Tag: Mike Leach

Danny Amendola paid tribute to Mike Leach with a touching routine on Dancing with the Stars

This is such a cool gesture from Danny Amendola to his late college coach.

Paying homage to his late college coach, former NFL wide receiver Danny Amendola was a big winner on Tuesday night’s latest Dancing with the Stars.

Amendola and his dance partner, Witney Carson, performed a routine in honor of former college football coach Mike Leach.

Amendola played for Leach at Texas Tech, and it’s evident he wanted to make his former coach proud with this well-received dance routine.

“He told us to dream, that we could pay through hard work and dedication,” Amendola said on the broadcast about Leach. “Being a coach is a very selfless job, and I miss him dearly… This one’s for him.”

To make it even cooler, Amendola stayed in the competition for another week with this touching tribute.

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Tennessee-North Carolina State game to feature Mike Leach ties on both sidelines

Saturday’s Tennessee-North Carolina State football game will feature Mike Leach ties on both sidelines.

Mike Leach became a first time collegiate head coach at Texas Tech in 2000 after successful stints at Oklahoma (1999), Kentucky (1997-98), Valdosta State (1992-96) and Iowa Wesleyan (1989-91) as offensive coordinator.

Leach was hired by the Red Raiders after one season as Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

At Oklahoma, Leach recruited JUCO quarterback Josh Heupel to guide the offense to a 7-5 record in 1999, placing the Sooners in position for a national championship run in 2000.

Leach hired Robert Anae as Texas Tech’s offensive line coach. Anae served in the position under Leach from 2000-04.

Since coaching for Leach, Anae became an offensive coordinator at BYU (2005-10, 2013-15), Virginia (2016-21), Syracuse (2022) and North Carolina State (2023-24).

Heupel and Anae will face each other on Saturday during Week 2 of the 2024 college football season. Kickoff between the Vols and Wolfpack is slated for 7:30 p.m. EDT (ABC) at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Anae also serves as inside wide receivers and tight ends coach for the Wolfpack.

Heupel is in his fourth season as Tennessee’s head coach.

PHOTOS: Josh Heupel wins 2000 national championship at Oklahoma

Robert Anae at BYU. Photo by George Frey/Getty Images

Lincoln Riley advocates for Mike Leach at Big Ten media days

Lincoln Riley stands up for his mentor, Mike Leach.

Mike Leach is not in the College Football Hall of Fame as a head coach. The highly influential innovator who died in 2022 left an enormous imprint on college football. Any reasonable or rational person would conclude Leach deserves to be in the College Football Hall of Fame. Lincoln Riley made the case at Big Ten media days, as College Sports Wire noted:

“I know there’s been a lot of debate and talk about him belonging in the College Football Hall of Fame, and certainly want to voice my support for that happening here on this stage. That’s something that’s very important to me. He changed the game and changed a lot of people’s lives, mine included, in the process of it.

“I know there’s technicalities and rules that have to happen, but I totally agree that the Hall of Fame is simply not complete without Mike Leach being in that, and just certainly wanted to be able to represent that here on this stage.”

Riley is referring to College Football Hall of Fame policies regarding eligibility for coaches. These rules are the same rules which have kept Pete Carroll out of the Hall. It is depressing that these horrible policies have not been amended to let obviously qualified coaches into the College Football Hall of Fame.

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USC head coach Lincoln Riley states ‘Hall of Fame is not complete without Mike Leach’

Another prominent head coach has voiced his support to bring the Pirate to the CFB Hall of Fame.

On Wednesday USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley took the podium at Big Ten media days to discuss the upcoming season.

He addressed several topics including the astounding number of missed tackles, hiring D’Anton Lynn to help the defense, Zachariah Branch, and even his brisket skills. Without anyone asking him about the topic, Riley weighed in on his former mentor and his Hall of Fame credentials.

Currently, for a head coach to qualify for the College Football Hall of Fame they would need a career-winning percentage of 60%. The former Texas Tech, Washington State, and Mississippi State head coach falls just short of that criteria. Perhaps we should make an exception for someone with the impact that the Pirate had on the game.

“Before I get into our team, I also want to mention I know a couple of my counterparts have said some of the same things regarding this notion,” Riley stated. “But obviously Mike Leach meant a lot to my career, instrumental in my upbringing.

“I know there’s been a lot of debate and talk about him belonging in the College Football Hall of Fame, and certainly want to voice my support for that happening here on this stage. That’s something that’s very important to me. He changed the game and changed a lot of people’s lives, mine included, in the process of it.

“I know there’s technicalities and rules that have to happen, but I totally agree that the Hall of Fame is simply not complete without Mike Leach being in that, and just certainly wanted to be able to represent that here on this stage.”

Riley started his collegiate football career as a walk-on out of Muleshoe, Texas, with the Red Raiders in 2002. He would backup Kliff Kingsbury, who he later hired as an assistant at USC. Riley interned under Mike Leach as a student assistant and then graduate assistant before landing a job as an assistant under his mentor.

When Leach was fired in 2009 ahead of the bowl game against the Michigan State Spartans, Riley would call the plays for the offense. He would follow Ruffin McNeil to East Carolina for his first offensive coordinator job. After working his way to associate head coach with East Carolina after five seasons, he left for the Oklahoma Sooners offensive coordinator job. He certainly has incorporated the Air Raid principles into his offense.

Riley isn’t the only head coach who has voiced his support for Mike Leach to be in the Hall of Fame. Current Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz and former Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops have stated that he should be in the Hall of Fame.

Perhaps as more coaches discuss his HOF candidacy, we get closer to bringing the Pirate to the College Football Hall of Fame.

82 days till the Cardinals’ season opener against the Bills

WR Andre Baccellia is the current No. 82 but long snapper Mike Leach was the last impactful No. 82 the Cardinals have had.

The countdown continues on this fine Tuesday. As of today, the Arizona Cardinals’ season opener on the road against the Buffalo Bills on September 8 is 82 days away.

In 82 days, the Cardinals will face Josh Allen and a Bills team believed to be a Super Bowl contender.

No. 82 on the Cardinals now is receiver Andre Baccellia, a small, fast receiver who has been with the team since 2021. He was a practice squad guy in 2021 under head coach Kliff Kingsbury, bounced between the practice squad and active roster in 2022 and also in 2023, but last year with head coach Jonathan Gannon.

So far, he has seven NFL receptions and is a longshot to make the roster this year.

But the most recent impactful No. 82 was long snapper Mike Leach.

Leach handled long snapping duties for the Cardinals from 2009-2015, never missing a game. he had a 16-year NFL career before retiring.

He made plays on special teams and, on social media, sharing a name with a famous college football coach (the late Mike Leach), he had fun with users who would reply to him thinking he was the head coach.

He might have been the best No. 82 the Cardinals have had since the team moved from St. Louis.

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Lincoln Riley says Mike Leach should be in College Football Hall of Fame

Lincoln Riley says what every rational person thinks and knows: Mike Leach should be in the Hall.

Lincoln Riley could not have said it any more clearly. The USC football coach thinks the late Mike Leach, who coached Riley at Texas Tech and was one of his foremost mentors in the football industry, should be in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Why is Leach, one of the foremost innovators in college football since the late 1990s, not in the Hall of Fame? The College Football Hall of Fame has specific requirements which, many people agree, are far too rigid and need to be modified or at least given some degree of elasticity. If coaches don’t have a .600 winning percentage and have not coached for at least 10 seasons, they’re not eligible. Leach coached long enough, but his winning percentage is slightly below .600. The point to make with Leach and other coaches in terms of winning percentage is that they took on less-than-elite coaching jobs at places where it is harder to win. They shouldn’t be penalized for that, but they are.

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Bob Stoops, others supportive of Mike Leach to the College Football Hall of Fame

Mike Leach may not meet the criteria for consideration into the College Football Hall of Fame, but Bob Stoops believes he’s more than deserving.

Few coaches have had as much influence on the game of football as former Oklahoma Sooners offensive coordinator and long-time college football head coach [autotag]Mike Leach[/autotag]. His deployment of the Air-Raid first with OU as the coordinator and then as the head coach at Texas Tech, Washington State, and Mississippi State revolutionized offense at every level of the sport.

His passing in December of 2022 was felt by coaches, players, and fans around the sporting world. He was beloved for his personality and for the way he supported his players over the years.

After the most recent group of nominees for the College Football Hall of Fame was released, support for Leach has come from all corners of college football. Fans of teams he coached and those of rival programs took to social media to critique the Hall of Fame’s criteria for induction.

According to the College Football Hall of Fame’s website

A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years old. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.

Leach’s career-winning percentage is just shy of the .600 threshold. But that didn’t stop Hall of Fame coach and former colleague [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] from throwing his support behind Leach for the Hall of Fame. Oklahoma’s former head coach argued his winning percentage of .596 rounds up to .600.

Stoops said on X, “Mike is deserving of the College HOF! His influence in football is as strong as any Coach I can think of. RIP Mike.”

Josh Pate of the Late Kick Show also lobbied for Leach to receive consideration because of his influence on the sport back in 2022, but reiterated that support this week.

Social media account Blinkin Riley had an idea for both Texas and Oklahoma to vacate a win over Leach’s Red Raiders to help get him into the hall.

Leach is one of the sport’s legends, and his influence extends beyond his coaching record. At some point, that influence needs to be recognized and enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Or, as College Sports Wire Regional Editor Patrick Conn put it:

Despite the fact that he has under a 60% winning percentage, despite the fact that he hasn’t won a national championship, I would say that Mike Leach is definitely one of those cases I would make to either change the criteria or have a way to say this guy deserves it… the fact that he changed the game of college football is why I would say he deserves to be in the College Football Hall of Fame.

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WATCH: Gardner Minshew appears on Maxx Crosby’s show and he is as advertised and more

WATCH: Gardner Minshew appears on Maxx Crosby’s show and he is THAT DUDE

Gardner Minshew just might be the most likeable guy in sports. Don’t believe me? Just watch his appearance on Maxx Crosby’s show The Rush. I defy you to not want to hang out with him. I found myself unable to stop watching this interview as he is absolute.y fascinating, genuine, and so much THAT DUDE that it’s almost beyond belief.

If you ever looked at Gardner Minshew and said “that dude looks and sounds like he lives in a van on the beach” then you are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. Like LITERALLY he owns a van and lived on the beach when he played in Jacksonville. And since then he has traveled around in it, goes camping, hiking, and just generally chills in. Even though he has an actual house, he’ll just go out and sleep in his van sometimes.

And of course he loves Fast Times At Ridgemont High and Dazed and Confused, because of course. And he seems to be an endless font of great stories, probably because fun people just want to chill with him. This interview lasted an hour, and I could have watched several more hours easily just to hear all the stories.

I loved when he was asked about people on social media saying he was a “poor man’s Baker Mayfield.” And he said doesn’t do social media, so unless someone literally came up to him in the street and said “You’re a poor man’s Baker Mayfield!” he wouldn’t hear about it. I mean, no wonder he seems so happy. Social media is pure, uncut toxicity.

Best thing though is how many times you just find yourself thinking, man that is just so wholesome. Like when he was fanboying at the thought that Lebron James would even know who he is. Keep in mind, he has started 37 games in the NFL over four seasons and went to the Pro Bowl last year. Why wouldn’t Lebron know who he is? You just gotta love that such a thing would surprise him.

Maxx Crosby is the leader of this team. And he can’t say enough good things about Gardner. No question he is going to make the already strong vibe in the Raiders locker room even stronger.

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Kliff Kingsbury’s addition doesn’t mean Commanders will go all-in on Caleb Williams

Kliff Kingsbury’s connection to another one of the top three 2024 QB prospects.

When the Washington Commanders hired Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator last week, the natural assumption was this move was made to make a play for Caleb Williams.

Williams, the USC quarterback and presumed No. 1 overall pick, has a close relationship with Kingsbury. Once the news broke of Kingsbury’s hiring, Williams congratulated him on Instagram. Their relationship began after Kingsbury was fired by the Cardinals and took on the position of senior offensive analyst at USC for his good friend, Lincoln Riley.

Here’s the problem with the Kingsbury/Williams theory: The Commanders have no control over whether they can pair Kingsbury with Williams. The Chicago Bears hold the No. 1 overall pick. They are likely to select Williams, leaving the Commanders to choose between quarterbacks Drake Maye (North Carolina) and Jayden Daniels (LSU) — both phenomenal prospects, too.

So, while it makes for good podcast chatter, so much must happen for it to become a reality. In all likelihood, new Washington coach Dan Quinn wanted to hire the best offensive mind possible to develop a young quarterback, and Kingsbury’s reputation with quarterbacks is outstanding.

After Washington hired Kingsbury, it also added former Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson to a prominent role on staff. The Commanders also retained quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard, giving their young quarterbacks (a rookie and Sam Howell) multiple voices in 2024.

While Kingsbury doesn’t have a direct connection to Daniels — the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner — he does have one with Maye.

During Maye’s first two seasons at North Carolina, his offensive coordinator was Phil Longo — also Howell’s college offensive coordinator at UNC. Maye started two seasons, as he was Howell’s backup in 2021, and his best season was in 2022. That was Longo’s final season at North Carolina, as he left last offseason to be Luke Fickell’s new offensive coordinator at Wisconsin.

How does Longo figure into the mix with Kingsbury?

Longo was a high school coach in 1996 when he became fascinated with the Air Raid offense. So, one summer, he packed his bags and drove to Texas to learn from the offense from the great Mike Leach.

That was the start of a mentorship between Leach and Longo that lasted until Leach’s death in Dec. 2022.

Leach was also Kingsbury’s mentor, coaching him for three seasons at Texas Tech. Kingsbury broke numerous school and NCAA records while playing for Leach. It was during those trips to see Leach that Longo met Kingsbury.

In a story from Jesse Simonton for On3, he detailed Longo taking over as Wisconsin’s offensive coordinator last year. Longo talked about how he would talk offensive football and the Air Raid with Leach, Kingsbury and current Purdue offensive coordinator Graham Harrell every offseason until Leach passed away.

Around that same time, Kingsbury was fired as Arizona’s head coach.

“And then Kliff Kingsbury is the other one I love talking Xs and Os with and he’s was out galavanting around in Taiwan and overseas for a while,” Longo said last spring. “Neither one of them had been around as much at all, and it’s been a very quiet spring for me. It’s been so strange.”

Don’t you think Longo can offer Kingsbury some details on Maye — and Howell? Both have played in Longo’s version of the Air Raid.

This also doesn’t mean the Commanders will sell select Maye, either. But Kingsbury will have some inside intel on two of the top three quarterback prospects, and general manager Adam Peters will lean into Kingsbury’s evaluation of Daniels, too.

So, there are plenty of connections here. Right now, they mean nothing. If Washington somehow trades up for the No. 1 pick, then we have a different story.

 

Former Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury a ‘strong candidate’ to be Commanders offensive coordinator

Kingsbury spent the 2023 season at USC, working with presumed No. 1 pick Caleb Williams.

Two days after the Commanders picked Dan Quinn to be their head coach, we’ve begun to learn some of the names in contention to be his first offensive coordinator.

On Saturday, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that Kliff Kingsbury recently interviewed with Washington and is considered a “strong candidate” for the job.

Kingsbury, 44, was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals for four seasons and had a record of 28-37-1. Before becoming an NFL coach, Kingsbury was head coach at his alma mater — Texas Tech — for six seasons, and he was Patrick Mahomes’ college coach.

Kingsbury is a protege of the late Mike Leach, who he played quarterback for at Texas Tech from 1998-2002.

Like Leach, Kingsbury runs a version of the “Air Raid” offense. However, during his time with the Cardinals, he modified his scheme to adapt to the NFL.

Kingsbury spent the 2023 season as an analyst for the USC Trojans under Lincoln Riley. It was during the last year he developed a close relationship with the presumed No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, Caleb Williams.

The Commanders hold the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft and are expected to select a quarterback.