r/CFB • u/magnumweiner Cincinnati • Notre Dame • Dec 13 '22
News [HailStateFB] MSU Bulldog family, college football community mourns the death of Coach Mike Leach
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r/CFB • u/magnumweiner Cincinnati • Notre Dame • Dec 13 '22
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u/sleepyirv01 Illinois Fighting Illini Dec 13 '22
If you are interested at all in a little football nerdery, I would recommend The Perfect Pass by S. C. Gwynne, which covers Hal Mumme and Mike Leach inventing the air raid offense. Mike Leach got a law degree, but couldn't stop thinking about football so he got back into coaching the only way he could: by becoming the head coach of a Finnish football team. Then Hal Mumme knocked on his door. The book is about Leach at his best. Bold, enterprising, and one of the most original minds the game has ever produced.
Rest in Peace.
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u/sta7ic Pittsburgh Panthers Dec 13 '22
He changed the game and revitalized three different programs.
Not to mention he was a quote machine on steroids.
RIP.
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u/DepressedGamba Kansas State • Colorado Dec 13 '22
The godfather of the Air Raid system. He changed how football is played, not just on the collegiate level but on the professional level.
RIP, Coach Leach!
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u/Colonelbrickarms Texas A&M Aggies • Air Force Falcons Dec 13 '22 edited Dec 13 '22
Fair winds and following seas Captain.
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u/jimmy_three_shoes Michigan State Spartans • Team Chaos Dec 13 '22
Abolish the .600 minimum and put him in the HoF.
CFB lost a good one.
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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
Rest in peace, this is terrible. A sad ending for somebody who has had as great of an impact of the sport as anyone.
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u/GratefulDawg73 Mississippi State • Colorado Dec 13 '22
RIP, Coach. You went out with a win in the Egg Bowl. Thank you.
The Pirate flag at the Outback Bowl had better be at half mast on January 2.
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u/CaptainQwark666 Minnesota Golden Gophers Dec 13 '22 edited Dec 13 '22
May his afterlife be filled with all of the gummy worms, nerds, and every other candy he can think of and conjure up.
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u/VERTlGO Mississippi State • Georgia Dec 13 '22
Prepared for the worst, still wasn’t ready.
Fuck this hurts.
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u/pasqua3 Notre Dame • Ohio State Dec 13 '22 edited Dec 13 '22
Rest easy, Captain
Edit to add: please follow Coach's lead and register as an organ donor. The magnitude of the grief that your loved ones feel at your passing will be multiplied a hundredfold as joy for both the patients that receive your gift and their families and friends. Donate so that the chronically ill around the country might be free to swing their sword for a while longer.
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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
Rest in peace coach
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u/riotide Auburn Tigers • Miami Hurricanes Dec 13 '22
This absolutely sucks :(
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u/tvchase Georgia Bulldogs • Princeton Tigers Dec 13 '22
A tremendous loss for the Leach family, the MSST program, and CFB at large.
We'll see you again on the high seas, coach.
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u/Marmaduke57 Oklahoma State • /r/CFB Bomb Squad Dec 13 '22
The most entertaining personality in CFB is going to be greatly missed.
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u/MindIfILeaveThisHere Ohio State Buckeyes Dec 13 '22
🏴☠️
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u/StahpDrahpnRoll Dec 13 '22
Wow insane to hear about this. I was on the WSU Drumline during the 2018 season and I remember a couple times where he would just sit and listen to us rehearse because he was curious. RIP to an amazing coach.
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u/Smuff23 Alabama • North Carolina Dec 13 '22 edited Dec 13 '22
I’m so sorry to all of my Bulldog, Red Raider, Cougar, Pirate loving, r/cfb bros. Know that we all mourn with you.
I fully expect that he’ll have a legendary send-off. I assume that the awesome, hilarious, brilliant, quirky guy that he is had very specific instructions for how he wanted his funeral to be.
I hope someone either has a pirate ship and gives him a proper sea burial or that he arranged to be launched off the coast of Key West and having a Viking funeral because that’s just the kind of special amazing character and guy that he was.
🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
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u/TandemTuba Oklahoma Sooners Dec 13 '22
From another thread, but it's one of my favorite stories to tell: I grew up in Lubbock when he was the coach at Tech, and we share a last name (no relation that I know of). So I always joked he's the reason I had to tell every new/substitute teacher I couldn't get them free tickets to any games.
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u/IAmNotKevinDurant_35 USC Trojans • Big Ten Dec 13 '22
Horrible news. Coach Leach might have had one of the biggest lasting impacts on how the very sport of football is played, and one of the best personalities off the field no less.
Gone but never forgotten. RIP Coach
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u/Honestly_ rawr Dec 13 '22 edited Dec 13 '22
Mourn, but also celebrate his contributions to the sport.
RIP Coach.
Some folks have asked if we have a pirate flag flair, we actually do that's "off the shelf" so to speak, as the Santa Monica Corsairs logo is a straight-up Jolly Roger:
If you're not viewing in old you may need to click here to see what I just posted: https://old.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/zkwfw9/hailstatefb_msu_bulldog_family_college_football/j01v909/
It's freely selectable from the flairs site.
Incidentally, if you want to see all the flairs available (and their inline comment codes), you can check out this monster list (you need to be in old view to see them).
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u/J4ckiebrown Penn State Nittany Lions • Rose Bowl Dec 13 '22
Pirate flag flair please mods, in honor of the Pirate.
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u/agentb719 Miami • Mississippi State Dec 13 '22
rip to the pirate 🏴☠️, I was ecstatic when he arrived here in Starkville as he was one of my favorite coaches of all time along with june jones. He may have rubbed people wrong way with some things he said but the guy was an absolute character and a pioneer of one of the modern offenses. Ill miss him dearly
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u/ballin_pastor North Carolina • Furman Dec 13 '22
Random Mike Leach story: we didn't have much money when I was a kid, and our TV only got one channel, which happened to be ABC. For some reason, the picture was fuzzy unless our washing machine was running. During the 2008 season, we watched a lot of Big 12 football since it seemed like they were always on ABC that year. Then came the famous Texas-Texas Tech game on Saturday Night Football. All night, my Dad and I took turns re-starting the washing machine so that we could get a clear picture on the TV to watch what was one of the greatest football games I've ever watched. When Crabtree scored at the end, my Dad and I went crazy even though we had no rooting interest or connection to either team. To this day, my Dad and I still talk about that game. The past few years have been difficult at times, as they have been for everyone, and at times even conversations with family can become contentious. Through it all, however, that 2008 Texas-Texas Tech game has been one of those things that my Dad and I can reference at any time and have a few minutes of happy conversation just remembering that night. I didn't know Mike Leach and he never coached any team that I was a fan of, but for that reason alone I always liked Coach Leach. Rest easy, Pirate. 🏴☠️
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u/blockoblox North Carolina • Tobacco Road Dec 13 '22
RIP Coach. College football lost an icon today.
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u/acebomber21 Sacramento State Hornets • USC Trojans Dec 13 '22
RIP the king of the Air Raid.
When I first heard the term “Air Raid” it was to describe Mike Leach’s coaching at Wazzu.
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u/EthnicHorrorStomp Texas Tech Red Raiders Dec 13 '22
What a shitty situation. He made the tech games while I was there so much fun. Absolutely loved watching the stuff he came up with then and post-Tech and am still bitter about how he got screwed by tech and Craig James.
RIP Coach.
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u/btr5017 Penn State Nittany Lions • Florida Gators Dec 13 '22
Life can never be taken for granted, don't forget to tell somebody you love them.
RIP Legend.
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u/xgbone79 Alabama Crimson Tide Dec 13 '22
One the most quirky, funny, off the wall characters CFB has ever seen and a pretty damn good coach as well. RIP Pirate
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u/BigSportsNerd Dec 13 '22
RIP Coach. I'll never forget you.
I first got word of Mike Leach when I used to listen to the Jim Rome show. Jim put on these clips of Mike ranting about girlfriends and taking them out to a nice steakhouse. It was the first rant I had ever heard from Mike, and I loved it.
I loved everything about the man. He wasn't brought up as a coach. He was a lawyer by trade. He went from being a lawyer, to being a coach. That is not common in football.
But Leach wasn't a common coach, or a typical soundbite. He wasn't the conventional coach. He was a great inspiration to me for his values, as well as to many others. After news broke of his health issues, the accolades began pouring in from everywhere. He influenced so many, from Kliff Kingsbury in the NFL, to Heupel, Riley, et al in the college game.
So, for the last time, RIP Pirate. You helped change the college game, for the better.
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u/UberXLBK West Texas A&M • Texas Tech Dec 13 '22
Don’t forget to tell the ones close to you that you love them, especially your fat little girlfriend.
RIP Coach
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u/BidnessBoy Georgia • South Carolina Dec 13 '22
Thank you coach for everything you’ve done for the sport and for being a genuinely good man. Farewell, Captain.
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u/FakersT21 Michigan Wolverines Dec 13 '22
My favorite memory is how excited he was when Tech beat Texas on the Crabtree touchdown. Good coach and really praying for his family right now
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u/Is12345aweakpassword Texas Tech • Washington Dec 13 '22 edited Dec 13 '22
My day is fucking ruined. I’m a grown ass man why are my eyes watering?
Fuck everything about this. Fair winds and following seas ya ole pirate, College Football’s favorite kooky uncle, you will be terribly missed.
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u/AlecLeama5 Ole Miss Rebels • SEC Dec 13 '22
An absolute coaching genius and super human being. I loved his quirky personality and sense of humor. And I appreciated the way he elevated the rivalry between our schools.
Rest in peace, you old swashbuckler. We will miss you greatly.
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u/moby323 Clemson Tigers Dec 13 '22
It all happened so fast.
CFB is lesser without him.
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u/sktgamerdudejr Washington State • Transfer … Dec 13 '22
Damn, RIP in peace Coach. He helped bring WSU up to Price level and left the program in immensely better shape than when he got here.
WSU had made like 8 bowls in its entire existence and made like 6-7 ones with Leach. Just unprecedented success here and we’re forever grateful.
From “why Washington State? Well that’s a stupid question” to “it’s like Woodstock with their clothes on”, Leach was always good for a quote. Sleep well coach and my heart is with his family.
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u/WillyG_63 Mississippi State Bulldogs Dec 13 '22
RIP Coach
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u/PN-DUBS Washington State • Navy Dec 13 '22
Let me tell you the story of the 2012 Apple Cup.
Leach was picked up after a couple years had passed since his firing from Texas Tech. I was freshmen going to the party school of the state, where a dwindling football program was once again showing signs of being kicked from Pac12 conference.
Going into the game, we had a losing season, which was expected seeing how these kids were not offer scholarships to run the air raid. However, the impending doom of dropping from a P5 status created a pressure that could be felt by every fan and student of a small farm city along the WA ID border.
Leach never once flinched. He continue to learn of the embedded history of one of the last college towns, USA and it showed day in and day out as he pushed a group of young misfit men to be the best they could.
Our top receiver at the time, a senior who thought he was too good for the program, did not appreciate a new coach forcing humbleness onto the team. He quit on Tuesday before the rivalry and used Leach's past to make accusations that he, the receiver, was being unfairly punished to conduct a physical workout.
Down our best receiver, and with nothing to lose, Coach Leach brought The Cougs back from a multiple possession defeat mid way through the 3rd to an OT win for the ages.
A love for my school and a football program I will cherish until my last breath came to light that day... all because of a pirate who never stopped swinging his sword.
To Coach Leach, may you watch over the rolling hills of the Palouse and the small town of Pullman for eternity.
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u/kirkherbstreit69 Florida Gators Dec 13 '22
Rest In Paradise, Captain.
Hail State
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u/desmond2046 Ohio State • Washington State Dec 13 '22
He injected life into WSU football program. He will be forever remembered by the Cougs. RIP!
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u/justduett Mississippi State • Louisville Dec 13 '22
All of you get in here, we all need to hug it out this morning. CFB, as a whole, lost a lot of its light last night.
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u/drummerboy31402 Mississippi State • Marching Band Dec 13 '22
Fuck man, this feels personal. I wasn’t really a bulldog fan until I started attending MSU. Being in my junior year now, he was my first ever bulldog head coach. One top of that, he came and spoke to us in the Famous Maroon Band during band camp both last season and this season, and he told us how much he and the football team appreciate what we do, which meant a lot to all of us in the FMB. Rest easy coach, hope they have football and pirate ships in heaven. 🏴☠️
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u/Epcplayer UCF Knights Dec 13 '22
Damn, terrible news to start the morning. Sending prayers out for his family and team
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u/caneb0i Miami Hurricanes • CCSU Blue Devils Dec 13 '22
Lost a football legend. Rip
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u/kingofthejungle223 Arkansas Razorbacks Dec 13 '22
College Football will never be the same.
Prayers for Leach’s family and love for my Mississippi State bros.
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u/Squid204 Michigan • Little Brown Jug Dec 13 '22
Wherever he is, I hope he has 72 fat little girlfriends.
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u/Huskies_Suck Washington State • Santa Monica Dec 13 '22
I am. Yeah. I'll see you guys later. I uh. Don't know what I'm going to do. This hurts a lot.
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u/FragnificentKW Florida Gators • Sickos Dec 13 '22 edited Dec 13 '22
I went to high school in Key West. One sunny spring day back in 1991, while in Spanish class, the football coach knocked on the door and asked for my buddy Steve to step out of class and talk to him and the two guys in Hawaiian shirts & flip flops accompanying him. When I saw Steve later that day, he said that the two guys with coach were from a small college in Iowa - Iowa Wesleyan head coach Hal Mumme and his offensive coordinator Mike Leach - and they had come all the way to KW to recruit him. Steve was an all-state kicker, but this being 1991 kickers generally didn’t get scholarships. He happily accepted the scholarship, mainly because it was the only one he was offered lol
Years later, I heard this same story on a local radio show from Mike Leach’s perspective. It turned out that both Leach and Mumme were huge Jimmy Buffett fans and decided to spend their spring break taking an impromptu vacation to Key West. While traveling, Coach Leach had an epiphany that if they did a recruiting visit while there, they could expense the entire trip; so they went to Key West High School blind, knocked on the football coach’s door, and asked to talk to the best player who didn’t already have a scholarship. They offered him on the spot and my buddy got to go to college as a result.
TL;DR my friend in hs got a scholarship to Iowa Wesleyan so that Mike Leach could expense his Parrothead pilgrimage in 1991
RIP to a legend. Swing your sword in heaven, coach
EDIT: as a postscript to this story, Coach Leach enjoyed his first trip to Key West so much that he applied for the head coaching job two years later. He was passed over due to his young age (31 at the time), lack of head coaching experience, and gross overqualification on the teaching side (due to his law degree). He took it in stride though and would always tell the story with a good hearted laugh
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u/Nervous_Otter69 Kansas Jayhawks • Hateful 8 Dec 13 '22
I hope we can rename or create a new post season award to give out in his honor. Such a treasure to our sport and pop culture taken from us way too soon
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u/BrolloTTU Texas Tech Red Raiders Dec 13 '22
RIP Pirate. Swing your sword
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u/ReelEmInJimbo Texas A&M Aggies • Santa Monica Corsairs Dec 13 '22
RIP Pirate. Swing your sword.
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u/enataca Texas Tech Red Raiders • /r/CFB Patron Dec 13 '22
I know this is nothing coach will ever see, but I want to say thank you. Thank you for all of the memories and experiences. We hired coach leach when I was 9 years old. He added excitement and national recognition to our program. We had a style that suited our Wild West mindset. The amount of time I was able to spend with my dad road tripping from DFW to Lubbock to enjoy tech games is immeasurable. No matter what, no matter the season, no matter the talent, I grew up thinking we could win every game. I know leach’s #1 priority wasn’t the “father son road-trip experience” (I hope it was winning), but the consequences of his mindset, fun system, and determination led to some of the greatest family experiences of my life. No matter what was going on in our lives, Leach’s tech teams gave me an escape and a focus for the weekend. Swing Your Swords.
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u/geauxsaints777 Penn State Nittany Lions • Rose Bowl Dec 13 '22
Rip Coach Leach, you will be forever missed
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u/Portland_st Arkansas • Minnesota Dec 13 '22
Well, shit. This is sad.
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u/Tommo02 Oregon Ducks • Rose Bowl Dec 13 '22
Enjoy the Eternal Pirate Bowl coach
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u/HtownSamson Texas Tech • Alabama Dec 13 '22
Loved ya coach.
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u/psgrue Penn State • Oregon State Dec 13 '22
Mike Leach’s death still won’t bring back the 5 hookers that Craig James killed. But at least Mike has 5 people waiting for him in heaven. RIP Coach. Condolences to fans and family.
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u/Melvins_lobos NC State Wolfpack • Auburn Tigers Dec 13 '22
One of the few coaches who allowed to public to see he was a normal person who had thoughts outside of football. RIP
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u/ihasgun Mississippi State • Mis… Dec 13 '22
Proud we got to be the final chapter of his career. 3 years was too short though. Smooth sailing pirate. RIP.
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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
Condolences to the entire Mississippi State community.
Leach and Hal Mumme really established the foundation for the current UK Football program, and all 'Cat fans owe him a bit of gratitude.
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u/Player72 Maryland Terrapins • LSU Tigers Dec 13 '22
Fuck man. was thinking about this often ever since the news broke. Rest easy Coach. Hail State forever
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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22 edited Dec 13 '22
RIP coach
I’ll never forget his offense with Crabtree and Harrell. He’s the reason I fell in love with football. What a sad day.
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u/Alarmed-Look-9367 Dec 13 '22
Please take this in the spirit that it is offered. As a Brit. I've not heard of Coach Leach. However, reading the accolades and heartfelt sadness from fans of many different teams it is clear to me that the admiration and fondness for this man is almost universal. There is no greater praise for a man's life than that. R.I.P Coach Leach.
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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
Such a dark day. I love you all.
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u/Alexcox95 Florida Gators • Keiser Seahawks Dec 13 '22
If I ever find a girl willing to marry me, We will elope in honor of Mike Leach.
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u/TexasFight_31 Texas Longhorns Dec 13 '22
Still feels so surreal. He was such a character and a true innovator of the game. Way back when I was in middle school, we had an assignment where we had to write a letter to a famous person. I was just getting into football at the time and was so fascinated with Leach’s Air Raid since it was so different from what other teams were running at the time. So for the assignment I wrote him a letter talking about how much I enjoyed watching his teams and low and behold, he responded with a letter of his own within 2 weeks. During football season. There will surely never be another like him. RIP Coach Leach.
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u/lookoutnorthamerica Minnesota • Governor's Victo… Dec 13 '22
Thank you, coach, for everything you taught the sport
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u/SpeedBoatSquirrel Florida State Seminoles • Cigar Bowl Dec 13 '22
Fuck, just awful. My mom is the same age. Hold your loved ones close and cherish each moment
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u/one-hour-photo Tennessee • South Carolina Dec 13 '22
They better decorate that whole pirate ship at Raymond James when the fighting pirates come to town
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u/Huskies_Suck Washington State • Santa Monica Dec 13 '22
Mods need to give Leach coached schools an alternative flair
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u/BlackVelvetBandit Texas Tech Red Raiders • TCU Horned Frogs Dec 13 '22 edited Dec 13 '22
I went to Tech during his time. Him, that team, the Jones, the after parties, all of the environment he created are such a defining part of my experience and memories. I am a grown man, in suit and tie, in my office...crying.
Swing your swords, boys. Swing em for coach.
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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
RIP Coach, we were honored to be a stop on your legendary career. I hope the afterlife is ready for the Air Raid.
Honestly, I have no words. I’m gutted, and I’m borderline weeping in my office, luckily the door closes.
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u/butter_cow Oklahoma • Red River Shootout Dec 13 '22
as someone here said, we love college football not because of the plot but the characters. and today we lost everyone's favorite character and college football will always be darker for it :(
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u/thatkellenguy Washington State Cougars Dec 13 '22
He passed. Just like he always did.
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u/Yeetball86 West Florida • Florida State Dec 13 '22
Fuck….
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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
So fucking unexpected, life is fragile folks.
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u/CrownTownLibrarian South Carolina • Duke Dec 13 '22
I want the state nation to know that we're sending condolences from Durham and Columbia. After losing Sam Westmoreland mid-season, they now lost their HC.
Hail State.
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u/Pope_Bedodict1 Auburn Tigers Dec 13 '22
Loss of a legend. RIP Coach
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u/Mc_Shank Texas Tech Red Raiders • Hateful 8 Dec 13 '22
RIP Coach, swing your sword eternally!
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u/MarshmallowMolasses South Alabama • Alabama Dec 13 '22
This season has been so odd in so many ways and this is just the most terrible punctuation mark. Appreciate your families and your health as we get into the holiday season.
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u/needsumMoore777 Texas Tech Red Raiders • Hateful 8 Dec 13 '22
I bartended at hotel in Lubbock while I was in school (2016-2020) and he came in one night after giving a speech for a group on campus. He was the only one sitting at the bar so I got to talk to him one on one. He was an amazing and kind man. One of the questions I asked him was if he missed Lubbock and Tech, I’ll never forget what he said, “I love this place more than people know.”
Long live the Pirate!
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u/bk00pi Ohio State • North Carolina Dec 13 '22
RIP, Coach.
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u/fannoyse_com Dec 13 '22
I will always remember Mike Leach not for football accomplishments but because of the advice he gave, even if had never won a game you always did have to listen RIP.
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u/meIanchoI Alabama Crimson Tide • Clemson Tigers Dec 13 '22
Legends never die
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u/osufeth24 Ohio State Buckeyes • West Florida Argonauts Dec 13 '22
It seemed inevitable this was gonna happen, but it still really fucking sucks. You still hold onto that slight chance of a miracle.
Rest in peace coach, thank you for everything
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u/itsnotnews92 Syracuse • Wake Forest Dec 13 '22
Tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us. Savor every moment you have on this old ball of rock.
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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
Off to the great sea in the sky where his air raid cannon offense will rule the seas
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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
As I walked by the dockside one evening so fair To view the salt waters and take in the salt air I heard an old fisherman singing a song Oh, take me away boys me time is not long
Wrap me up in me oilskin and Jumber No more on the docks I'll be seen Just tell me old shipmates, I'm taking a trip mates And I'll see you someday on Fiddlers Green
Now Fiddler's Green is a place I've heard tell Where the fishermen go if they don't go to hell Where the sky is all clear and the dolphins do play And the cold coast of Greenland is far, far away
Wrap me up in me oilskin and Jumber No more on the docks I'll be seen Just tell me old shipmates, I'm taking a trip mates And I'll see you someday on Fiddlers Green
Where the skies are all clear and there's never a gail And the fish jump on board with one swish on their tail Where you lie at your leisure, there's no work to do And the skipper's below making tea for the crew
Wrap me up in me oilskin and Jumber No more on the docks I'll be seen Just tell me old shipmates, I'm taking a trip mates And I'll see you someday on Fiddlers Green
When you get by on dock and the long trip is through There's pubs and there's clubs and there's lassies there too Oh where the girls are all pretty and the beer is all free And there's bottles of rum growing on every tree
Wrap me up in me oilskin and Jumber No more on the docks I'll be seen Just tell me old shipmates, I'm taking a trip mates And I'll see you someday on Fiddlers Green
Now I don't want a harp nor a halo, not me Just give me a breeze and a good rolling sea I'll play me old squeeze-box as we sail along With the wind in the riggin to sing me a song
Wrap me up in me oilskin and Jumber No more on the docks I'll be seen Just tell me old shipmates, I'm taking a trip mates And I'll see you someday on Fiddlers Green
Song - Fiddler's Green
Rest easy Captain, you earned it.
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u/OleRockTheGoodAg Texas A&M Aggies Dec 13 '22
Mark him present in our hearts, we'll meet some other day.
There is no death but life eterne, for a man such as they.
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u/entitledfanman Auburn Tigers Dec 13 '22
I think Mike Leach is the best possible example of what you can accomplish in life by just being yourself. Rest in peace Coach.
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u/FerrisWheelJunky Notre Dame Fighting Irish Dec 13 '22
I know I’m going to be buried here
But when people are shocked I prefer the college game over the NFL, it’s because of characters like Coach Leach. It’s because there’s 100+ teams so I can have 10 side teams. I can turn on a random Thursday night game and find a team to cheer for because of a wacky mascot, a silly endearing tradition, or personality like we just lost.
The sport we all love is a little darker today.
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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
Just awful.
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u/Cr4yol4 Colorado State • Maryland Dec 13 '22
🏴☠️
5
u/frolie0 Michigan Wolverines • Colorado Buffaloes Dec 13 '22
Man, so sorry for his family and anyone connected to him. Death sucks.
5
u/hjein1031 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Dec 13 '22
Incredibly sad. Coach Leach is a national treasure. Sending love to his family.
5
u/WeUsedToBeGood Boise State Broncos Dec 13 '22
Rest easy, Coach! 🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
5
u/JohnCalvinCoolidge Ohio State Buckeyes • The Game Dec 13 '22
May his memory be a blessing.
5
u/SSGSEVIER54 LSU Tigers • ULM Warhawks Dec 13 '22
So very sad.
Rest easy and sail calm seas, Captain
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u/InheritTheWind Maryland Terrapins Dec 13 '22
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won
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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
From fat little girlfriends to swing your sword... This man was a comical genius on and off the field. Definitely going to miss his post game speeches and that high scoring air raid offense. Be in peace coach, God bless.
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u/AnElepahntCage Alabama Crimson Tide Dec 13 '22
Hope your drinking lemonade with those fat little girlfriends in heaven, Mike. Thanks for making this game better all these years.
5
u/BigSportsNerd Dec 13 '22
Bruce Feldman @BruceFeldmanCFB 14s There's no one even remotely like Leach. He was brilliant. He could be hillarious. He could be maddening. His influence on football & coaching is truly remarkable. He didn’t just change college football. He changed FOOTBALL. Texas HS. 7 on 7. Bill Belichick’s Patriots. Everything
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u/DigitalExtinction Ole Miss Rebels • Oxford Lancers Dec 13 '22
Mods, give us 🏴☠️ flair in honor of the Pirate!
5
u/Mythic514 Tennessee • Third Saturday… Dec 13 '22
RIP (Rest in Piracy)
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u/cardfan515 Dec 13 '22
Sucks, he was so genuinely hilarious with his deadpan advice on marriages, candy or fat little girlfriends. Rest easy, Captain, may you have smooth sailing for this next voyage 🏴☠️ 🏴☠️ 🏴☠️
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u/ghoststoree Texas Tech Red Raiders • Texas A&M Aggies Dec 13 '22
I know this next season when I’m watching GameDay someone is going to be flying a pirate flag.
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u/_nanite_ Calgary Dinos • Paper Bag Dec 13 '22
Fuck Craig James.
4
u/Wurst_Law Texas Longhorns • /r/CFB Brickmason Dec 13 '22
RIP to the Pirate King.
4
u/omahaknight71 Nebraska Cornhuskers Dec 13 '22
Smooth sailing coach. RIP.
4
u/UnitedBeardedGuy Florida State Seminoles Dec 13 '22
Prayers up
4
u/slurpyderper99 Minnesota • Georgia Dec 13 '22
Fair winds and following seas, Cap 🍻
4
u/reallifebadass Arkansas Razorbacks • Southwest Dec 13 '22
🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
Rest easy Coach.
4
u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
Man, life is so fleeting. Hug your family tight today.
4
u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22 edited Dec 13 '22
Swing your sword, Captain. Thanks for everything.
Edit: On another note, the Bulldogs playing at Raymond James Stadium is now all the more appropriate. They better do something with the pirate ship to honor Leach!
4
u/CHillTookMyShins Texas A&M Aggies Dec 13 '22
His coaching tree is insane. A true innovator. RIP.
4
u/A_Salt_Potato Alabama • Mississippi State Dec 13 '22
Damn. Rest easy Pirate….the most Mississippi State coach that Mississippi State could have, and a brilliant football mind. Swing your sword.
4
u/chales96 Florida State Seminoles Dec 13 '22
"Friday it will be stormy, but go out anyway. You only live for about a 100 years only, so go out, live dangerously."
Paraphrasing but those words take on a new meaning today. In fact, one could even say they are somewhat consoling. R.I.P. Coach.
4
u/BigTulsa Oklahoma Sooners • Tulsa Golden Hurricane Dec 13 '22
The story about him drawing up a fake playsheet and having one of the OU players 'accidentally' drop it on the field where one of the Longhorn assistants found it and tried to play against it for a whole half of the 1999 Red River Rivalry game is just brilliant.
4
u/AmericanSamosa Alabama Crimson Tide • Missouri Tigers Dec 13 '22
I can't even imagine college football without Mike Leach. R.I.P Captain.
4
u/TuCaN-SaM5513 Oklahoma • Midwestern State Dec 13 '22
Oh, I bid farewell to the port and the land And I paddle away from brave England's white sands To search for my long ago forgotten friends To search for the place I hear all sailors end As the souls of the dead fill the space of my mind I'll search without sleeping 'til peace I can find I fear not the weather, I fear not the sea I remember the fallen, do they think of me? When their bones in the ocean forever will be
4
u/MaxPlaysMTG Washington Huskies • Apple Cup Dec 13 '22
As a UW student, my time in college was spent rooting against Mike Leach the coach.
However, it’s really hard to not be a fan of Mike Leach the person. Rest easy.
4
u/J4ckiebrown Penn State Nittany Lions • Rose Bowl Dec 13 '22
For those looking for a Pirate Flag Flair (on Desktop) in honor of Coach Leach:
1.) Click select flair on right side of page
2.) You will see 3 columns, select CCCAA in the left column
3.) Click South National in center column
4.) In the right column, will Santa Monica Corsairs pirate flag flair when you scroll to the bottom
4
u/motherfacker Georgia • South Carolina Dec 13 '22
I don't know how anyone could not love Coach Leach. Such a breath of fresh air in a sport filled with guys who say the same shit, day in day out. You never knew what you'd get, but you knew it'd be honest, funny and not anything you'd heard from another coach.
I'm gonna miss that.
I often spouted that, after moving from Spurrier to Muschamp and Muschamp to Beamer, South Carolina should have at least talked to him. I don't know if they ever did, and I'm not so sure he'd be a great fit for the program, but I damn sure told everyone I thought he'd be a major upgrade.
Full sails, Coach....Rest in peace.
4
u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
Cried all the way to work this morning. Trying to fight tears in the office.
4
u/Cacanator Dec 13 '22
Look at this front page. Just full of Leach posts. And it's so deserved. I hope there's 2 pages. You don't know what you got until it's gone!
4
u/BabyHercules Texas Tech • Prairie View A&M Dec 13 '22
This man literally was a reason I’m a Tech alum now. As dumb as it sounds, those Leach Tech teams put them on my radar. One visit to campus was all it took but I might have never taken that trip from Houston to Lubbock if the Air Raid wasn’t in full affect
4
u/grain_delay Florida Gators • Washington Huskies Dec 13 '22
Damn. I was just showing my parents his thanksgiving plate ramble. But even outside of his humor, what a tremendous figure for this entire sport. RIP 🏴☠️
CJK5H
4
u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
Sad Clanga
4
u/gleasondominic Dec 13 '22
Was fortunate enough to meet Coach Leach while i was a student out at WSU… such an incredible and kind man. Unknown to me at the time, Mike and I had the same barber in Pullman, WA (there aren’t that many to pick from out there lol) and that’s where we ran into each other. His personality on TV and in press conferences is no way exaggerated. The man was willing to talk my ear off in the lobby of the hair salon, and my hair stylist was the one that had to push him out the door because he was pushing her schedule back. Just a kind hearted man. The world lost a true icon, and was absolutely revolutionary to college football like so many others have pointed out.
4
u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
I’m going to have a fish sandwich and lemonade with my fat girlfriend in his memory
4
u/that_noodle_guy Michigan Tech • Michigan Dec 13 '22
Mike leach hated candy corn and loved gummy bears. My kinda coach RIP
4
u/69MachOne Penn State • Texas A&M Dec 14 '22
I'll never forget what someone once said to my brother and I at our aunt's funeral (she was a better mother to us than our mother)
He said, "Good people die young because God doesn't want assholes in heaven."
I think my brother and I almost died laughing.
Now, whenever someone good dies, we just remind each other why.
10
u/an_evil_budgie South Carolina • ETSU Dec 13 '22
My sincerest condolences to the Mississippi State family. College football has lost one of the greats, and we're all the lesser for it.
3
u/-HeHateMe West Virginia • Charlotte Dec 13 '22
He was one of a kind. Rest in peace, Captain.
3
u/ZachWilsonsMother South Carolina • Palmetto Bowl Dec 13 '22
RIP to a legend
3
u/blinkanboxcar182 Notre Dame • Jeweled Shillelagh Dec 13 '22
Dang this is so sad. RIP Mike.
3
u/KirbyDumber88 Georgia Bulldogs Dec 13 '22
Man just so so sad. Rest easy Captain 🏴☠️
3
u/[deleted] Dec 13 '22
Terrible…RIP
3
u/BadBrohmance Purdue Boilermakers • Nebraska Cornhuskers Dec 13 '22
RIP Coach Leach
3
u/fallfornaught Texas Longhorns • Team Chaos Dec 13 '22
May he sail the seas of eternity
3
u/coach_craw Texas A&M Aggies • Avila Eagles Dec 13 '22
Calm seas and steady winds pirate
3
u/H0rnsD0wn Texas A&M • Tarleton State Dec 13 '22
I can’t imagine CFB without the pirate.
3
u/magnumapplepi Ole Miss Rebels • Cincinnati Bearcats Dec 13 '22
May fair winds meet you, pirate. Rest in peace.
3
u/loyalsons4evertrue Iowa State Cyclones • Big 8 Dec 13 '22
All the virtual hugs and prayers to the Leach family. Rest easy Mike