Mike Leach, Art Aficionado - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

My affinity for Mike Leach is never-ending. He's a blogger's dream come true and a darn fine coach. He's been the subject of at least one lengthy profile already, which is fine by me, given that he's a walking cornucopia of quotes. Most recently ESPN's Mark Schlabach spent some time with Leach in Lubbock and was able to gather even more about college football's most colorful head coach.

First we discover that Leach lives by his own schedule and has no love for naps:

Leach, 47, isn't like most of his colleagues in a profession dominated by millionaires and workaholics. He typically reports to the office around 10 a.m. and leaves before 9 p.m. Once Leach returns home, he often stays up until 2 a.m. or later, watching TV programs few others know exist.

"If you're getting to the office at 6 a.m. and getting home at midnight, well, then you're wasting a lot of time," Leach said. "That's just a failure to manage your time. What are you doing in the middle of the day? Are you having a siesta?"

But the highlight of the piece has to be the bizarre nature of Leach's fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants adventure to commission a one-of-a-kind piece of art.

"To begin to understand the man who put Texas Tech football back on the map, one must consider how Leach spent a Sunday afternoon a couple of years ago. While watching a TV documentary about South Texas tourist spots -- "with a Charles Kuralt kind of guy, who tells you the best chili in Texas is in this place and the biggest ball of string in Texas is here" -- Leach became enthralled by a painter who does replicas of Vincent van Gogh's classical works.

Leach did what any other football coach would do: He loaded his family into the car and drove 330 miles to meet Ran Horn of Van Horn, Texas.

Leach had a replica of himself as Vincent Van Gogh done on a whim.

"The plan was hatched that morning and conceived that afternoon," Leach said.

After meeting Horn at his second-hand store, Leach persuaded the artist to paint a portrait of college football's most unique coach. Last month, more than two years after the initial meeting, Horn showed up at a Texas Tech practice, carrying a portrait of Leach wearing a large straw hat one might wear in the French countryside. The painting is now the centerpiece of the Red Raiders' war room.

There we have the eccentric bliss that is Mike Leach. He's impossible to ignore even while residing in the oasis that is Lubbock, Texas. Can you imagine if coached in L.A. or Miami (the latter wasn't too far-fetched)? I've got to think he'd be hosting his own variety show or at least doing the weather. Oh wait, he's already done that too.

via EDSBS.