CULTURE | FOOTBALL
Lock and Reload In his second season, WSU’s Mike Leach looks to turn things around BY HOWIE STALWICK
M
ike Leach came to Washington State with a reputation for filling reporters’ notebooks with hilarious, off-the-wall (and sometimes scathing) quotes, and Leach did nothing to disappoint fans and the media in that regard last year during his first season with the Cougars. He was back at it again during a question-and-answer session with The Inlander. The colorful coach discussed everything from the Cougars’ prospects for 2013 to hunting in New Zealand to his in-laws’ reaction to his decision to give up a law career to become a football coach. INLANDER: You always seem to do something unusual in the off-season. How about this year? LEACH: I went hunting in New Zealand … I got a stag and a tahr … and I got to have dinner with the All Blacks coaches on their rugby team. I’m a big rugby fan. [Leach, who did not play college football, played club rugby at Brigham Young.] Not only is All Blacks confusing to most Americans — the team’s name has nothing to do with race — but what the heck is a stag and a tahr? A stag is kind of like a cross between a deer and an elk, with tangled antlers. A tahr is a Himalayan mountain goat. You’ve made it clear you expect the Cougars to be improved this year. Why are you so optimistic after a 3-9 season filled with turmoil? Most people are back. We’re a year older. We’ve had a really good off-season. We are a little bigger. I would say the chemistry and enthusiasm of the team is really strong.
Mike Leach is hoping the 2013 campaign yields more wins and less drama than his debut last year. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO
That was a problem last year. Why has that aspect of the team improved? Some of the guys who played last year have really stepped up in leadership roles. [Quarterback] Connor Halliday has done a great job stepping up in a leadership role. (Linebacker) Darryl Monroe has. (Safety) Deone Bucannon and (center) Elliott Bosch have. ...continued on next page
AUGUST 29, 2013 INLANDER 27