Dirty notes from the gridiron gutter

Washington State head football coach Mike Leach sat behind the podium at the post-game press conference after his Cougars lost — for the seventh straight year — to the University of Washington in the annual Apple Cup rivalry between the two state universities.

And there, in front of the world, Leach showed his underlying character, calling local sports columnist John Blanchette a “sanctimonious troll,” and telling the journalist to “live your meager life in your hole and write nasty things.”

Here’s a thought, coach: sports writers would much rather write stories about winning. If you don’t want “nasty things” written about you and your team, why don’t you try beating your rival?

To be fair, Leach’s record demonstrates plenty of winning. As a college football coach he has an overall 139-89 record, 55-46 at WSU. Last year he was selected as both the American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the Year and the PAC-12 Coach of the Year after taking his Cougars to an 11-2 season. He has taken the Cougs to five bowl appearances during the same seven-year period his team has been defeated by the Huskies.

Clearly, the Huskies remain a burr under Leach’s gilded saddle.

The coach received a five-year, $20 million contract extension in 2017. This year alone that contract will pay him $3.75 million plus an additional $750,000 in potential bonus pay.

While the details of those current bonuses are not easy to find, his previous contract bonuses included anywhere from $500,000 for a national title, various lessor amounts for bowl and other title victories, to $25,000 for each win over the University of Washington.

So, assuming that Apple Cup bonus was carried forward with his current contract extension, maybe Leach’s foul post-game mood resulted from the realization that he had lost out on some $175,000 in bonus cash due to his seven consecutive losses to the Huskies.

Not that it would hurt him much. According to the website Celebrity Net Worth, Leach is worth a net $8 million. A mere 175 grand is pocket change.

But university boards of trustees seem to have been convinced by somebody that such an exorbitant salary is worth it to the university and the taxpayers.

As was widely quoted when Leach’s contract was extended in 2017, WSU President Kirk Schulz said of Leach, “Our on-field football success has reaped dividends for the entire athletic program, invigorating the interest of fans, boosting football season ticket sales and increasing donor contributions to the Cougar Athletic Fund.”

Note that nothing was said about the benefit to university’s actual mandate: higher education.

You’d think someone like Leach, who has been made wealthy by taxpayers, would show a little more class and restraint in press conference. But neither should it be surprising.

In May 2016, the Trump campaign invited Leach to be keynote speaker at a campaign rally in Spokane, where Leach bragged about his relationship with the candidate. He was positively effusive about the level of confidence Trump exhibited. So much so that it apparently rubbed off on the coach.

“Everything is confident,” Leach told the assembled crowd about Trumps attitude. “Each time I left his office I felt more confident.”

Further, Trump talked about his projects in a way that Leach admired. They weren’t going to just be OK or good, according to Leach.

“No, each project is going to be the best,” he said.

As Americans and the world are learning, the difference between talking and actually doing can be a vast distance.

While talk is good, actually winning is what sports is all about. And for what Leach is being paid, his employer — taxpayers — have a reasonable expectation of verbal restraint when his talk doesn’t match the walk.

Like his hero Donald Trump, Leach’s comments are nothing less than hubris — excessive, arrogant pride that, rather than respecting those who are forced to report on him, only serves to transfer his own bruised pride by belittling and demeaning them.

Taxpayers expect thicker skin for $20 million.

Lee Hughes can be reached at [email protected].