Former Washington State quarterback Drew Bledsoe remembers Mike Leach

Mike Leach meant a lot to different people around the football world, both at the college and NFL level. While the two may have not directly crossed paths during their careers, Drew Bledsoe had a connection to Leach due to Washington State. Bledsoe played his college ball there before coming back to support the Cougars while Leach was the head coach.

On Thursday, Bledsoe took some time to remember Leach. He spoke highly of the job done at Washington State and called Leach interviews “must-see TV.” Even a year and a half after his passing, Leach is one people remember.

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“Such a character,” Bledsoe said on the Walking ‘Strong podcast with On3’s Billy Embody. “His interviews were must-see TV. He would take them off tangents, talking about Bigfoot or weddings, all of those things. He was good for the game in general. He was certainly good for Washington State and they had some success with him there. Very, very sad to see him pass away so early. He was one of the all-time characters in college football.”

Leach was Washington State’s headman for eight seasons, joining the Cougars after taking a few years off from coaching. While the first three seasons resulted in losing records, the wins began to stack up in 2015. Wazzu earned four consecutive winning records, something the program had not accomplished since its days in the Pacific Coast Conference.

The peak came in 2018 when Leach was able to bring Washington State 11 wins for the first time in its history. Ten came in the regular season before taking down Iowa State in the Alamo Bowl. Had it not been for an Apple Cup loss against Washington, the Cougars would have made the Pac-12 title game, and potentially had a shot in the College Football Playoff.

Bledsoe did have a personal interest in those days in Pullman. His son, John, walked onto the team in 2017 and spent three seasons with the team, all under Leach’s watch. John Bledsoe did not appear in any games for the Cougars, though, after throwing for nearly 7,000 yards during his high school career.

Leach had an impact on so many during his coaching days, especially at Washington State. His personality is certainly missed in Pullman and his countless other stops in college football.