So, you’ve heard the old adage-”Never judge a book by its cover”? Well, for a weekend in February, NFL scouts and personnel men do that exact opposite. They look at the pretty cover-and they judge it. Harshly. The pretty cover is a variety of physical tests-40 yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump, bench press. The book is the 3 or 4 years of on field accomplishments and film that a given player produced on Saturdays. At the end of the day, the combine (pretty cover) usually take precedence over the player’s career (the book).

In other words, a running back that never rushed for 1000 yards in a single college season can run a sub 4.4 forty, and jump from questionable to a first round pick. Yes, the combine is a pressure- packed situation that directly affects the pay days of these future NFLers. This event is huge mainly because the Simon Cowells of the NFL landscape easily fall in love with athletic feats like running 40 yards faster than a Ferrari reaches 60mph, or throwing a football threw bullet-proof glass. Any player that can shine from a “did you just see that” standpoint is dubbed for stardom.

Unfortunately, these physical measures can often be fools gold. It may look shiny, but it ain’t worth a damn.

It ain’t worth squat because these Olympian efforts don’t always translate to the football field. What good is a quarterback that than launches passes with the velocity of a bazooka if he can’t read where the linebacker is blitzing from? So a GM wants to add track speed to his team? He can take Usain Bolt to be a starting wide receiver if he wants. Then, he can watch him run by somebody only to drop a sure touchdown because his hands are made of leather repellent (Available at Target, but it just sits on the shelf because who doesn’t like leather?). I’ll take Larry Fitzgerald (who ran like he trained for his 40 yard by entering a Twinkie eating competition one hour before), and watch touchdown passes stick to his hands like velcro. The point is that the NFL combine measures a certain skill set, but ignores other skill sets that are just as valuable (if not more) to success in the league.

In this years combine, Florida Wr Percy Harvin ran slower than expected in his 40 drills. It may hurt his draft status. Would anyone that has seen this kid kid play doubt for a second he can have a major impact on someones offense? OSU Rb Chris Wells barely broke a 4.6 in his dash time. He will no longer be the top rated back in this draft. Well, if you’ve seen this tank leave tread marks over entire defenses on Saturdays, it is obvious he is made for the NFL.

I realize the combine has its purpose. Athletic ability is important, and the combine is a way to separate the great athletes from the merely good ones. For example, you can be outstanding in college because you are stronger than 90% of your opponents, but strong (by itself) is not good enough against comparable athletes. There must be more.

But, while the combine can show who has more, remember it is not the final answer. Don’t let a stopwatch overshadow what your eyes have seen all along.

With the hiring of defensive line coach Randy Hart, all of the Notre Dame coaching positions have been filled. Haywood, Latina, and Oliver out, Alford, Verducci, Hart, and Young in. That, along with Weis taking offensive play calling responsibilities, and the blitz-crazy Jon Tenuta taking over defensive play calling duties-hopefully gives the Irish the B12 energy injection that they desperately need.

I don’t know how the old staff performed with their respective position groups, but the Irish clearly haven’t developed players like the elite schools have been. For every Golden Tate (from project to potential All-American), there is a Sam Young (not even sure he would be rated a top 5 high school player anymore after being in the Notre Dame program). At the end of the day, people are judged by the results they produce, and the old assistants were not adding enough to the growth of the players.

Every head coach that has succeeded has had a top notch staff to help them develop the players. The head coach improves the overall health of the program, but it is the assistants who work closely with the players to make them better day by day. Pete Carroll had Norm Chow (one of the best offensive coordinators in college history). Steve Spurrier had Bob Stoops (he’s doing just fine at Oklahoma). Lou Holtz had Barry Alvarez (Wisconsin football salutes him).

Weis has not had this luxury (Though Tenuta having more responsibility is exciting-he once blitzed all 85 scholarship players at once in an attempt to get after the quarterback) in the past. Now, he may indeed have it. Offensively, Alford and Verducci have the credentials to help the offense (click to see the Blue-Gray Sky write-ups). Defensively, Hart coached under Woody Hayes, and seems to demand a “Ronnie Lott chopping off his finger and taking a Tylenol in the morning to get back on the field” dedication and work ethic. Bryant Young has the pedigree and name recognition to make Notre Dame an enticing place for stud defensive front 7 recruits.

In other words, the assistants seem promising, but will their performance measure up?

Weis is ready (and always has been) to take on the challenges and pressures of the Notre Dame job. Now it’s time to see if his new assistants are ready as well.

Round 1 to Mike Leach. (And rounds 2,3,4,5, etc.). You may have heard the saying, “Don’t mess with Texas”, but I say “Don’t Breech the Leach” when it comes to contract negotiations. He has Texas Tech backed into a corner with no way out.

Here’s a closer look:

Texas Tech is afraid, and they should be. Very afraid. They are running into one of life’s biggest problems. There is a scale and it tips one way. And it’s not their way. Can it be balanced? The odds are stacked against that happening. Tech is battling it out with a party that has the power of prestige. A reputation that has immense value and he is ready to cash in on it. There is nothing that can be done to stop this, all that is left to do is trying to hang in the fight-and come out walking.

Mike Leach has clout-and it’s time for him to get paid (on his terms). You know it, he knows it, and Texas Tech knows it. Either Texas Tech give him what he wants, or he moves on to bigger and better things. (And trust me, when it comes to college football, there is certainly bigger and better than Texas Tech.) Because after 8 years, the nation has finally been awakened to the fact that Leach is a coaching golden boy. Is there a coach that you would definitively take over him? A coach that can do more with less, or even equal talent? Let me rephrase, Do you think it is harder to win at USC or Texas Tech? (Pete Carroll is great, but Leach would be licking his lips to coach that talent-and have those resources.) Mike Leach has taken a program that has should not be competitive-and turned them into a 10 win program that can compete with nearly anybody. He has done this despite the fact that Tech, A.) will never get elite players, B.) has very little resources. C.) even less tradition, D.) is a ‘little brother” program.

If that doesn’t paint the full picture, then this might help you understand why Mike Leach is a desirable commodity.

His resume:

Building an offense that could score like Gene Simmons before Shannon Tweed sunk her claws into him (a lot).

Making defensive coaches wish they had a partnership with Tylenol, they need freebies of all the little pills that make the pain (of preparing for Tech) go away.

Putting Texas Tech on par with Texas, which was once unthinkable. (ask the Longhorn fans what happened this year.)

Putting butts in Texas Tech seats (and making money for the program.) Until Leach was there, Tech students didn’t even know there was a football team in Lubbock.

He has life’s trump card-knowledge (talent). He understands the coaching profession and can get more out of his players than just about anybody. He is the cornerstone of the Texas Tech program, and he wants to be shown the appreciation. Tech is at his mercy, and they have no bargaining power. Leach is Texas Tech. He is their Steve Jobs (Apple would be a distant memory without him, whose crowning achievement would be as a platform for the once great Oregon Trail.), their visionary. The program might succeed without him, but how does the A.D. even take that chance? In business , you must protect your assets. It is similar to when Charlie Weis took over for ND and turned the program around (or so it appeared). He had potential suitors and ND had to lock him up, or risk losing the only good (coaching) thing they have had since Lou left. So for Tech, it’s either keep your known Ace in hand, or take a chance to see what else is in the deck.

If you don’t take anything else from what I am saying, realize those with power and prestige will get their way. Leach has the clout, and is not afraid to use it. He will come out a winner, no matter what school colors he will be wearing. Tech, on the other hand, will realize what it’s like when you don’t have the upper hand.

And it won’t be pretty.