Paul Finebaum shares thoughts, memories of late Mississippi State coach Mike Leach

The college football world lost an icon Monday night when Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach passed away at age 61 after suffering a reported heart attack over the weekend. The tributes poured in almost immediately after MSU announced the news Tuesday morning, and Paul Finebaum was among the first to pay tribute to him on “Get Up.”

Finebaum joined Mike Greenberg to pay tribute to Leach, the former Texas Tech and Washington State head coach known for installing the “Air Raid” offense. His impact goes beyond the field, though, considering the coaches he helped mentor during his career.

“I think he truly, Greeny, was one of the most brilliant innovators in the history of the game,” Finebaum said. “You alluded to some of the names that he helped produce, it’s an endless stream, including Lincoln Riley, who has produced three of the last six Heisman Trophy winners. The imprint of his offense is seen not only in college football, but obviously in the NFL. He had such an interesting career, becoming the No. 1 team in the country at Texas Tech and then, he left there and did it again at Washington State with great teams.

“It was a surprising decision a few years ago when he decided to leave Pullman to go to Starkville, but he put together an outstanding team there in his final game on Thanksgiving night in the Egg Bowl — perhaps his biggest win at Mississippi State, upsetting Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss. It was the quarterback that he produced, the talent in the coaching world that he shepherded and mentored that he will be remembered for. It’s a shocking loss. … He was at practice on Saturday. He went to a Christmas party, Greeny, on Saturday night, surprising some media members. Then, Sunday morning, of course, he suffered a massive heart attack.”

Paul Finebaum: Mike Leach was ‘the smartest coach I’ve ever been around’

Finebaum and Leach had a long history. The two did work together for Sirius XM while Leach was out of coaching, and that allowed them to build quite a bond. Their connection continued as Leach headed back to the sidelines.

In fact, Finebaum — who’s talked with numerous coaches over his career — put Leach in a category of his own both as a person and as a coach.

“The smartest coach I’ve ever been around,” Finebaum said. “And I got to know him primarily, originally, when he was out of coaching. We worked together on satellite radio, and he had a show every afternoon that he did from Key West. Greeny, he did not play college football and he had a law degree. It was the most irreverent combination that we may have ever seen before.

“You never knew what you were getting with him, and that’s not an overstatement. He was quirky, he was irreverent, he was funny. He seemed sometimes bored talking about college football. Whenever we would interview him, you just didn’t know where it was going to go. He was a joy to know. It will be said many times today, but the college football world is in absolute shock. He’s one of the truly irreplaceable figures in the history of the game.”