Mississippi State releases touching Mike Leach tribute on one-year anniversary of his death

On December 12th, 2022, the college football world suddenly lost Mike Leach. A legendary figure in the sport, Leach left his mark on everyone he came in contact with.

Now, on the one-year anniversary of his death, Leach’s final team, Mississippi State, released a touching video tribute to Leach on social media. In that video, Leach is shown speaking to the team, interacting with fans and media, as well as coaching the team.

You can watch that tribute, here:

A year ago we lost too soon a college football icon, a coaching legend, and an even better person.

Rest in peace, Coach Leach 🏴‍☠️ pic.twitter.com/ZctqbuodC3

— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) December 12, 2023

“A year ago we lost too soon a college football icon, a coaching legend, and an even better person,” the caption reads. “Rest in peace, Coach Leach”

Prior to becoming the head coach at Mississippi State, Mike Leach was the head coach at Washington State and Texas Tech. He was famous for the Air Raid offense and the long list of current head coaches who were assistants for him throughout the years. On top of that, his dry, funny, and curious personality made him one of the sport’s most unique figures.

Mike Leach ended his career with a career record of 158-107. He also had seven seasons where his teams finished in the top 25. At every stop, Leach coached teams that traditionally struggled to compete at the top of their respective conferences, but found a way to do so under him anyway.

Immediately following his death, tributes to ‘The Pirate’ sprung up all around college football. However, none were more notable than those of his own team, the Mississippi State Bulldogs. That included wearing a pirate flag logo, waiving a Mike Leach flag at their bowl, and setting up a sideline tribute for this past season.

Mike Leach died at the age of 61 due to a heart attack.

Deion Sanders recalls call with Mike Leach to understand Air Raid offense

Early in the 2023 season, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders recalled a phone call he had with Mike Leach when he was trying to understand the Air Raid.

“I called several persons. Honestly, I think my initial call, I’m going blank, my initial call was to Mike Leach, was to Coach Leach. That’s what I was trying to grasp his name. Coach Leach, God bless him, that’s who I called initially because he’s it. He’s it,” Sanders said.

“So, that’s pretty much how we did it, and I interviewed several persons and that’s how I met Brett, through that, but definitely because I knew had a stout defense led by Dennis Thurman and we wanted to put up more points. So, I wanted to know the intricate details of that offense.”