After more than 10 months of negotiations, Texas Tech head football coach, Mike Leach has reached a contract extension agreement with the university.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Leach is expected to sign the deal as early as Friday.
Texas Tech called a news conference for Thursday evening to announce details of the agreement.
Weeks ago, Leach and Tech essentially settled on the financial terms of a five-year, $12.7 million deal. But Leach took issue with several clauses the school added when the sides were trading proposals.
He was prepared to keep coaching under the remaining two years of a five-year, $10 million contract.
On Tuesday, the school's Board of Regents scheduled a special meeting hours before a second deadline passed without Leach accepting Tech's "last and final" offer. The board planned to meet Friday in private to discuss Leach's status, but the coach requested a public hearing. Under state law, the board had to grant his request.
After the board announced it would honor Leach's request, the coach met with school chancellor Kent Hance to discuss his contract.
Talks stalled largely because the sides were far apart on buyout and termination clauses. But the provision that bothered Leach the most would have triggered his firing and a $1.5 million penalty if he interviewed for another job without getting permission from athletic director Gerald Myers. Leach's existing contract had no such restriction.
The clause was added after Leach flew to Seattle to interview for the Washington Huskies job in December. Myers wrote to Leach's agents that he didn't want the coach interviewing elsewhere, then returning to Lubbock without commenting to reporters. He said he didn't want to unreasonably withhold permission for Leach to talk to other schools, just that he wanted to know when Leach was doing it.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
"It wasn't fun," Myers told The Associated Press after the deal was reached. "But it's over."
Leach and his agents didn't immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
In their ninth season under Leach, the Red Raiders reached unprecedented heights in 2008. They went 10-0 for the first time and beat top-ranked Texas to secure the highest ranking in school history at No. 2. Texas Tech was knocked out of BCS contention with a blowout loss to Oklahoma, then fell to Mississippi in the Cotton Bowl to finish 11-2.
Public opinion seemed to favor Leach as the drama unfolded. A few dozen supporters rallied on his behalf Tuesday, the day before a Texas Tech alumnus and another fan took out a full-page ad in the Lubbock newspaper blasting the Texas Tech administration for its stance.
Leach was never fazed by the hoopla, even when it was suggested that Friday's planned board meeting could lead to his firing.
Architect of the nation's most prolific offense the past decade, Leach is 76-39 and has taken Texas Tech to a bowl game every season. He's six victories shy of Spike Dykes' school record of 82.
