No, Mike Leach, YOU'RE awesome! [Pirates Last Voyage]

[Satchel 6,982]

Is it true the Tech chancellor had armed guards stationed outside of his office once his firing of Leach broke?

[Guest]

now ask yourself the circumstances of  the suspension and the timing; and then  whether Tech was operating in good faith.

Those answers are painfully( or hilariously) obvious.  Mike Leach sinned by getting market value in his contract.  Those idiots had to show him he wasn't bigger than Tech Football.  Leach was, and we've paid a steep fucking price since then.

[hpslugga 4,097]

3 hours ago, slorch said:

now ask yourself the circumstances of  the suspension and the timing; and then  whether Tech was operating in good faith.

Those answers are painfully( or hilariously) obvious.  Mike Leach sinned by getting market value in his contract.  Those idiots had to show him he wasn't bigger than Tech Football.  Leach was, and we've paid a steep fucking price since then.

Honestly, at this point in history, I liken the Tech perspective on that whole matter to belief in the Easter Bunny.

”Daddy, Mike Leach locked a kid in an electrical room for 3 hours and his bosses said he had to apologize and he didn’t and he got suspended and he sued to get his job back for the bowl game then he got fired!!!”

”Sure sure, Timmy. Chocolate bunnies and colored eggs.”

[Hozz 1,035]

https://twitter.com/CBSSportsCFB/status/1691629484645011624?s=20

[runthebone 8,372]

Quote

“The way to pronounce prosciutto” — Mississippi State special teams coordinator Eric Mele

(Late head coach Mike Leach) would go off on a classic Mike Leach (aside) where he starts talking about something else in the middle of a game. Our Alamo Bowl game in 2018 (with Washington State). (Running back) Max Borghi scores a touchdown and we stretch the lead. Me and (Leach) always talked about the mafia, pizza and Italian stuff. So Borghi scores and then he clicks on and starts asking people, “So how would two Italian guys go celebrate tonight? Would we go get the Italian meats on the tray?” I’m like, “Hey, there’s still like eight minutes left in this game.” He always got a kick out of the way to pronounce prosciutto.

“You guys are idiots anyway” — Mele on a memorable conversation with Leach

We played USC in 2017. It was a prime-time game on a Friday night. It was tied up in the fourth quarter and this always happened, too. Anytime someone tried to argue a play call or tell (Leach) his play call was bad, he was going to call it anyway, and 99.9 percent of the time it worked. But he calls a shovel pass. There’s video out there of him throwing his hand out calling a shovel pass. It’s a tied game 20-20 and he says, “What do you think about shovel here?”

Two of our coaches on the line are like, “That’s terrible, that’s not going to work.” And he’s like, “Well, you guys are idiots anyway.” And he calls it, and sure enough we score a 20-something-yard touchdown on the shovel pass. After that game he ran with that in meetings for weeks and months. You never forget that one.

https://theathletic.com/4795230/2023/08/24/college-football-coaches-headset-stories/

[LTtxfan 49,986]

 

[LTtxfan 49,986]

Texas Tech Athletics: 2023 Hall of Honor (Mike Leach) | Sept. 29, 2023

[George 493]

He deserves it but fuck tech. 

[Braff Zacklin 13,676]

8 minutes ago, George said:

He deserves it but fuck tech. 

With apologies to our Tech posters (cuz they didn't have anything to do with it), I feel the same way.

Leach could be mouthy and obnoxious, and I'm sure he ruffled his share of feathers during his time in Lubbock, but he deserved better. His "for cause" firing was all about settling a score and saving some money.

Fuck Tech for that.

Edited September 30, 2023 by Braff Zacklin

[Tex Long 4,661]

48 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

With apologies to our Tech posters (cuz they didn't have anything to do with it), I feel the same way.

Leach could be mouthy and obnoxious, and I'm sure he ruffled his share of feathers during his time in Lubbock, but he deserved better. His "for cause" firing was all about settling a score and saving some money.

Fuck Tech for that.

You've left out "forever".

[bullet 1,630]

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38556301/stories-air-raid-offense-revolutionized-football

 

Really good (long) story on the Air Raid offense and its origination under Hal Mumme and Mike Leach.

"Long before the world knew Mike Leach or Dana Holgorsen or any of the other oddballs, eccentrics and revolutionaries of the Air Raid fraternity, Hal Mumme was a high school coach in Copperas Cove, Texas, with a problem....

 

He stopped by the football offices to congratulate Mumme on his new job he'd just landed at a small college, Iowa Wesleyan. By the time he left, Mumme had once again recruited him to play quarterback for a team that was similar to Sanders' Colorado experiment: IWU was coming off an 0-10 season and had just two players returning.

"We tried to have a team meeting after I got introduced at the press conference and they told me there were going to be 40 guys," Mumme said. "I walk in, there's two, and the three that I brought with me. I just gave 'em the same speech I was going to give 'em anyway about working hard in the offseason, and we're going to win games. One kid just got up and walked out. I guess he decided, 'This is bulls---, I'm not doing this.' So we had four."

Leach was one of only two applicants for Mumme's offensive coordinator job, and they quickly realized they were kindred spirits. It was a leap of faith: The high school coach took a $20,000 pay cut to try to prove himself in college again. The lawyer who could've made $200,000 a year instead was making $12,000, and the golfer took on student-loan debt to go to school in Iowa -- where none of them had ever been.

They went 7-4 the next year, then, by 1991, started tinkering and added the up-tempo element where they never huddled and ran plays at a frenetic pace. Opposing teams had never seen anything like it and had no idea how to stop it. In Dewald's accidental career, he threw for 12,045 yards, 115 TDs and set 25 NAIA records...."

 

[LTtxfan 49,986]

SWING YOUR SWORD’: One Year Ago Today, We Lost Mike Leach and His Memory Still Lives On... (Dec 12th, 2023  By: Trey Wallace)

NSIAP...

As the college football world still argues over the final playoff rankings, I’d sure love to hear what Mike Leach would have to say about it all. More than that, I’d just like to hear some of his postgame quotes once again. But the past is all we have to lean on, which is enough for me.

On this day, just one year ago, we lost one of the most charismatic coaches in football. Known for his quirky responses and history lessons on World War II, Leach was obviously one of a kind. But most importantly, Mike Leach was a man of the people, never afraid to share his opinion, even if it caused a ruckus.

It’s fitting that on the last night he was with us, he shared the evening with a number of reporters at his house for the holidays. The college football world lost its ‘Pirate’ and we’re still having trouble getting past the loss. Who knew that the former assistant coach under Hal Mumme would have such an impact on the business.

But after making his way up through the coaching tree, he found his calling at Texas Tech and it was as if he had launched himself to the moon. Besides what he did on the field, Leach’s long-winded answers on halloween treats or wedding advice stand-out the most when looking back on his life off the field.

The passion Leach had for history turned into a professor job at Washington State, where he would taught a class of young kids about the art of war. Remember when the former Texas Tech coach made an appearance on Friday Night Lights, where we heard his phrase ‘Swing Your Sword’?

 

Mike Leach Found His PlaceKicker After Halftime Contest

Let’s be honest, this might be one of the crazier moves Mike Leach made during his coaching tenure. After being picked from the student section to attempt a field goal at halftime, Matt Williams was just trying to win free rent for a year.

Leach needed a placekicker, and after seeing what Matt Williams did at halftime during a kicking contest, the Texas Tech head coach sent the equipment manager into the stands to get his information.

“He takes one step and puts it down the center of the goal post,” Leach pointed out. “That’s pressure, I figured it would be easy to kick extra points after that.”

Matt Williams would go on to finish the 2008 season with Texas Tech. He kicked for the Red Raiders in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

“Matt Williams – in his regular shoes, tennis shoes — one-steps it,” Mike Leach said in 2021. “It goes straight up and through – the type of thing where if you just had a center and a holder and nobody blocking the defenders on the line of scrimmage. You still would’ve made it because it went up right away.”

 

Leach Has Solid Advice Regarding Alyssa Lang’s Wedding

Mike Leach never shied away from a topic, including marriage. This was evident when ESPN’s Alyssa Lang was interviewing the former Mississippi State head coach following a 42-24 win over Texas A&M in Starkville.

Rather than go into all the specifics of how the game was won, Leach decided to give marriage advice to Lang, which will go down as one of the funnier moments of his career. In front of a national television audience after beating the Aggies, Leach told Alyssa Lang to just elope and get it over with.

“As soon as the season’s over or even in an off week, go elope,” Mike Leach noted. “Because basically every female in the family is going to terrorize you guys until it’s over. Once it’s over, they’ll be upset for a few days, but it’ll be over. Then you cruise along, have a happy marriage, have a happy life.”

Mike Leach Power-Ranking Pac-12 Mascots Fighting Skills

There wasn’t a topic that Mike Leach was afraid of talking about, including mascots. While head coach at Washington State, the Cougars head coach was asked about ranking Pac-12 mascots that would win in a fight, if it were to happen.

I think it’s safe to assume that his answer will live forever, given that the Pac-12 conference has now crumbled. While discussing the Arizona State Sun Devils, Leach made it clear that a Harry Potter fan would have the answers.

“You’d have to get one of those Harry Potter activists to read up on how you kill a Sun Devil, because there’s a lot of outside stuff there,” Leach said.

In terms of predicting the future, the former Washington State head coach was right about the Oregon Ducks, even if it took five years for the school to leave for the Big Ten.

“The Duck might lose interest and just fly away and get out of there,” Leach noted. “Which may be good advice under the circumstances.”

 

Greg Sankey Introduces Mike Leach At 2022 SEC Media Days

I’ll have to be bias on this one, because it came during such a monumental time. Unbeknown to anyone, this would be the final SEC Media Day for Mike Leach, in Atlanta before the 2022 season. The Mississippi State Bulldogs had Will Rogers at quarterback and Mike Leach prepared to use his signature Air-Raid offense.

As SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey took to the stage to introduce Mike Leach to the media, Sankey gave the best introduction for a head coach I’d seen to this day.

“He was the head football coach of a team in Finland, in the European Football League,” Sankey started out. “When he was at Washington State, he taught a five-week course on insurgent warfare and football strategy. This past spring at Mississippi State, he had several hundred Mississippi State students gather for a special guest lecture on the same topic.

“He’s an author of two books, provides I’ve been told, outstanding Netflix recommendations, although he’s never shared those with me. An expert on best BBQ in town. He’s also a world traveler — this year, Columbia and Panama, last year an African Safari. The head coach of Mississippi State University, Mike Leach.”

There won’t be another coach like Mike Leach, so quick to respond in the good times and bad times. He cared for folks, even if he didn’t publicly show it. A man known for his love of Key West, Florida and sipping drinks on a barstool somewhere near the water. If you wanted to find him during the off-season you knew where to look.

The ‘Pirate’ will always have a special place in the hearts of college football fans, coaches and administrators. Some good moments, some bad. But we can’t deny the man had an impact on us all, in some form or fashion.

If there’s one thing we should take away from the life of Mike Leach, it’s real simple.

“Swing Your Sword.”

 

 

RIP PIRATE !!! 🙏

 

[Braff Zacklin 13,676]

Love him or hate him (and I hope you loved him!), he was undeniably entertaining, and that's what the pro and college games are all about--entertainment.

[ChickenNuggets 1,661]

Perfect summation of golf...  and why he hated it.

 

 

[SDG 3,336]

Bump for a documentary some of you may enjoy.

 

[Frieda’s Boss 181]

Wazzu better wear these at some point
 

[DigglerontheHoof 21,548]

Leach at WSU during all this Pac12 breakup shit would've been gold. 

[Guest]

Not to mention the Tech trip to Pullman this September.  I'd be going if TSO was still there.

 

RIP Mike Leach.

[SDG 3,336]

YT recommended this one on the football philosophy.  

 

[NeverMarryAStripper 22,277]

No College Football Hall of Fame for the Pirate

https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/news/college-football-hall-of-fame-mike-leach-decision

To be eligible, a coach has to be a head coach for ten years, coach at least 100 games, and have at least a .600 winning percentage.  The Pirate's winning percentage was .596

Edited June 15 by NeverMarryAStripper

[MonkeyDoughnut 10,803]

12 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

No College Football Hall of Fame for the Pirate

https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/news/college-football-hall-of-fame-mike-leach-decision

To be eligible, a coach has to be a head coach for ten years, coach at least 100 games, and have at least a .600 winning percentage.  The Pirate's winning percentage was .596

Just another mark that shows many of the head people in college football don't get college football and what it's supposed to represent. This is a shame and I do think he eventually, rightfully will get in.

[msucolt45 4,227]

Compare the Pirate’s play sheet to the others seen each weekend.

Hook’em!!!

[Dennis Taylor 19,343]

[Vertigo 20,492]

I bet they make an exception for him, especially considering he never once coached for a school with any sort of history or resources, and was doing so against all the bluebloods. Plus, his impact on the game is impossible to overstate.

Edited June 15 by Vertigo

[MAUFRAIS 6,739]

How many UT forfeits would it take to get him there?

[SDG 3,336]

4 hours ago, MAUFRAIS said:

How many UT forfeits would it take to get him there?

He was literally one game away.  If he had coached their bowl win before passing away he would be above 60.0%.  That’s part of what makes this even more ridiculous.   

[Evil Bill Obrien 3,510]

9 hours ago, SDG said:

He was literally one game away.  If he had coached their bowl win before passing away he would be above 60.0%.  That’s part of what makes this even more ridiculous.   

Or if he had been allowed to coach Tech’s bowl game the year their administration (and Craig James (K5H)) ran him out of town on a rail….

 

bloods kinda on Tech tards hands for this grave injustice…

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11,669]

On 12/12/2023 at 10:49 AM, LTtxfan said:

SWING YOUR SWORD’: One Year Ago Today, We Lost Mike Leach and His Memory Still Lives On... (Dec 12th, 2023  By: Trey Wallace)

NSIAP...

As the college football world still argues over the final playoff rankings, I’d sure love to hear what Mike Leach would have to say about it all. More than that, I’d just like to hear some of his postgame quotes once again. But the past is all we have to lean on, which is enough for me.

On this day, just one year ago, we lost one of the most charismatic coaches in football. Known for his quirky responses and history lessons on World War II, Leach was obviously one of a kind. But most importantly, Mike Leach was a man of the people, never afraid to share his opinion, even if it caused a ruckus.

It’s fitting that on the last night he was with us, he shared the evening with a number of reporters at his house for the holidays. The college football world lost its ‘Pirate’ and we’re still having trouble getting past the loss. Who knew that the former assistant coach under Hal Mumme would have such an impact on the business.

But after making his way up through the coaching tree, he found his calling at Texas Tech and it was as if he had launched himself to the moon. Besides what he did on the field, Leach’s long-winded answers on halloween treats or wedding advice stand-out the most when looking back on his life off the field.

The passion Leach had for history turned into a professor job at Washington State, where he would taught a class of young kids about the art of war. Remember when the former Texas Tech coach made an appearance on Friday Night Lights, where we heard his phrase ‘Swing Your Sword’?

 

Mike Leach Found His PlaceKicker After Halftime Contest

Let’s be honest, this might be one of the crazier moves Mike Leach made during his coaching tenure. After being picked from the student section to attempt a field goal at halftime, Matt Williams was just trying to win free rent for a year.

Leach needed a placekicker, and after seeing what Matt Williams did at halftime during a kicking contest, the Texas Tech head coach sent the equipment manager into the stands to get his information.

“He takes one step and puts it down the center of the goal post,” Leach pointed out. “That’s pressure, I figured it would be easy to kick extra points after that.”

Matt Williams would go on to finish the 2008 season with Texas Tech. He kicked for the Red Raiders in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

“Matt Williams – in his regular shoes, tennis shoes — one-steps it,” Mike Leach said in 2021. “It goes straight up and through – the type of thing where if you just had a center and a holder and nobody blocking the defenders on the line of scrimmage. You still would’ve made it because it went up right away.”

 

Leach Has Solid Advice Regarding Alyssa Lang’s Wedding

Mike Leach never shied away from a topic, including marriage. This was evident when ESPN’s Alyssa Lang was interviewing the former Mississippi State head coach following a 42-24 win over Texas A&M in Starkville.

Rather than go into all the specifics of how the game was won, Leach decided to give marriage advice to Lang, which will go down as one of the funnier moments of his career. In front of a national television audience after beating the Aggies, Leach told Alyssa Lang to just elope and get it over with.

“As soon as the season’s over or even in an off week, go elope,” Mike Leach noted. “Because basically every female in the family is going to terrorize you guys until it’s over. Once it’s over, they’ll be upset for a few days, but it’ll be over. Then you cruise along, have a happy marriage, have a happy life.”

Mike Leach Power-Ranking Pac-12 Mascots Fighting Skills

There wasn’t a topic that Mike Leach was afraid of talking about, including mascots. While head coach at Washington State, the Cougars head coach was asked about ranking Pac-12 mascots that would win in a fight, if it were to happen.

I think it’s safe to assume that his answer will live forever, given that the Pac-12 conference has now crumbled. While discussing the Arizona State Sun Devils, Leach made it clear that a Harry Potter fan would have the answers.

“You’d have to get one of those Harry Potter activists to read up on how you kill a Sun Devil, because there’s a lot of outside stuff there,” Leach said.

In terms of predicting the future, the former Washington State head coach was right about the Oregon Ducks, even if it took five years for the school to leave for the Big Ten.

“The Duck might lose interest and just fly away and get out of there,” Leach noted. “Which may be good advice under the circumstances.”

 

Greg Sankey Introduces Mike Leach At 2022 SEC Media Days

I’ll have to be bias on this one, because it came during such a monumental time. Unbeknown to anyone, this would be the final SEC Media Day for Mike Leach, in Atlanta before the 2022 season. The Mississippi State Bulldogs had Will Rogers at quarterback and Mike Leach prepared to use his signature Air-Raid offense.

As SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey took to the stage to introduce Mike Leach to the media, Sankey gave the best introduction for a head coach I’d seen to this day.

“He was the head football coach of a team in Finland, in the European Football League,” Sankey started out. “When he was at Washington State, he taught a five-week course on insurgent warfare and football strategy. This past spring at Mississippi State, he had several hundred Mississippi State students gather for a special guest lecture on the same topic.

“He’s an author of two books, provides I’ve been told, outstanding Netflix recommendations, although he’s never shared those with me. An expert on best BBQ in town. He’s also a world traveler — this year, Columbia and Panama, last year an African Safari. The head coach of Mississippi State University, Mike Leach.”

There won’t be another coach like Mike Leach, so quick to respond in the good times and bad times. He cared for folks, even if he didn’t publicly show it. A man known for his love of Key West, Florida and sipping drinks on a barstool somewhere near the water. If you wanted to find him during the off-season you knew where to look.

The ‘Pirate’ will always have a special place in the hearts of college football fans, coaches and administrators. Some good moments, some bad. But we can’t deny the man had an impact on us all, in some form or fashion.

If there’s one thing we should take away from the life of Mike Leach, it’s real simple.

“Swing Your Sword.”

 

 

RIP PIRATE !!! 🙏

 

The comedic touch of “we’ll be keeping a close eye on it“ on the marriage one is hilarious.

[Dennis Taylor 19,343]

If aggy hadn't monopolized the Southland Conference out of conference scheduling ,Tech could have got a cupcake in there to get that extra W

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11,669]

Surely there is some game between WSU, TT, MSU where the non Leach team won.  Have that team forfeit it.  It’d be a fitting way for a tribute from one of the programs that should be honoring him. 

[Tex Long 4,661]

Arbitrary bullshit is arbitrary.

I swing my sword and celebrate the Pirate.

[Texas Jeff 1,999]

10 hours ago, BehoId, The Underminer! said:

Surely there is some game between WSU, TT, MSU where the non Leach team won.  Have that team forfeit it.  It’d be a fitting way for a tribute from one of the programs that should be honoring him. 

I looked it up:

WSU and TT haven't played since 1982.  WSU and MSU last played in 1977.  TT and MSU last played in 2021, and before that their last meeting was in 1970.

So you have to hang your hat on the 2021 Liberty Bowl.  Tech won 34-7 with Leach on the other sideline.

They should just give Leach credit for the bowl game after his death.  It was his team and he should get credit if he is so close to qualifying otherwise.

[Funk Doctor Spock 13,277]

For the pirate. Rest in peace, you magnificent man. 

[MAUFRAIS 6,739]

I looked it up:

WSU and TT haven't played since 1982.  WSU and MSU last played in 1977.  TT and MSU last played in 2021, and before that their last meeting was in 1970.
So you have to hang your hat on the 2021 Liberty Bowl.  Tech won 34-7 with Leach on the other sideline.
They should just give Leach credit for the bowl game after his death.  It was his team and he should get credit if he is so close to qualifying otherwise.

That’s perfect. Tech should forfeit that game, send his widow a check for whatever they owed him, and then close down their dumb school.