Leave it to Mike Leach to burn any bridge he might have to a future NFL coaching gig with one loudmouth quote. According to this piece in the DALLAS MORNING NEWS (via our buddies over at WITH LEATHER), the self-styled offensive genius, pirate aficionado and dating Texas Tech coach, is accusing NFL coaches of being too dumb to coach basic football fundamentals like a three-step drop to a quarterback … and using that as a boilerplate excuse not to draft his latest superstar tutor, Graham Harrell.

(If you can make a pistol with your hand, Leach can teach you a three, five and seven-step drop. He guarantees it.)

In fact, Leach had even stronger words about an inability to coach up a young quarterback: “Any coach in the NFL who can’t do that ought to be fired!” Why don’t you tell us how you really feel, coach.

Is this a case of Leach trying to stir up controversy, stoking interest in a kid who was a top prospect that fell off the map with two late season losses? Sure, it probably is. Leach has to do that just to keep up recruiting.

But this really sounds like more than that, too. This sounds like Leach lashing out against the system because, quite frankly, he’s still having a hard time accepting the fact that, after signing his recent extension, he has become a part of the big money system.

Just take in his entire stream of quotes in total. It’s an impressive screed:

“You bring up easily the most pitiful NFL cop-out of all,” Leach said in a telephone interview.

“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!”

“I can do that,” Leach said of teaching a quarterback to drop back. “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.”

In fact, if Leach really wants to put his money where his mouth is, we have a suggestion: Have Leach teach a one-man clinic to Jon Gruden. Both of them have plenty of time — Gruden’s famously out of work and Leach, evidently, is such a genius that he can spare at least three hours of his time. Besides, Gruden wants to learn the spread offense to be the next coach at Notre Dame for future NFL coaching gigs, and both men have so little life outside of football that they’d probably know exactly which Denny’s in Georgia to meet at for a halfway point between Lubbock and Tampa Bay.

Two coachs, one complementary Grand Slam breakfast and three hours, we’ll settle this feud, once and for all.