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Mike Leach has some hot takes about the offenses of the SEC

Washington State coach Mike Leach has some thoughts about SEC offenses. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Washington State coach Mike Leach has some thoughts about SEC offenses. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

New Ole Miss offensive coordinator Phil Longo is following a path very similar to Washington State head coach Mike Leach from 20 years ago.

Longo is making the jump from the FCS level, where he was the OC at Sam Houston State, to the SEC. Leach, in 1996, made the move from Division II Valdosta State to Kentucky. After meeting Leach at a coaching clinic during Leach’s time at UK, Longo modeled his offense — a variation of which he’ll run at Ole Miss — after Leach’s air raid spread scheme.

Leach, in a story about Longo in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, said there’s no reason to doubt a coach making the leap from a small school to the SEC. Leach always speaks his mind, and he was very blunt in his assessment of the SEC and the perception of the league throughout college football.

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“I’ve got bad news for all these levels people,” Leach said. “Your level isn’t special, your conference isn’t special. All this ‘different level this, different level that.’ That’s crazy. How is it better? Somebody coaches better athletes, somehow they morph into something smarter? That’s crazy. I mean, you still have problems, you still have 11 parts you can wiggle around to counter the other 11 parts.”

Leach had plenty of success when he made the move to Kentucky, setting a whopping 41 SEC records, and that offensive prowess has followed him wherever he’s been — from Oklahoma to Texas Tech and now as head coach at WSU. All the while, at each stop, folks have questioned his system — especially in the SEC, he said.

From the Clarion-Ledger:

Leach coaches in the Pac-12 now but coached in the Big 12 and SEC previously. He said he faced the most skepticism when he coached in the Southeast.

“First, it becomes it won’t work,” Leach said. “Second, they basically say, ‘oh it’s a system,’ suggesting that people who don’t do it that way — who just run it up the middle, stick all your asses together so one hand grenade can kill everybody — that’s the right way to do it. Since they do it the right way, they’re OK with the fact they lost.

“This is a great time to be in the SEC; everybody’s got the same offense: run right, run left, play action. And they tease themselves and say we threw it four more times a game this year than we did last year.”

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At Sam Houston State, the Bearkats ranked No. 1 in FCS in total offense the past two seasons and were No. 1 in scoring offense in 2016. Ole Miss, which has a potential star at quarterback in Shea Patterson, hopes Longo’s success will translate to the SEC West.

Leach certainly seems to think it will.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!