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LOOK: Missouri football honors Mike Leach with special helmet decal

20200517_134556by:Justin Rudolph•12/23/22
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GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 08: during a game between the Florida Gators and the Missouri Tigers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on October 08, 2022 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

The Missouri Tigers will honor Mississippi State’s late coach Mike Leach in their Gasparilla Bowl matchup against Wake Forest on Friday. The game will take place on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ home field in Raymond James Stadium; a place fitting for the Bulldogs’ former headman, who was also known as the pirate. To pay their respects and honor Leach, Missouri, will wear a decal on the back of their helmet down the middle of the stripe. And that decal can be seen in the image below.

Missouri enters the bowl game with a 6-6 record after winning their last two games of the regular season to qualify for the college football postseason. The Tigers were able to secure a victory over New Mexico State, followed by a close victory over rival Arkansas 29-26. And in the Gasparilla Bowl, they will take on a Wake Forest team that went 7-5 and 3-5 in their conference.

The Demon Deacons started off the season strong with a 6-1 record, barely losing to Clemson and double overtime. But since then, Wake Forest has struggled to find any traction late in the season, dropping four of their last five games, including a loss to the Duke Blue Devils in their final game of the season.

The Tigers join a list of other programs across the country honoring Mississippi State’s longtime head coach. Leach was a widely respected and appreciated offensive mind in college football. He is also known as the father of the air raid offense. Missouri’s gesture amplifies just how much Leach meant to the game of college football.

Dana Holgorsen, Houston staff to wear Mississippi State sweatshirts for Mike Leach

When Houston takes the field for the Independence Bowl, several coaches will wear black sweatshirts that say, “State,” as a way of honoring Mike Leach. Among those coaches are head coach Dana Holgorsen, Brandon Jones, and Shannon Dawson. The Houston Chronicle’s Joseph Duarte first reported the news.

Mike Leach, who died earlier in December due to complications relating to a heart condition, was known for wearing the same black sweatshirt that said, “State” on it during his time with Mississippi State.

For his part, Dana Holgorsen was a Mike Leach disciple. He played for leach at Iowa Wesleyan and later coached under him at Texas Tech. After going their own way, the two remained close, with Leach acting as a mentor to Holgorsen.

When Mike Leach died, Dana Holgorsen took to Twitter to give some thoughts on the Pirate.

“Mike Leach was more than an incredible, innovative, impactful, successful, popular football coach,” Dana Holgorsen tweeted. “He was all that as a husband to Sharon and a father to Janeen, Kimberly, Cody & Kiersten! Brilliant, thoughtful, kind man who taught me so much in so many different ways. RIP Coach!”