Mike Leach - RIP

[BitterYoungMatador2]

MSU Bulldog family, college football community mourns the death of Coach Mike Leach - Mississippi State (hailstate.com)

 

[Songbird]

I liked Leach.

This was such a moment of moments:



Really seemed like Leach would coach at least one national champion.

He was definitely the national champion of soundbites.



Now he's off to romp around with all those fat little girlfriends in the great beyond.

 

[dixiehack]

Acerbic and not hesitant to blame his kids when things went wrong. And at the same time irresistible to listen to. A world traveler and endlessly curious about things that went beyond the yard markers. It’s a little amazing he was ever at OU in any capacity because he seemed naturally drawn to the places with thin soil and shaky prospects in college football terms. If you can find something to love in Lubbock, Pullman AND Starkville, you are cut from different cloth.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

 

[LanceyHoward]

It’s a little amazing he was ever at OU in any capacity because he seemed naturally drawn to the places with thin soil and shaky prospects in college football terms. If you can find something to love in Lubbock, Pullman AND Starkville, you are cut from different cloth.

I agree that Leach did coach at Oklahoma was a miracle. I also don't think Leach particularly loved Lubbock, Pullman ir Starkville, But Leach never cut from a different mold and I also think he never cared about the public relations part of coaching at a Power Five school. For example, I don't think he played a lot of golf with contributors or generally kissed a lot of butts. I think that is why he never landed an elite job, especially after his departure from Texas Tech was so contentious.

However, he will be remembered as a guy with a tremendous impact on the game with his offenses. Not just at the college level but also at the high school level. A lot of high schools run variations of the Air Raid.

.

 

[BTExpress]

In 1989, he served as head coach of the Pori Bears in the American Football Association of Finland.

Because of course he did.

 

[wicked]

Someone punch smug little Craig James in the nuts today, please.

RIP to the candy corn-hating pirate.

 

[User 149557]

I agree that Leach did coach at Oklahoma was a miracle. I also don't think Leach particularly loved Lubbock, Pullman ir Starkville, But Leach was never cut from a different mold and I also think he was never cared about the public relations part of coaching.

“Absolutely.” - Emmitt Smith

 

[Songbird]

In 1989, he served as head coach of the Pori Bears in the American Football Association of Finland.

Because of course he did.

One of the reasons why ... with a few places I've been and if I ever got back into it ... I'd like to go to Martinsville for a few years (but only if Ginny Wray offers the gig).

 

[Cosmo]

As someone who spent a couple of days in Martinsville for a championship back in June, trust me, you don't. Incredibly depressing place.

 

[dixiehack]

As was pointed out on Reddit, he finished with a lifetime winning percentage of just over .596. College Football HOF requires a minimum .600 win percentage.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

I'm just imagining how much fun he would have been if he had actually used that law degree.

I know he's polarizing to many, but his positives outweighed the negatives in my book. I'm also positive the media will miss him.

Also, keep in mind that during the span of his career, Air Raid went from a gadget/gimmick offense to something, at worst, approaching the mainstream. Must have contributed something to the game.

RIP, good sir and Thank You.

 

[Songbird]

I've read a few stories so far that say Leach was the lone major college coach who didn't play college football ... but they don't finish the story.

Mike Leach was born to Frank and Sandra Leach in Susanville, California. Frank was a forester and the family moved around several times while Mike was growing up, before finally settling in Cody, Wyoming.[4] He was raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Leach graduated from Cody High School in 1979; he played football there from 1975–1978 and was recruited to play at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. An ankle injury that he sustained in high school ruled out playing college football, and he played rugby instead.[5][6]​

 

[Baron Scicluna]

One of the reasons why ... with a few places I've been and if I ever got back into it ... I'd like to go to Martinsville for a few years (but only if Ginny Wray offers the gig).

Ginny Wray is a name I haven’t seen around here for years. Some of those jobs threads were quite, um, interesting.

 

[kickoff-time]

Tremendous read here by Andy Staples of The Athletic.

Mike Leach, MSU coach and CFB innovator, dies at 61

 

[Jake from State Farm]

As was pointed out on Reddit, he finished with a lifetime winning percentage of just over .596. College Football HOF requires a minimum .600 win percentage.

.596 at Lubbock, Pullman and Starkville should figure to about .700 anywhere else

 

[Regan MacNeil]

I’m glad Craig James is trending.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Thanks for sharing. Summed it up well.

 

[DanOregon]

Would have been fun to have seen him slide into a role as an Andy Rooney type on one of the pre-game shows when his coaching career was over. The game is better because of him, and it lost something unique with his passing. RIP.

 

[kickoff-time]

.596 at Lubbock, Pullman and Starkville should figure to about .700 anywhere else

When was this requirement put in?

Leach's credentials surpass Jerry Claiborne, a Hall of Fame coach, along with a few others already inducted.