Breaking News: Texas Tech Coach Leach Suspended for Alamo Bowl

Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach was suspended from coaching the team in the Alamo Bowl after allegations of player abuse.

A source close to the family told ESPN's Joe Schad that James sustained a concussion on Dec. 16, was examined on Dec. 17 and told not to practice due to a concussion and an elevated heart rate. The source said Leach called a trainer and directed him to move James "to the darkest place, to clean out the equipment and to make sure that he could not sit or lean. He was confined for three hours."

According to the source, Leach told the trainer, two days later, to "put [James] in the darkest, tightest spot. It was in an electrical closet, again, with a guard posted outside."

An attorney for Leach said that while James was secluded twice, the circumstances were not as portrayed in that account.

Making this story stranger is that the player in question is the son of former NFL running back Chris James. The senior James works for ESPN and was scheduled to call the Alamo Bowl. No word on whether that will change.

I don't know what to make of these allegations, but I do know Leach is done at Texas Tech. A school doesn't suspend a coach unless there is something smoldering under that smoke. Leach has had trouble with team discipline earlier in the year and this lawsuit is a sign that he has lost the team. There is a lot of pressure in big time college football as evidenced by the weekend announcements out of Florida. That pressure can lead to coaches making bad decisions and team discipline is an area where excesses can occur.