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Mississippi State Football: A Tribute to the Pirate

By Landon Young

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS - NOVEMBER 6: Head Coach Sam Pittman of the Arkansas Razorbacks talks on the field before the game with Head Coach Mike Leach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Donald W. Reynolds Stadium on November 6, 2021 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Bulldogs 31-28. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS - NOVEMBER 6: Head Coach Sam Pittman of the Arkansas Razorbacks talks on the field before the game with Head Coach Mike Leach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Donald W. Reynolds Stadium on November 6, 2021 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Bulldogs 31-28. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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Mississippi State Football Head coach, Mike Leach, dies at 61 due to heart complications.

Head Coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Mike Leach, has passed away.

First, we at Maroon and White Nation want the Leach family to know that our thoughts and prayers are with them. Sharon, Cody, Kiersten, Kim, and Janeen Leach, we are praying for your family during this difficult season.

As I type this, I am wiping away tears from my Macbook’s keyboard and crying over a death of a man that I never personally met. That itself should tell you the type of man Mike Leach was to this world. His impact goes beyond his personal relationships. He has placed his fingerprint on those he was close to, the Texas Tech family, the Washington State family, and lastly, the Mississippi State family.

Days like today are far from easy, but as the book of Ecclesiastes states, “there is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…” Mike Leach taught us how to laugh and even how to dance, and today we weep and mourn over a man who lived his life to the fullest.

I want to end my tribute to Coach Mike Leach by telling you a story from a young boy. The year was 2008. Texas Tech head coach, Mike Leach, was down 33-32 with less than 10 seconds on the clock. Mike Leach called, of course, a passing play to Michael Crabtree that led the Red Raiders to upset No. 1 Texas with 1 second left on the game clock.

I remember where I was that day. I’ll never forget sitting on the couch with my pops in Terry, Mississippi watching a Mike Leach-coached Texas Tech team beat a No. 1 Texas team at the last second when Michael Crabtree turned the sideline to score. We watched in amazement and my dad explained to me how the “Air Raid” worked. Wow. Looking back at me, that was a 12-year-old kid learning about a legend … a college football legend … from his pops.

This a tribute to the Pirate himself. Coach Leach, you had an impact on me and the college football world. Thank you for everything. Rest in peace.

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