When you think about traditional Texas football, the words Friday Night Lights are pretty synonymous. Other words that might come to mind from his notable time at Texas Tech is the name Mike Leach.

If you are a fan of Texas football, or high powered offenses led by eccentric coaches, or just hate Craig James, then it might please you to learn that there is a report about a “Friday Night Lights” inspired documentary set to start featuring Mike Leach and debuting on HBO from Ben Grossman at Broadcasting & Cable.

Peter Berg, the Executive Producer of TV’s Friday Night Lights is said to have been “fascinated” by Leach when he came to live with him two years ago in Hollywood for a month and even had Leach film a cameo for the show.

Because of his fascination with Mike Leach, Berg sent the guys behind HBO’s sports doc On Freddie Roach to Leach’s new coaching gig in Washington State for three days to discuss the show’s possible angles.  Imagine that, Washington State football the subject of a documentary!

It’s thought that the show will follow the team throughout training camp and up until a couple games into the season according to the B&C report.

Let’s consider the possible topics to be covered which will make this a must-watch:

  • Since it’s a documentary, will Leach take this time to frankly discuss the nasty divorce between Texas Tech and himself in greater detail?
  • Will Leach continue to be outspoken with the cameras on? Will he change his coaching style? Will he go on a tirade against Craig James in the first episode?
  • Will Washington State recruits buy into finding your inner pirate?

The show is on HBO. They won’t move forward with a project if it isn’t compelling and touches on at least one of the storylines noted above. HBO has a great track record with sports documentaries and there’s not too many people in sports more interesting than Mike Leach. With the main attraction to the documentary being Mike Leach, expect a brutally honest behind-the-scenes view of Texas football brought to Washington State. Only, HBO will show you everything the other networks can’t or won’t.

Peter Berg Working on Mike Leach Docu-Series – Broadcasting & Cable