Chris Jans recalls following Mike Leach on Paul Finebaum Show, reflects on time together at Mississippi State

When Paul Finebaum took his SEC Network and ESPN Radio show to Mississippi State in October, Bulldogs football coach Mike Leach joined the program, as usual before a home game. Right after Leach wrapped up, new Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Chris Jans made his way up to the set — and he knew who he was following.

“My only interview that I’ve had with the famous Paul Finebaum was in Starkville on that fall day,” Jans told Finebaum Wednesday ahead of the SEC men’s basketball tournament. “I remember telling you before we went on air, ‘Hey, I’d rather not follow Coach Leach anymore. He’s a tough act to follow with how good of an interview he is and how funny he is,’ and we laughed and joked about it.”

Wednesday was Jans’ first appearance with Finebaum since Leach’s sudden death in December at age 61. He knew it, too, as he made his way to the desk.

“As I was walking up to the set [today], I said to myself, ‘Man, I wish I was following Coach Leach today,'” Jans said. “That’s all I thought about for the minute or two while we were waiting to speak.”

Chris Jans on Mike Leach: ‘What struck me the most about Coach was just his lack of ego’

Jans and Leach only worked together a few months after Jans arrived from New Mexico State. But in that time, they had many conversations — and Jans saw first-hand what kind of impact Leach had on the community.

Even from a personal standpoint, though, Jans said he saw the Mike Leach people talked so much about both before and after his passing. He was a kind-hearted person who enjoyed talking to people, and that’s why his impact reaches far and wide.

“Obviously, living in the Starkville community, it’s been dark for a long time,” Jans said ahead of Mississippi State’s SEC Tournament opener against Florida. “He touched so many people’s lives that the public doesn’t even know about. I didn’t get to be around him as long as I would’ve liked.

“But what struck me the most about Coach was just his lack of ego. Someone to have accomplished what he’s accomplished and had the reputation that he does, he just was an everyday guy and loved talking to anybody about anything. He certainly is being missed.”