Mike Leach - RIP

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]​

 

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

 

Tremendous read here by Andy Staples of The Athletic.

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

 

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

 

I’m glad Craig James is trending.

 

Thanks for sharing. Summed it up well.

 

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.

 

When was this requirement put in?

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

 

What a stupid requirement. You can be an incredible innovator that winds up changing the very way the game is played, but because you did it at schools without the most resources, you're not a Hall of Famer?

 

This is the best possible ending to an obit package that I think I've ever seen:

 

Several years ago, Washington State played at USC on a Saturday. Two days later, we went to a Mexican restaurant in Irvine for dinner and I swear Mike Leach was there. He was sitting not too far away. I brought up photos on my phone to compare.

I just wondered why would Mike Leach be in Irvine on Monday after playing USC on Saturday. Didn't he go back to Pullman with the team? He was with a woman. From the body language, obviously not a hookup, they appeared to just be friends.

I rarely approach celebrities in restaurants because I choose to honor their privacy. I did not talk with him that night. I remembered this when the current news came out.