Mike Leach on System QB Label: 'Most Pitiful NFL Cop-Out of All'

Mike Leach doesn't have much of a track record when it comes to developing NFL quarterbacks, but then again, that's not his job. Since coming to Texas Tech in 2000, he's taken a football backwater to big-program prominence, amassing a 76-39 record and nine bowl appearances.

Everything about Leach is unconventional, from the prolific spread offense to his love of pirates. But when you win at a 66 percent clip while routinely hanging 50 on opponents in the process, you're known as a quirky genius when lesser coaches might be stuck with the "know-nothing oddball" label.

But for all his success, Leach's quarterbacks -- who work primarily from the shotgun and are often pejoratively referred to as "system QBs" -- have struggled to transition to the NFL. Conventional wisdom suggests that quarterbacks who come from programs that feature gimmicky, shotgun-only offenses are at a disadvantage at the next level because they have little experience in the traditional offenses prevalent in the NFL.

Never mind that Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger seldom took a snap from under center during their collegiate careers, or that Kurt Warner and Tom Brady have been handsomely compensated to play in shotgun-friendly schemes.

And it's this line of thinking that rankles Leach. Graham Harrell, who threw for more than 14,000 yards in his four-year Texas Tech career, will likely get drafted next month, but his scouting report is eerily reminiscent of those quarterbacks who preceded him in Lubbock. Which is to say: smart, average arm strength and no experience taking snaps from under center. Translation: an already steep learning curve is made even steeper.

Leach is unconvinced. He calls Harrell "the best quarterback in the draft" (that might be an exaggeration, but it's certainly preferable to the alternative), before expanding his thoughts on the shiftless layabouts who perpetuate the "system quarterback" stereotype. Via the Dallas Morning News' Tim MacMahon:

"You bring up easily the most pitiful NFL cop-out of all!" he hollered. "And you can send that message to the whole NFL. Any coach who has ever said or uttered those words or considers that a concern, here's my message for them: How could you possibly look yourself in the mirror and consider yourself an NFL coach and not be able to teach a guy to run back three steps, five steps and seven steps? I can teach a child that! Any coach in the NFL who can't do that ought to be fired!"

Leach continued:

"I can do that ... I only need a three-hour window. I'll have a great clinic for all the NFL coaches who are so horrible that they can't teach a guy to take a snap under center and go backwards."

The price: $10,000 per QB.

"I would do it for 50 bucks each, but they've got all those millions in the NFL."

It might be easy to call Leach's credibility into question after he declared Harrell the draft's best quarterback, but he does make a good point; presumably, coaching a kid to successfully take a snap and properly execute a seven-step drop is a straightforward exercise.

Clearly, there are examples of players who worked predominately from the shotgun in college and flopped in the NFL. (Vince Young immediately comes to mind.) But all else equal, the distance a quarterback stands behind the center prior to the receiving the ball has very little to do with his ability to make plays.