The college football world lost one of its beloved characters with the death of Mississippi State Bulldogs coach Mike Leach. The school announced that Leach died Monday night after complications related to a heart condition. He was 61.
Leach was in his third season coaching the Bulldogs after stints as head coach with the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Washington State Cougars. He also served as an assistant with the Kentucky Wildcats and Oklahoma Sooners.
As innovative as he was interesting, Leach worked with Kentucky coach Hal Mumme to develop their signature offense, which Leach dubbed the Air Raid. He was also known to turn rhapsodic on any number of subjects from garbanzo beans to wedding arrangements and wrote a book about the leadership strategies of the Apache leader Geronimo.
Besides Mumme, Leach worked under Bob Stoops as his first offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. Leach's coaching tree is fairly extensive and includes Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury, USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley, TCU Horned Frogs coach Sonny Dykes, Tennessee Volunteers coach Josh Heupel and Houston Cougars coach Dana Holgorsen.
Prayers for our dear friend and favorite OU Off. coordinator Mike Leach, Sharon and his family. pic.twitter.com/gWk7aXyeeS
— Bob Stoops (@CoachBobStoops) December 12, 2022
Coach-
— Lincoln Riley (@LincolnRiley) December 13, 2022
You will certainly be missed, but your impact on so many will live on-
Thankful for every moment. You changed my life and so many others.
All of our prayers are with Sharon & the Leach family-
Rest In Peace my friend🙏 pic.twitter.com/C43e2MZvBB
Heartbroken. Prayers for the entire Leach family and @HailStateFB pic.twitter.com/pluR0EMCDN
— Josh Heupel (@coachjoshheupel) December 13, 2022
Devastated and heartbroken that my coach, Mike Leach is gone. Coach was one of a kind and had a lasting impact on my life and career. I would not be where I am without him. Love you coach. Praying for Sharon and his family!
— Bill Bedenbaugh (@OU_CoachB) December 13, 2022
Today is a sad day in the world of college football. Mike Leach was an innovative football mind, who kept us on our toes. I always enjoyed facing off with him over the years.
— Mack Brown (@CoachMackBrown) December 13, 2022
Our thoughts and prayers are with Mike's family and friends during this difficult time. 🙏💙🙏
Statement from Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury on the passing of Mike Leach, who was the head coach at Texas Tech during Kingsbury's record-setting career as a QB there: pic.twitter.com/yleLkRHIOK
— Mark Dalton (@CardsMarkD) December 13, 2022
Bengals coach Zac Taylor grew up admiring Mike Leach first as an Oklahoma offensive coordinator. Then Taylor played against Leach and was on coached staffs that faced him.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) December 13, 2022
Taylor never met Leach but was "a humongous fan."
(via @Bengals) pic.twitter.com/71IT2NV3YT
In a fitting tribute to Leach, many shared clips of their favorite Leach quotes and the tangents he could veer down while speaking.
There will never be another one quite like Mike Leach.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 13, 2022
A true college football original. pic.twitter.com/ZnpJwMXT2q
Here's Mike Leach talking about 'the best party he's ever been to' back in 2017:
— Brett Greenberg (@74Talk) December 13, 2022
'It's called Flora-Bama, right on the border of Florida & Alabama... you go & there's like 3 different bands plays... a heaping of crawfish for like $5... fantastic people watching.'
🎥@SWXRightNow pic.twitter.com/6UkLkqDd3E
My favorite thing Mike Leach did at Washington State was choose Jamal Morrow to be team captain solely based on his performance on "The Price is Right" pic.twitter.com/uV3I8B6GPg
— Sam Cooper (@SamDCooper) December 13, 2022
Mike Leach's passing is heartbreaking, but there's some comfort in watching all of his wisdom flood my timeline this morning. There's never been anyone like him, and there never will be. If anyone needs me, I'll be watching Mike Leach clips all day. https://t.co/oipTzDekae
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) December 13, 2022
"Swing your sword" was one of Leach's mottos. He used it as the title of his autobiography. The phrase became a fitting epitaph as the sports world paid tribute to him Tuesday.
#SwingYourSword pic.twitter.com/SKRB4F2aSE
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) December 12, 2022
Coach Mike Leach, Thank You for Your Impact on the game and so many lives. From Mesh, ACE/Blue, Napkin GP, Pirates, 6, and the #AirRaid. So many former players and former coaches have influenced my life because of You. Truly a Pioneer #SwingYourSword
— Davis Webb (@Davis_Webb5) December 13, 2022
TOUGH TOUGH NEWS to get this morning. Sending Prayers and Blessings and Hugs to Sharon and the family. The Blessings are going to come to you from ALL across the Nation in honor of Mike and what he's meant to so many! Love you Mike you will be missed my friend!#SWINGYOURSWORD! pic.twitter.com/qz3zOn9J8A
— Ruffin McNeill (@RuffinMcNeill) December 13, 2022
Others from around the sports world shared their thoughts and condolences.
Prayers to the Leach family!🙏🏽🙏🏽 True legend of the game!
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) December 13, 2022
"My Thoughts & Prayers are with the Leach Family! Thank you for your Impact on the game and the Lives you coached! You will be missed, Rest Easy Pirate." pic.twitter.com/SkzhIGgTqh
— Dak Prescott (@dak) December 13, 2022
A sad day for college football. Our thoughts are with the Leach family and the Mississippi State community. https://t.co/G9wfeFo8Mx
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) December 13, 2022
Got to have a few beers with Mike Leach one evening several years ago and have wanted to spend more time with him ever since. Such a cool cool dude. RIP coach.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) December 13, 2022
I never played under coach Mike Leach but I respected his philosophy towards the game growing up... RIP COACH you was apart of the birth of how the game is played today 🙏🏿
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) December 13, 2022