"Source: Mike Leach next head coach at Maryland," the OrangeBloods headline blared.
Leach, the pirate-loving Air Raid disciple, was headed to Maryland a year after Texas Tech fired him for alleged poor treatment of Craig James' son. The report from Chip Brown in Dec. 2010 didn't come as a surprise given Leach was immediately associated with the job following Ralph Friedgen's firing. Leach had a good relationship with Under Armour founder Kevin Plank, a former Maryland football player, and was athletic director Kevin Anderson's preferred candidate. On the day of Friedgen's dismissal, The Washington Post reported strong mutual interest between Maryland and Leach.