There have been thousands upon thousands of college football coaches over the years but you’ll be hard pressed to find another with the same personality of Mike Leach. The former Texas Tech and Washington State head coach took over the Mississippi State job in 2020 where he led the Bulldogs to an 8-4 regular season this year.
Leach suffered a major heart attack over the weekend and passed away on Tuesday morning at just 61 years old. I never covered Leach as a reporter and he didn’t coach any teams that I paid overly close attention to over the years. However, his personality was one of a kind and will certainly be missed by the college football world.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman never met Leach but that didn’t keep him from mourning the loss of the one-of-a-kind, and incredibly accomplished football coach.
Such an overwhelming feeling of sadness with the loss of Coach Leach. Regretfully, I never got to meet him, but his immense impact on the college football world is very visible. We’re sending our love & compassion to Coach Leach’s family & his beloved Mississippi State program.
-Marcus Freeman on Twitter, December 13, 2022
We at Fighting Irish Wire join the entire college football world in mourning a true great. His personality and incredible interview answers received a ton of play on social media over the years and I’ve seen a ton of it again today. He’ll certainly be remembered for his wedding advice, handicapping of a mascot battle royal, and his Halloween candy thoughts, but I hope we also don’t forget just how innovative and successful he was at three places that winning certainly doesn’t come easily.
Rest easy, Coach. And keep swinging that sword.
Here is the iconic Friday Night Lights cameo of Coach Mike Leach.
"You've lost your inner pirate." pic.twitter.com/aEnpxDoi8c— DryedMangoez (@dryedmangoez) December 1, 2017
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