Longtime college football coach of Mississippi State Bulldogs, has passed away at the age of 61 years old. Leach’s family stated, “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.”
The school itself announced his death on Tuesday and said Leach died after complications from a heart condition. School president Mark E. Keenum said in a statement that, “Coach Mike Leach cast a tremendous shadow not just over Mississippi State University, but over the entire college football landscape, His innovative ‘Air Raid’ offense changed the game. Mike’s keen intellect and unvarnished candor made him one of the nation’s true coaching legends. His passing brings great sadness to our university, to the Southeastern Conference, and to all who loved college football. I will miss Mike’s profound curiosity, his honesty, and his wide-open approach to pursuing excellence in all things.”
Adding that, “Mike’s death also underscores the fragility and uncertainty of our lives. Three weeks ago, Mike and I were together in the locker room celebrating a hard-fought victory in Oxford. Mike Leach truly embraced life and lived in such a manner as to leave no regrets. That’s a worthy legacy. May God bless the Leach family during these days and hours. The prayers of the Bulldog family go with them.”
Leach started college head coaching at Texas Tech University in 2000 after he had served as assistant under Bob Stoops at Oklahoma in the 1990s. Also spending time in the American Football Association of Finland as a head coach. Leach was ultimately, 84-43 with Texas Tech and 5-4 in bowl games. Leach then took the job at Washington State and spent eight years with the team, leading them to an 11 win season in 2018, going 55-47 with the Cougars and 2-4 in bowl games.
Back in 2020, Leach moved to Mississippi State and an SEC that already had the sport’s top coaches. He went 4-7 in the covid impacted season but ended up with a win in the Armed Forces Bowl. He ended up going 7-6 in 2021 and 8-4 in 2022. He was getting ready for the ReliaQuest Bowl when the school announced his health issues.
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