Washington State coach Mike Leach lets loose at Pac-12 media day

Before this week, the last time Mike Leach was at a media day was in 2009 when the then Texas Tech coach proposed a 64-team playoff system. Leach didn't make any wild playoff proposals at his first Pac-12 media day Tuesday, but he did talk about bear hunting partners, Civil War generals and which Pac-12 coach would make the best fishing partner.

Leach's media session started on a high note and only got better.

The first question was asked by a media member who referred to Leach as “Coach Price.” Mike Price hasn't coached at Washington State since 2002.

Leach was then asked about his offseason bear-hunting escapades with former Cal quarterback Mike Pawlawski. “Mike is a great guy. Any of you that can go bear hunting with him ought to,” Leach said. Thanks to Leach's recommendation, Pawlawski's bear-hunting schedule is probably booked through next June.

After recommending Pawlawski as a bear-hunting partner, Leach was asked which Pac-12 coach would make the best fishing partner. This question seemed to stump Leach, who literally thought about the question out loud. “Lets think about that carefully because we don't want to get this one wrong. Rich Rodriguez has spent a lot of time in West Virginia, so potential rub off there.”

After a few more seconds of thinking about it, Leach finally had an answer, “I have it down to a playoff. Rich and [Utah coach] Kyle Whittingham is definitely a good one. [Colorado coach Jon Embree], I'm not sure what his hunting skills are. I'm going to give the nod to Kyle. He's sandwiched between a bunch of mountains and he's been [in Utah] for awhile, and he's a tenacious guy.”

Then, just when you thought things couldn't get any crazier, Leach was asked by a fan on Twitter to compare QB Jeff Tuel and DE Travis Long to famous generals or military leaders. “I'm more of a Civil War guy of the wars. Let me think here, I would have to say that Jeff would be a little more like Stonewall Jackson. He's not afraid to split the force and attack from different angles.”

Leach then compared Long to a former president. “Travis is more of a Ulysses S. Grant guy. He's in the trenches and if it requires bombarding for a month, he's fully prepared to do it.”

Memo to the Pac-12 Network: If you want to break ratings records this fall, you'll have nine camera crews following Leach around 24 hours a day for the rest of the season.

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