I've never been to Pullman, but I can vouch for the fact that the bars in Lubbock SUCK.

As a Texas alum, I have a lot of respect for Mike Leach, and I think he is a great hire for WSU. I don't know how much Pullman and Lubbock really have in common as cities, but I do think the Tech and WSU football programs face a lot of similar challenges, particularly with recruiting top talent. Leach overcame Tech's chronic lack of five star recruits by employing a system of offense that made marginal players deadly effective against all but the very best defenses in the nation. Most of his tenure, Leach had Tech competing for the Big 12 South championship right up to the end, which was a remarkable feat, considering the superior talent he faced at schools like Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M. After establishing Tech as a true contender in the Big 12, Leach started getting some solid receivers to come to Lubbock (Wes Welker, Danny Amendola, and Michael Crabtree, to name a few), and he almost managed to take Tech to a national championship. I will be surprised if he doesn't turn some heads very quickly in the Pac-12.

Even if the wins don't start piling up right away, Leach will provide excitement from the get go. To give you Coogs out there a glimpse of what's coming to Martin Stadium soon, consider my personal favorite Leach quote (or paraphrase):

A lot of teams like to use the run to establish the pass. I like to use the pass to
establish the pass.

It makes for some very entertaining football. I can think of a few schools that had better shore up their defenses in a hurry.

Besides all that, Leach is quite the eccentric, which makes for some interesting interviews. The equipment shed incident was bizarre and troubling, but they'd give anything to have Leach back at Tech. My Dad lives in Lubbock and is a big Tech fan. He tells me they are still bitter about the way the Tech A.D. railroaded Leach out.

If you ask me, they're in for a treat on the Palouse.