to continue improving. Instead, Leach showed up and cleaned house and set them back a few years. I’m not sure the upside is any better there, either- though he’s free to prove me wrong.

    Thing that always impressed me about Wulff’s teams is they were fired up 110%, every week. They were woefully outclassed, but they showed up to PLAY. Plus Jeff Tuel and Marquess Wilson were NFL talents that Leach managed to squander completely.

    Shaw and Helfrich are similar in that they inherited great programs created by innovators. It’s been Shaw’s show for some time now so that’s not a fluke, but at the same time the program still looks nearly indistinguishable from Harbaugh’s model. He is maintaining something good more than breaking new ground. Hard to predict how either of these guys would perform in Corvallis.

    Dykes’ team is looking vastly better this year. Too early to call but they could be sneaky good. Same with Whittingham.

    Colorado is (slowly) trending up, but still very bad. Tough job there though- walked into a disaster. Much, much worse than what Leach inherited. That’s tough to call as well.

    I was high on the Peterson hire, but the first few games may suggest that he’ll need a year or two to get his feet under him. This one may be too early to call as well. Will be interesting to see how he handles the MWC to PAC12 shift.

    Mora took a chronically bad program and made it good immediately. Have to respect that- solid coach.

    Similar with Graham- but he seems to have a low ceiling. At least he’s very good at taking care of business against inferior teams though.

    Sark is a great recruiter and mediocre coach. He should do well enough at SC but would faceplant at OSU. Any success he has should be taken as an indication of Kiffin’s failings more than anything.

    The guy that I find really intriguing as a coach is RichRod. He’s done some really good things with that program and they seem to be trending up. That’s a guy I’d like at OSU.

  5. Yes Mike Leach is a lesbian, right down to the feathered hair, khaki pants and athletic shirt, and the doughy, formless body. I’d take Riley over her any day. The air raid is pathetic. Call Mouse Davis, he wants his run and shoot back.

    With all the Duck clones, the pro-style offense is now a novelty. We are getting beast tight-ends, great QBs, and stud receivers. We will never beat Oregon by copying their style. Like it or not, our best chance at the Rose Bowl is the pro-style.

    Riley is warm milk but he is stumbling the Beavs towards an identity. This year the ceiling breaks.

    • The offense isn’t the limitation or the ceiling, its the coaching, both Riley and Banker. So if that breaks this year…ok with me.

      A healthy UO team would embarrass Banker and the Beavers in Reser this year. I think its a return to CW blowouts of the Kelly era. Three RBs with too much speed (how can a team use 3 rbs?!? Its too hard!), Mariotta’s mobility and decision making…they get a big lead and Riley plays right into their hands by going pass heavy.

    • My aunt Patti was just talking about her lesbian bowling league being down a member this year. I think Leach would be the perfect fit there

  6. Leach is an outright disaster. Riley ain’t Vince Lombardi but he doesn’t deserve to be compared to a nutcase like Leach. WSU would have been better off keeping Paul Wulff.

    • really? Do you recall some of the games Wazzu lost (and badly) during the Wulff era? I was at Reser in 2007 I think and Lyle Moevao threw four interceptions. In the first half. The beavers still were ahead at halftime. That said, Wazzu has been a dumpster fire since Price left. But at least Mike Leach is personable. If you disagree with that, be prepared to be locked in an equipment shed where it’s so dark you’ll have to feel your dick to even know it’s there!

    • No idea if he has a mid-range or perimeter shot other than he has nice form on his FT shot. If he can post short corner and hit the baseline set or even flare for the corner trey then I think he looks a lot like a Bill Laimbeer type player… minus the dirty play.

          • Remember that Gomis is in his fourth year of school this year. He could graduate and move on.
            -or-
            Some players may see the writing on the wall this year while they ride the pine on a short bench.

            There is usually roster turnover when a new coach comes to town. That’s what gave CR little hope in the beginning. He had a mandate to keep the JJ legacies and raise the APR (at that time GSR… I think… and that also makes a difference). Imagine the difference between taking over an o-fer, low talent group on the verge of academic sanctions with morale completely destroyed and no facilities… and taking over a middling .500 program with some self-starting talent, no academic worries, new facilities and good to great morale.

        • He is a prototypical Montgomery big. Krystowiak and Tinkle were just the forerunners of this prototype. They look for and utilize these players in their systems as well.

          If he has skills beyond the prototype, then we start talking about how they can change games. Payton Dastrup (BYU) will be one of those types… if his mission doesn’t diminish his skills.

          • This would be a nice get. He’s still looking at Oregon State along with Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, UCSF and Pepperdine. He has an offer from Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, Wazzu and a few others.

            I like this guy’s tape a lot. Good skills inside, pretty mobile, looks like he could add some weight. I’d be very stoked about this get.

  7. Mike Leach has dead, lifeless eyes. I feel like he would play a very convincing Warlock in a Peter Jackson movie and would require very little make up. Maybe just a cool witches hat or something.

  8. Sounds like the shit has hit the fan with Roger Goodell and the NFL. Apparently they had already seen the newer elevator video of Ray Rice but lied about it as recently as last night. Dipshits….

  9. If OSU really is bringing back Romaine, that just seems stupid and distracting.

    Sounds like Riley wants a “neat story” down the road…

  10. Best case scenario for Romaine is to get the kickoff job back and maybe for any attempts over 55. Owen’s leg just isn’t going to get it done consistently.

    • Not sure i agree with your scenario Bill….Romaine 3-7 from 40 yds plus last year (75% career on total FG). Kickoffs would like to be “high balls” at the 1-2 yards deep -with the tackles under 20 yards . Which was done at the Hawaii game ( 3 touchbacks and 3 under 20 yards -Ortiz & Co. ). Kickoffs with touchbacks can be a little misleading and our kickoff coverage team has done well. Just my 2 cents . Let the competition begin.

      • The touchbacks were due to the wind in Hawaii. All his touchbacks were in one direction.

        In the first game, Owens had 1 touchback. Everything else was short and the hang time was not great. I watched him in warmups. He could barely get it to the goalline.

        All I’m saying is that Romaine can kick it further. If there’s a scenario where the beavs have to kick a 50+ FG to win a game, put Romaine in vs Owens.

        • Depending on who’s returning the ball, in a lot of cases a returned attempted won’t go as far as a touchback. I don’t know the numbers, but a kick to the 1 yard line can be better.

    • Why was B Cooks the first 4 star WR to come to OSU despite us having Chad Johnson and TJ being elite well known WR for years?

      Why no 4 star backs despite Steven Jackson being a top NFL back and Quizz being one of the most popular players in college football for 3 years?

      No Elite LB recruits despite Nick Barnett dominating the league for years??

      Riley and crew are unable to sell a vision. Corvallis is a gem not a crutch…They would rather get adequate talent and then “coach em up”

    • Thats easy. Because they can see that Riley is soft, doesnt care if the team is not the best it can be, and is never going to a high tier bowl game. The five star guys have already been told they deserve that, so they look for a coach who might be able to get them there.

      And sure enough, they have all been right. He has never done it.

  11. I remember the Leach vs. Riley debate a couple years ago, and the opinions that followed about how the Beavs were going to be left in the dust by Riley’s outdated offensive scheme as all the new coaches entered the conference. I said Leach blew back then and my stance still holds. Leach had a similar conference record to Riley at the time, and Leach had a weaker schedule. Leach routinely continues to ‘coug it.

    The biggest improvement for the Beavs would (will?) come by getting more 4 star guys, not an offensive revamp.

    • IMO the air raid worked at T Tech because it was before the massive shift to the option offenses, so it was innovative at the time. Defenses in the area were built to stop power and not speed, so they had the advantage of surprise. Here in the PAC it’s almost all option based now, so speed and discipline at the LB and DB position are a must, which effectively shut down the offense. He was also situated in one of the most talent filled areas of the nation in Texas, so he could fill his team with under the radar sleepers. I don’t see Leach ever being very successful at Wazzu.

      • I read it. It seems like a backpedal from what I can remember, which was that your position was that Leach is better than Riley at the time he was hired by WSU. I can see the point with giving Leach more time, but in two more years, I don’t see the Cougs getting above .500.

        • I wanted Leach as OC.

          There is no back pedal. I’d even take Leach over Riley as a head coach today. And you can’t compare a coach in year two vs one in year fourteen. Leach is out performing Riley’s first two years.

          • “. I’d even take Leach over Riley as a head coach today”

            If we ever needed any more proof that you are the biggest damn idiot to run a blog, we found it with this Gem.

            WOW!

      • Hey, what happened to Beav-It’s post? Did that get deleted? I thought he made some good points.

        I’m not understanding exactly what part of Leach’s career we’re allowed to use in the comparison. Everyone is comparing the two, including yourself, but it sounds like your argument is that we can only use Leach’s tenure at TT in the comparison and have to completely disregard his time with WSU. Not sure why that should be.

        • I think we should use Leach at WSU and Riley at OSU, first two years (since year 3 is not complete).

          Leach was 9-16 after his first two years at WSU. After Riley’s first two years at OSU, he was 8-14. Leach is 5-13 in conference play over his first two years, and Riley was 2-14 in conference play

          Leach’s first two years at WSU outperform Riley’s first two years at OSU. If we factor in Texas Tech Leach kills Riley. Both guys are mid-tier coaches, but Leach has done more and has more upside (and downside) so I’d take him. That’s the argument.

    • It sounds like Alstan and QB commit Pensyl know each other. I’ve seen Pensyl tweet Alstan urging him to come to OSU. Really hope their relationship helps land that guy

  12. Really funny story for you guys, I was at the Walmart and saw a DUCK fan and quickly asked him several witty and premeditated questions about how he REALLY feels about Helf-fraud and Phil Knight buying houses for recruits and he was all what? And I was all that what I thought! No natty fucker!!!! Right guys? Hahaha

  13. Oh, and if anyone can loan me $2400-$3200 I’ll let you hold the title to one 1977 camaro, with posi-track, full race slapper bars, healthy meats, torqueflight trans with 305 motor RV cam. You can have the title until I pay it back OK? NADA lists this car for over $4,000 so this would be a sweet deal for the right person with vision. Oh, and tags are from ’04 and the one tires are flat so bring a trailer for this price obviously. This is a ongoing project that needs the right home. Most of the rust is surface. Need cash until court settlement in approx 9 days but NEED CASH now!! Thanks.

    • I don’t see much probable about that. Groce still returns four starters in Hill, Nunn, Rice and Egwu. If he’s going for more three guard sets, it would make more sense to bring in Tate. I’m thinking he looks to get a PF or SF into his game with one of the two sophs or two frosh.

      Starks should get some spot duty. But he can’t be a part of a small line-up. The opposition would just dump it low all day.

  14. Pub for Oregon State!

    No matter which side you are on in this matter, this is funny. This guy is hilarious… Here is an e-mail sent to Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune after an article he published concerning a name change for the Washington Redskins.

    Dear Mr. Page…

    I always love your articles and I generally agree with them. I would suggest, as in an email I received, they change the name to the “Foreskins” to better represent their community, paying tribute to the dick heads in Congress.

    I agree with our Native American population. I am highly insulted by the racially charged name of the Washington Redskins. One might argue that to name a professional football team after Native Americans would exalt them as fine warriors, but nay, nay. We must be careful not to offend, and in the spirit of political correctness and courtesy, we must move forward.

    Let’s ditch the Kansas City Chiefs, the Atlanta Braves and the Cleveland Indians. If your shorts are in a wad because of the reference the name Redskins makes to skin color, then we need to get rid of the Cleveland Browns.

    The Carolina Panthers obviously were named to keep the memory of militant Blacks from the 60’s alive. Gone. It’s offensive to us white folk.

    The New York Yankees offend the Southern population. Do you see a team named for the Confederacy? No! There is no room for any reference to that tragic war that cost this country so many young men’s lives.

    I am also offended by the blatant references to the Catholic religion among our sports team names. Totally inappropriate to have the New Orleans Saints, the Los Angeles Angels or the San Diego Padres.

    Then there are the team names that glorify criminals who raped and pillaged. We are talking about the horrible Oakland Raiders, the Minnesota Vikings, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Pittsburgh Pirates!

    Now, let us address those teams that clearly send the wrong message to our children. The San Diego Chargers promote irresponsible fighting or even spending habits. Wrong message to our children.

    The New York Giants and the San Francisco Giants promote obesity, a growing childhood epidemic. Wrong message to our children.

    The Cincinnati Reds promote downers/barbiturates. Wrong message to our children.

    The Milwaukee Brewers. Well that goes without saying. Wrong message to our children.

    So, there you go. We need to support any legislation that comes out to rectify this travesty, because the government will likely become involved with this issue, as they should. Just the kind of thing the do-nothing Congress loves.

    As a diehard Oregon State fan, my wife and I, with all of this in mind, suggest it might also make some sense to change the name of the OregonState women’s athletic teams to something other than “the Beavers.”

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