Mr. Elbel

December 13th, 2022 at 9:39 AM ^

In a statement, the Leach family said: "Mike was a giving and attentive husband, father and grandfather. He was able to participate in organ donation at UMMC as a final act of charity. We are supported and uplifted by the outpouring of love and prayers from family, friends, Mississippi State University, the hospital staff, and football fans around the world.  Thank you for sharing in the joy of our beloved husband and father's life."

Joined: 03/02/2014

MGoPoints: 21395

RadOWon

December 13th, 2022 at 11:25 AM ^

I have been a huge Leach fan since ESPN at the behest of Craig James and his shitstain son unleashed a character assassination on Leach because James' son was an entitled snot nosed kid whose dad used his clout to badger the TTU fb program and then lied about Leach locking him in a shed.

Every game he coached after that was vindication and the fact Craig James has disappeared from the face of TV is proof that karma is real.

RIP Mike Leach.

Joined: 03/28/2013

MGoPoints: 1561

Durham Blue

December 13th, 2022 at 9:22 AM ^

I always enjoyed how he would go off on tangents in press conferences and interviews and talk about things totally unrelated to football.  Funny and interesting guy who was always easy to root for.  He truly was one of a kind.  Major bummer.  Sad day.  Rest in peace.

Joined: 10/09/2008

MGoPoints: 30051

ixcuincle

December 13th, 2022 at 9:25 AM ^

And sometimes he was right. And sometimes he was wrong. But he wasn't afraid to say it. I remember one instance he said players shouldn't be paid and EDSBS called him out on it. But that was him. He didn't care what people thought, he just said it.

He leaves behind so many disciples of his art, guys like Kingsbury, Heupel, Holgo et al were all influenced in some way or form by Mike. May he RIP.

Joined: 08/11/2010

MGoPoints: 6793

crg

December 13th, 2022 at 9:26 AM ^

End of an era, far too soon.

Prayers for his family & loved ones.

Also... I hope he requested to have CJK5H somewhere on his headstone.

Joined: 04/30/2015

MGoPoints: 75054

Perkis-Size Me

December 13th, 2022 at 9:31 AM ^

The college football world is a lesser place without him. 

He was certainly one of a kind, authentic, and a bit of a kook, but he was a good kook. Always said what was on his mind and you always knew you were in for a good laugh no matter what he said. He also had a huge hand in making the modern college football offense what it is today. What we've seen at USC, Oklahoma, and essentially all across the Big XII, along with many other places....those offenses have Mike Leach's fingerprints all over them. 

Joined: 11/30/2011

MGoPoints: 105763

sum1valiant

December 13th, 2022 at 9:36 AM ^

His “fat little girlfriends” tangent is forever etched in memory. Truly one of a kind that said exactly what was on his mind, for better or worse.  
College football lost one of the all-time greats. Condolences to his family and loved ones. 

Joined: 09/01/2009

MGoPoints: 13025

JamesBondHerpesMeds

December 13th, 2022 at 9:41 AM ^

In the spring of 2019, Leach taught a five-week course at WSU on Insurgent Warfare and Football Strategies, along with former Washington State Senator Michael Baumgartner.

This is the most Mike Leach thing in existence.

We lost a real one, folks. Rest in peace, Coach.

Joined: 04/13/2009

MGoPoints: 39552

Clarence Beeks

December 13th, 2022 at 9:37 PM ^

Another “totally Mike Leach” thing - and a lesser known fact about him - is that he went to law school before going into coaching. What made me think of this hear, in response to the insurgent warfare and football course, is that he wrote an article titled “A Legal Education Applied to Coaching College Football” published in the Texas Tech Law Review (http://texastechlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/A-Legal-Education-Applied-to-Coaching-College-Football.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2zqPJ8he-_68au58bm9t7gju1zES0YbHqhQ4kH3zITDaFuSSVVNeg63ig). Leach was a  true renaissance man if there ever was one in modern American. Man, will he be missed!

Joined: 09/06/2008

MGoPoints: 22814

hail2mich

December 13th, 2022 at 9:50 AM ^

I'm so bummed by this. Leach is obviously well known for his unique persona, but man oh man did he know how to build an offense. It definitely isn't my favorite style of football, but you cannot argue the effectiveness it has (especially at programs that may not pull in the most elite talent). It's a shame he never had a chance to completely fulfill his vision at a single program. Each passing year, it always seemed like his program was closer and closer to being a top dog. I really feel like Miss St. would have been a huge problem for the SEC in a year or two. Texas Tech was the closest he tasted and then he had the rug pulled out from under him.

Take a look at his coaching tree whenever you have a chance. I don't know if there's another guy out there who's had such a wide impact on the collegiate coaching landscape than he has over the past 20 or so years. He took the air raid from BYU and Hal Mumme, and elevated it to a completely new level. Such a unique offensive schemes is exactly why college football has always been so much more enjoyable than the NFL and he was a huge reason why. RIP to a football legend and innovator. 

Joined: 10/12/2009

MGoPoints: 2169

Nickel

December 13th, 2022 at 9:52 AM ^

Bummer, definitely an innovator on offense and entertaining as hell to listen to him talk compared to the generic coach-speak that most coaches give us in their press conferences nowadays.

And major kudos to him for being an organ donor.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 2737

Ecky Pting

December 13th, 2022 at 10:02 AM ^

I always enjoyed his daily College Football Playbook show that he co-hosted with Jack Arute on SiriusXM ... I think it was when he was between TTU and WSU. It was a real showcase for his wit, humor and intelligence, and would touch on an incredibly wide range of subjects that might only be tangentially related to CFB at best - but when it came to actual CFB, he was a true iconoclast for which he will be sorely missed. I'd always hoped he'd return to doing some sort of media gig when he was done coaching.

Joined: 09/06/2013

MGoPoints: 4655