Mike Leach ($$) didn’t care what the defensive call was.
Hollingshead: He didn’t want all the different scenarios. He would be like: “I don’t care about any of that sh–. What if the safety does this? What if the corner does this?” He would always say: “Well, what if the cheerleader went to the 50-yard line and took a sh–?”
LOL.
Filed under Mike Leach. Yar!, Strategery And Mechanics
This is one helluva tribute.
Well played, Bulldogs.
Filed under Mike Leach. Yar!, Stylin'
There seems to be some momentum for Mike Leach to make it into the college football hall of fame, despite not meeting one of the official benchmarks for entry.
Four-hundredths of a percentage point should not keep Mike Leach out of the College Football Hall of Fame, says National Football Foundation chair Archie Manning.
“I think Mike will be in the Hall of Fame, but it’ll be up to the Honor’s Committee,” Manning says.
Leach, the former Mississippi State, Washington State and Texas Tech coach who died on Dec. 12, does not meet the standard for a coach to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Induction requirements for coaches include (1) 10 years of head coaching experience, (2) 100 victories and (3) a winning percentage of 60 percent. Leach’s tenure ended with a winning mark of 59.6%.
However, Leach’s case is a unique situation, says Steve Hatchell, the president and CEO of the NFF, which operates the Hall of Fame. Leach’s impact on the game went beyond the field as he is heralded as one of the most important innovators of offensive football, revolutionizing the sport with the Air Raid offense.
Leach passed at the age of 61 and had planned to continue coaching despite battling severe pneumonia-like conditions this past season. He died of heart failure.
“Where the difference comes in here is that Mike was a young man and he passed away,” Hatchell says. “The fact that he passed away brings a different perspective on this. Everybody would say he’d continue to coach and continue to win.
“I’m positive the NFF will do the right thing.”
It doesn’t sound like anyone will stand in the committee’s way.
The 2024 class will be selected next fall through an elaborate nominating and voting process. Hatchell expects all three schools at which Leach coached to nominate the coach for the Hall.
That’s nice of Texas Tech, considering.
There are other ways Leach could get closer to 60%. For example, Texas Tech fired Leach a day before the Red Raiders beat Michigan State after the 2009 season. The victory did not count toward Leach’s record.
Filed under Mike Leach. Yar!
For obvious reasons, this will always be my favorite Leach quote.
Filed under Georgia Football, Mike Leach. Yar!, Strategery And Mechanics
Shot.
Craig James told Tech chancellor Kent Hance that Adam had spent three hours in that electrical closet based on instructions from Pincock. That night, Craig called Larry Anders (chairman of the Tech board of regents) and complained that Adam had been forced to practice with a concussion and had been locked in an electrical closet. We’d already held out the starting quarterback for a month that season because he had a concussion — the starting quarterback. Adam was forbidden to practice because he had a concussion. We wanted him away from the field.
According to both his and Anders’s depositions, Craig demanded that I be fired. Hance called me and said that Craig had phoned Anders to complain about his son being forced to play before his concussion was healed, which was simply not true. I explained the situation to Hance, and also told him how often Craig called up the Tech coaches to lobby for more playing time for his son. I told him that Adam had been a constant discipline problem and that I planned on cutting him from the team. Hance told me not to cut Adam.
Chaser.
At least he got a great meme out of the experience.
Filed under Mike Leach. Yar!, The Honorable Craig James
Stupid rules.
What makes this especially stupid in Leach’s case is context.
Before Leach’s arrival, Texas Tech had been to the Cotton Bowl, historically a desired destination for Texas schools, just twice — in 1939 and 1995. Under Leach, they went twice in nine seasons, in 2006 and 2009. They have not been back since his departure in 2010. He’s the only coach in 103 years to win 11 games at Washington State.
Fittingly, Leach’s last win, Mississippi State’s 24-22 triumph over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl, was the Bulldogs’ seventh win over a team ranked in the AP poll while the Bulldogs were unranked under Leach in the past three seasons. No other school has more than four unranked vs. ranked wins in that span.
Sadly, he’d likely have picked up those three wins with another season of coaching at Mississippi State. Not that it’ll make any difference now.
Filed under Mike Leach. Yar!
Damn.
Mississippi State University Head Football Coach Michael Charles “Mike” Leach passed away last night (Monday, Dec. 12) at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, following complications from a heart condition. He was 61.
In a statement, the Leach family said: “Mike was a giving and attentive husband, father and grandfather. He was able to participate in organ donation at UMMC as a final act of charity. We are supported and uplifted by the outpouring of love and prayers from family, friends, Mississippi State University, the hospital staff, and football fans around the world. Thank you for sharing in the joy of our beloved husband and father’s life.”
Such a sad loss for the sport.
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UPDATE:
Filed under Mike Leach. Yar!
If you didn’t hear the news last night, Mike Leach had to be taken to the hospital as a result of what the school called “a personal health issue at his home”. There hasn’t been much subsequent news, but what little has emerged makes it sound like Leach’s situation remains quite serious.
Hope he comes through. Whether you like him or not, he’s a true character and college football can always use its share of true characters.
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UPDATE: Situation unchanged.
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UPDATE #2: Holy crap, this sounds awful.
Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach had a massive heart attack on Sunday in Starkville and was transferred to University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, where he is still being cared for on Monday.
According to multiple sources, Leach, 61, collapsed at his home in Starkville, but did not receive medical attention for between 10 to 15 minutes. EMTs used a defibrillator machine and delivered multiple shocks to restore normal heart rhythm.
After he was stabilized at Oktibbeha County Hospital, he was transported by helicopter to UMMC.
Sources said two of four his children are already in Jackson with the other two en route.
It appears, according to sources, that Leach may have suffered seizures with the possibility of brain damage. Sources said the situation is dire.
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UPDATE #3: I hope Leach fully recovers, if only to hear his reaction to this.
Filed under Mike Leach. Yar!
This is not your typical portal announcement, although it starts out that way.
That next to the last sentence is a doozy, though. I expect that’ll leave a mark on the recruiting trail, if Leach cares about that.
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UPDATE: For an interesting contrast, check out Divaad Wilson’s announcement that he’s entering the NFL draft.
He’s been gone for a couple of seasons now, but still managed to give UGA a shout out.
Filed under Mike Leach. Yar!, Transfers Are For Coaches.
The Pirate has a, shall we say, unique way of motivating the troops.
Can’t wait to see what he has in store for Georgia.
Filed under Mike Leach. Yar!
Get The Picture 
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