On Tuesday morning, Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach passed away at the age of 61.
It was a deeply sad moment for many across the country, and reality set in as the news came down from Mississippi State.
Leach was a beloved head coach, and one of the most unique personalities college football has ever seen, in this or any other era of the sport’s 153-year history.
Leach’s coaching tree was long and influential. Lincoln Riley — the current USC Trojans head coach — credits a ton of his success to Leach.
After the unfortunate news hit the wires and the headlines, Riley, Alex Grinch, Gus Malzahn, and many other prominent figures in college football came to show their support for Mike Leach.
What emerges from these tributes is an appreciation of how great an innovator Leach was within the larger evolution of football. The number of credentialed coaches and tacticians taught or influenced by Leach is expansive. That’s a central part of Leach’s football legacy, which will become apparent when you see the recollections and photos below: