This week, for the eighth consecutive year, Ryan Leaf will not start in a National Football League opener. Nor will the No. 2 pick of the 1998 draft appear on the field as a sub. Or stand on the sidelines. Or sit in the stands. Or watch a game on TV.

The onetime "franchise quarterback" of the San Diego Chargers will be home in Amarillo, Texas, most likely studying game footage of the West Texas A&M Buffaloes, the Division II team he helps coach.
    
Ten years ago, Leaf, a Washington State junior, turned pro and was awarded a four-year contract worth $31.25 million. The deal included a guaranteed $11.25 million signing bonus—at the time, the highest ever paid to a rookie. Today, at 32, Leaf oversees the eight signal-callers on the Buffaloes' roster for $500 a month.
   
He is still the surly, prickly hothead who achieved infamy as one of the biggest draft busts in pro football history. The mere mention of the N.F.L. sends him into paroxysms of rage.
   
"The stuff that happens in that league is so absurd—the money, the jealousy, the egos of the coaches," snarls Leaf, who retired in 2002 after four tumultuous seasons. "I don't look back on my N.F.L. career with regret. The truth is I don't look back on my N.F.L. career at all. It was not something positive."
   
The former first-team All-American—in 1997, he had the second-best passer rating in the nation—was chosen by San Diego right after Indianapolis selected Peyton Manning with the No. 1 pick. Not long after getting drafted, the Heisman Trophy finalist declared, "I'm looking forward to a 15-year career, a couple of trips to the Super Bowl, and a parade through downtown San Diego."
   
Didn't turn out that way. He had an impressive pre-season and became the first rookie to win his first two regular-season games since John Elway in 1983.
   
But this Leaf fell quickly. In San Diego's third game, he completed one of 15 passes for four yards and fumbled three times in a loss to Kansas City. Nine starts into the season, he had amassed two touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He was benched.
   
Leaf didn't take it all in stride. He cursed out club officials after failing to complete a weight-room session. He was caught on camera screaming at a local sportswriter and had to be restrained by a teammate. He confronted a heckler during practice and was escorted off the field.
   
Injuries cost Leaf the entire 1999 season. While on injured reserve, he got into a heated shouting match with Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard and a coach. He was fined and suspended without pay. He was accused of lying about various infirmities to get out of practice so he could play golf. During his suspension, a video surfaced of him playing flag football while he was supposed to be rehabbing. 

The video led to a breach-of-contract lawsuit. The Chargers sought to recover $2.95 million of Leaf's signing bonus and shorten the length of his contract. Still, Leaf stayed with the team into the 2000 season.
   
Leaf started the first two games of the campaign, and played just as miserably as before. He re-injured his throwing wrist and missed five games. When the season was over, San Diego cut their losses—and Leaf.
   
From there, Leaf bounced around the N.F.L. like an on-sides kick. He was claimed by Tampa Bay, which released him after he refused to reduce his base salary from $900,000 to $700,000.
   
The Cowboys signed him as a project. He agreed to restructure his contract, accepting a $600,000 bonus and salaries of $900,000 in 2001, $1.5 million in 2002, and a raise of $7 million if he was still with the team in 2003.
   
He wasn't.

Leaf appeared in four games—all losses—and threw for 494 yards with more interceptions (three) than touchdowns (one). The Cowboys axed him in the spring of 2002. Seattle offered him a one-year contract for the N.F.L. minimum salary of $525,000. Leaf participated in the Seahawks' spring mini-camps, but citing his injured wrist, retired before the start of training camp. He was 26.
   
In all, he had appeared in 25 games, making 21 starts. He completed 317 of 655 passes for 3,666 yards, with 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. His quarterback rating was a dreadful 50.0.
   
Leaf's career was such a rolling carnival of horrors that someone circulated a mock N.F.L. Films press release trumpeting a seven-minute Ryan Leaf career highlight reel: "Hear the whining, the complaining, and the verbal assaults as if you were right there on the field. Watch interviews with his previous coaches as well as his new shift manager at Wal-Mart." Every DVD supposedly came with an actual intercepted game ball thrown and signed by Leaf.
   
After leaving Seattle, he re-enrolled at Washington State. He graduated with a B.A. in humanities in 2005. His minor was psychology. "It comes in handy in my new job," he says.
   
Leaf joined Don Carthel's West Texas A&M staff in 2006. His success has been nothing short of astonishing: In his first season, the Buffaloes put up 5,139 yards of total offense and ranked second, nationally. Quarterback Dalton Bell completed 386 of 583 passes for 3,998 yards and 32 touchdowns. In 2007, the Buffaloes gained 5,155 passing yards, averaging 396.5 yards passing a game and tossing 51 touchdowns. Their pass yardage and T.D.'s were tops in the country. That same year, Leaf also became the school's golf coach. Once a 2-handicap, he drives his team to tournaments across Texas and New Mexico in a 15-passenger bus.
   
He lives modestly in an 1,800-square-foot home in Amarillo. Leaf says he banked the millions he made in the N.F.L. and, for the last 10 years, has lived off endorsement money from Nike, Pepsi, and a couple of football-card companies.

"I invested in private real estate trusts," he says. "I've never really had to spend a penny of my N.F.L. income."
   
And how does he treat his own quarterbacks?
   
"Hey man," he growls. "Do you know who I am?"
   
So much for turning over a new Leaf.