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LOOK: Mississippi State honors Mike Leach aboard pirate ship before ReliaQuest Bowl

On3 imageby:Dan Morrison•01/02/23•

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Mike Leach
Wesley Hitt / Contributor PhotoG/Getty

Mississippi State has decided to honor late head coach Mike Leach in one of the most fitting ways possible, on a pirate ship.

Ahead of the ReliaQuest Bowl, which is played at Raymond James Stadium, the Bulldogs showed off their tribute to Mike Leach. A portrait of the coach, along with a flower arrangement was placed on the landmark pirate ship within the stadium. The captain is on deck.

You can look at the memorial, here:

“A fitting captain on deck,” Mississippi State tweeted with a Jolly Roger emoji.

Mike Leach was nicknamed the Pirate. His mantra, “Swing your sword,” became his calling card, telling people to do things their own way. Once you do things your own way, success will follow. That success clearly came for Leach, who revolutionized offenses and has one of the biggest coaching trees in the sport.

This is just the latest in a long line of tributes to Mike Leach that have sprung up since his death on December 12, 2022.

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Mississippi State plays Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

Lincoln Riley on how his staff rallied after Mike Leach’s death

USC head coach Lincoln Riley, and most of his staff, were mentored by Mike Leach. His death took a toll but is now a way for them to come together.

“It was a tough, emotional time for our staff. I mean, I think we took 15 different members down to Starkville for the memorial service there. You can obviously trace the roots of the majority of our staff back to Mike in one way or another,” Riley said.

“So, yeah, it’s been an emotional time getting to communicate with his family some. Certainly, getting down there to Starkville and seeing so many faces of the people that he impacted. So many of them that have become colleagues and lifelong friends, and it’s honestly a little crazy to think how much he’s impacted the game and probably more so just so many people and their families. So, yeah, it’s certainly been tough, but we’ve tried to all rally together.”