Texas Tech football: How 10 men contributed to decline of Red Raider football

Craig James

Of course, the tale of Mike Leach’s demise at Texas Tech can’t be told without looking at the role of Craig James.  The long-time college football analyst and father of Adam James became the villain of this saga in the minds of Red Raider fans while trying to portray himself as the sympathetic father who was simply trying to protect his son.

While James may not have set out to bring down Texas Tech football, his platform as a leading ESPN college football personality afforded him a unique position from which he could recklessly fire ammunition at Mike Leach.  Whereas most parents that may find themselves in similar positions might appear on the national news or Sports Center once or twice, James was on television seemingly every time there was a cameraman in the ESPN studios willing to stick a lens in his face.

How much validity there is to Leach’s claims that Craig James was the ultimate helicopter parent who constantly harassed the Texas Tech coaches about his son’s playing time will forever be up for debate.  But what can’t be debated is the fact that James used his high-profile platform to exploit his son’s injury and the ensuing controversy for his own gain.

Rather than using his son as a pawn in a power struggle against Mike Leach, James could have taken a much more discreet course of action and still ensured that his son was being treated properly.  But James saw this as an opportunity to boost his own star and in the process bring down a man in Leach who he did not like.

Ultimately, his tactics on that front worked.  Had Adam James been the son of an accountant, dentist or cotton farmer, the situation almost certainly would never have escalated as quickly nor as far as it did.   And it likely would have been resolved quietly and before the news of the event reached the masses.

But because one of the most recognizable faces in the world of late 2000’s sports media was involved, the events of December 2009 became a wildfire and the flames were fanned by a man, who seemingly always had career aspirations beyond broadcasting and likely saw this controversy as a way to boost his own image on a national scale.  Texas Tech fans certainly took some joy in seeing James’ 2012 run for the Senate go up in flames but that certainly pales in comparison to the anger most still feel about the damage he did to Red Raider football.