Craig James, Puppetmaster

   Recently, former Texas Tech head football coach Mike Leach portrayed his firing as an orchestrated event with ESPN college football analyst and ultimate “little league dad” Craig James as the force behind his dismissal. According to Leach, Craig James had been disappointed by the lack of playing time for his son Adam, a seldom used receiver for the Red Raiders. Leach stated that “I think he used his position at ESPN to try to coerce me into allowing Adam to play more,” and when Leach didn’t comply with his demands for special treatment, Leach says that James attempted to apply more pressure. “He made it clear that he had a business relationship with our chancellor or certainly was in conversation about such things.” Aided by lingering resentment caused

 by heated contract negotiations with Leach last year, Craig James’ pleas to university administrators did not fall on deaf ears. Days after the elder James contacted school officials, the man that built Tech into a respected football power was unceremoniously dumped, and the James family has required police protection at their home in Celina. Could this have been avoided? Only if Mike Leach had allowed Craig James to continue pulling strings for his son.

   On January 9th, the U.S. Army All American Bowl will play its annual game in San Antonio, Texas. The game is a who’s who of division I prospects. The game’s public relations manager, Amy Sorrells, told 13psi that the game’s roster is annually “comprised of the top 90 to 100 high school players in the nation.” A look at previous rosters would back that statement up. The 2006 game included the likes of Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, and C.J. Spiller. An impressive group of players being sought by every football powerhouse in the nation. With the exception of one player. Adam James was a senior tight end playing for tiny Celina (TX) Bobcats, a school comprised of 474 students. Competing in Texas’ next to smallest division, Adam James not only wasn’t being recruited, he wasn’t selected to the Texas Sports Writers Association All-State team. Not first team. Not second team. Not third team. So a kid that isn’t considered All-State is suspicously put on the roster of an All-American team? An All-American team comprised of the best 90 to 100 players in the nation? He not only wasn’t listed in the top 250 players in the nation according to Rivals, he wasn’t listed as a top 100 player in his own state. While Rivals is listed as a scouting partner for the U.S. Army game, so is Tom Lemming. . . who happened to work with Craig James at ESPN.

   It was only after he was added to the U.S. Army Bowl roster that Adam James was recruited. And while Adam claimed several scholarship offers from different schools, the only offer recognized by Rivals was the “grey shirt” offer from Texas Tech. It was Adams’ mysterious placement on an All-American team and resulting interest from homestate Texas Tech that led us to where we are now. A football player in over his head athletically, a father that refuses to accept that fact, and a coach looking for a new job.