Remembering Mike Leach one year later: Bigfoot, leprechauns and John Wooden

Gary O’Hagan served as Mike Leach’s agent for decades. On the first anniversary of Leach’s passing, Gary wanted to share some more memories to ensure we never forget a coach who changed the way offensive football was played at all levels — and who never gave up searching for Bigfoot.

By Gary O’Hagan

I landed in Amarillo on Sept. 29, 2023 and headed south on Interstate 27 toward Lubbock. I had not been in Lubbock since Mike left 14 years ago.

I was meeting Sharon Leach and family at the Texas Tech Hall of Honor dinner. Mike was being honored along with several outstanding contributors to Texas Tech athletics, including one of the early Air Raid pilots, Kliff Kingsbury. I had conflicting emotions as I neared Lubbock. Missing Mike has been a strong and prevalent feeling since last December.

I had forgotten that Lubbock was first and foremost the home of Buddy Holly, the pioneering rock and roll performer who positively influenced some of the greatest musical artists of all time: Elvis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Elton John to name a few. His breakout song, “That’ll be the Day” was the No. 1 most popular song in the world for a time. Like Mike, Buddy Holly passed too young.

As I was sitting in the ceremonial ballroom thinking about Mike, I reflected on Buddy Holly and another song which rings in my ear occasionally, Don McLean’s 1972 No. 1 hit, “American Pie”. McLean memorialized Buddy Holly’s passing with his iconic line as “the day the music died”.

Being with Mike was always interesting and often hilarious fun. He was extraordinarily curious and wanted to believe that anything was possible. Which is not exactly the same as believing nothing is impossible! For example, he regularly asked me if I had changed my mind about the existence of Bigfoot.  He knew I was a “non-believer,” but he wanted to believe Bigfoot could exist. He was hoping I had changed my mind. I wasn’t going to change his.

The summer before last, we had arranged for the production of a TV series to be hosted by Mike, which would highlight unique sporting activities in countries around the world. Mike loved to travel and experience different cultures firsthand.  In Ireland, believing in legends, tall tales, leprechauns, and fairies is as essential to everyday life as breathing fresh air.  What better place to immerse Mike, the guy who wanted to believe anything was possible? I had taken a photo of a roadside sign in Killarney National Park, Ireland and sent it to Mike. It was yellow with green letters in the shape of a directional arrow and said, “Leprechaun Crossing” — like a “Deer Crossing” sign you’d see in the U.S.  Mike called me immediately and asked if we could look for leprechauns as part of the show. I told Mike the sign was a way for the Irish to humor the tourists going through the park. I then told him leprechauns are not real.  He backed up a bit and said, “OK, but can we go see where leprechauns would live if they were real?” I knew what he meant, he wanted to see how and where the myth could have formed. I said, “Sure.”

Need we wonder why the teams Mike coached were so entertaining? Like UCLA’s great basketball teams under John Wooden, particularly the 1964 and 1965 teams, Mike’s teams were undersized, quick, had great endurance and were fundamentally sound. They would often fall behind early then would begin to wear down their opponents and go on explosive 15 to 20 point runs and win going away. I arranged an afternoon meeting between Mike and Coach Wooden at the Wizard’s apartment. An amazing discussion ensued, starting with coach Wooden, who was 96 at the time, explaining in detail the path he took in defining true success, and ended as a discussion of authors Longfellow, Frost, Melville, and Alfred Lord Tennyson, as well as favorite historical figures Abraham Lincoln, Blackbeard, and Geronimo.

We all miss Mike. I pledge that the day he passed was not “the day the music died.” The Pirate has countless pupils, followers, true believers like him who root for their teams through rain, sleet, snow, and better NIL rosters.  Instead, let the legend grow and the stories fill our souls. Mike famously told his team after a big upset win: “Don’t be afraid of hard. Hard is much more fun. Never hope for easy.”

Who could possibly say it better than The Pirate? May his legacy live on forever.