Lincoln Riley posts tribute to mentor, late Mississippi State coach Mike Leach

Mike Leach, a larger-than-life figure in college football, died too young. At 61 years old, Leach died of complications from a massive heart attack. Since then, an outpouring of support for him has come from all corners of the college football world. That includes Lincoln Riley.

Lincoln Riley, who played quarterback at Texas Tech under Mike Leach and then got his start as a college coach under Leach, released a heartfelt tribute to his mentor on Twitter.

Coach-
You will certainly be missed, but your impact on so many will live on-

Thankful for every moment. You changed my life and so many others.

All of our prayers are with Sharon & the Leach family-

Rest In Peace my friend🙏 pic.twitter.com/C43e2MZvBB

— Lincoln Riley (@LincolnRiley) December 13, 2022

In the post, Lincoln Riley included a photo of himself with Mike Leach. It’s from their time together at Texas Tech, when Riley was a coach.

“Coach- You will certainly be missed, but your impact on so many will live on- Thankful for every moment. You changed my life and so many others. All of our prayers are with Sharon & the Leach family- Rest In Peace my friend,” Lincoln Riley wrote in his post.

There would be no Lincoln Riley without Mike Leach. He got his start in coaching thanks to Leach. He got his first chance to be an offensive coordinator thanks to another Mike Leach assistant, Ruffin McNeill. Today, elements of Leach’s influence are still clear in Riley’s offenses.

Paul Finebaum on Mike Leach

After the news broke of Mike Leach’s passing, Paul Finebaum appeared on Get Up and spoke about Leach, his life, and his career.

“I think he truly, Greeny, was one of the most brilliant innovators in the history of the game. 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,” Paul Finebaum said.

“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.”