Winning coaches losing jobs; Mike Leach's suit against Texas Tech
January 11, 2010
Jim Leavitt fired at South Florida
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-southflorida-leavitt&prov
Jim Leavitt
Successful coaches are being fired without hesitation these days. Is this a new trend?
What in the name of Frank Kush and Woody Hayes is going on this year with college football coaches? First Mike Leach is run out of town for his alleged treatment of a player, and now Jim Leavitt is out at South Florida for allegedly roughing up of one of his players.
At Sportslawtalk we occasionally like to look at the past to understand the present, and there certainly is precedent for what's happened with Leavitt and Leach. Sure, most people remember Woody Hayes and how he lost his job at Ohio Sate following his punching incident with a Clemson player in the 1978 Gator Bowl. But what may most closely resemble the Leach and Leavitt matters is the case of the legendary Arizona State head coach Frank Kush.
Frank Kush coached for 22 years in Tempe, Arizona for the Sun Devils of Arizona State. To say that he was a tough disciplinarian would be an understatement. Kush's grueling practices and discipline were well known in the college football world. In September, 1979 a former ASU punter Kevin Rutledge filed a 1.1 million dollar law suit against Kush and Arizona State alleging physical and mental punishment that led to Rutledge's transfer from Arizona State. Kush would be fired in the middle of the 1979 season based upon the suit and Kush's efforts to keep players and assistant coaches quiet about his actions. Two years later a court found Kush not liable for his actions, but by that time Kush was long gone from ASU and on his journey to a CFL and NFL coaching career. More than thirty years after Frank Kush's dismissal at Arizona State we see that, yes, there really is nothing new under the sun (Devil).
see link from 1979 article about Frank Kush.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1095542/index.htm
Frank Kush
And, check out page one of this vintage link about Frank Kush's 1981 courtroom victory:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1124441/1/index.htm
Mike Leach known for his creative offensives at Texas Tech is now on the offensive against Texas Tech with an amended suit against his former school.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-leachfired&prov=ap&type=l
Jim Leavitt fired at South Florida
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-southflorida-leavitt&prov
Jim Leavitt
Successful coaches are being fired without hesitation these days. Is this a new trend?
What in the name of Frank Kush and Woody Hayes is going on this year with college football coaches? First Mike Leach is run out of town for his alleged treatment of a player, and now Jim Leavitt is out at South Florida for allegedly roughing up of one of his players.
At Sportslawtalk we occasionally like to look at the past to understand the present, and there certainly is precedent for what's happened with Leavitt and Leach. Sure, most people remember Woody Hayes and how he lost his job at Ohio Sate following his punching incident with a Clemson player in the 1978 Gator Bowl. But what may most closely resemble the Leach and Leavitt matters is the case of the legendary Arizona State head coach Frank Kush.
Frank Kush coached for 22 years in Tempe, Arizona for the Sun Devils of Arizona State. To say that he was a tough disciplinarian would be an understatement. Kush's grueling practices and discipline were well known in the college football world. In September, 1979 a former ASU punter Kevin Rutledge filed a 1.1 million dollar law suit against Kush and Arizona State alleging physical and mental punishment that led to Rutledge's transfer from Arizona State. Kush would be fired in the middle of the 1979 season based upon the suit and Kush's efforts to keep players and assistant coaches quiet about his actions. Two years later a court found Kush not liable for his actions, but by that time Kush was long gone from ASU and on his journey to a CFL and NFL coaching career. More than thirty years after Frank Kush's dismissal at Arizona State we see that, yes, there really is nothing new under the sun (Devil).
see link from 1979 article about Frank Kush.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1095542/index.htm
Frank Kush
And, check out page one of this vintage link about Frank Kush's 1981 courtroom victory:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1124441/1/index.htm
Mike Leach known for his creative offensives at Texas Tech is now on the offensive against Texas Tech with an amended suit against his former school.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-leachfired&prov=ap&type=l
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