SAN ANTONIO — From 2002 to 2004, yours truly had the opportunity to host the television show "Red Raider Sports with Mike Leach."
Whether it was talking football, or countless other things, Leach was fascinating. National college football writer Brett McMurphy called Leach a "national treasure" this week, and I think that’s right. From pirates to wedding advice to candy to Bigfoot, he had thoughts on everything, along with some football in between.
His spread offense, designed with Hal Mumme, essentially forever changed the way NCAA football would be played. His offensive scheme was never going to win national championships, and it never did, but man was it exciting—and stressful for opposing defensive coordinators.
It’s hard to believe that Coach Leach is gone at 61 years of age. Gone too soon. We continue to offer our condolences and prayers to the family.
Below are some of my memories of working with The Pirate. Part of remembering is recounting some of what people loved about the college football coach. Enjoy.
Arriving at Texas Tech
I swear to goodness this is a true story.
The day Leach flew into Lubbock for his hiring news conference, we were told he stepped off the corporate jet in jeans and a polo. That would not surprise me one bit.
Realizing this wouldn’t, shouldn’t or couldn’t be the look, Texas Tech brass rushed him to a nearby high-end clothing store to piece together a suit before meeting with reporters. Could you imagine the look among Lubbock’s elite and Texas Tech’s athletic administration welcoming their new head coach to the podium in blue jeans and an OU Sooners polo? And I’d bet you that was the only suit Leach owned during his TTU tenure. That was Coach Leach.
There was almost nothing better than attending a weekly Monday TTU football news conference and watching Coach Leach handle his hot coffee. Standing at the podium taking questions from the assembled media, he would listen carefully to the question being asked while constantly blowing on his cup of hot java, with the goal of cooling it off while never taking a drink.
Seriously. He would get close to sipping away, but then football thoughts would take over. He would have to answer the question, and then the next question would commence to being asked, so he was forced to resort back to blowing on his coffee while, once again, taking in the full context of the question being asked.
I always wondered how much of that coffee he ever got to drink.
Then there was the time he got upset at the Dallas Morning News for something they’d printed. He he punished, in his own way, the Lubbock-based DMN writer. I remember one instance in particular where the writer, who is really great at what he does, asking a fair question. Leach listened – intently as always, blowing on his hot coffee attempting to cool if off – and looking right at the reporter as he asking his question only to respond: "Next question." That was Coach Leach.
Close encounters
The Red Raiders opened their 2002 season at Ohio State. That was Maurice Clarett’s first game. Remember him? Tech lost that game (mostly courtesy of him), 45-21. The flight back to west Texas was relatively quiet, as you might imagine.
I’ll never forget exiting the charter flight and boarding the bus to drive us to the parking lot. The crowd was large between the team, university officials and family. We all herded onto the buses and somehow, someway still unknown to me to this day, I wound up next to... guess who. I was staring at the floor in the face of defeat (it seemed like the proper move at the time), but then casually glanced up to look around and immediately to my left was Coach Leach. It was one of those standup buses where you grab onto the side or railing above you and hope the drive is smooth.
I looked up and was like, "Oh my God, why am I standing next to the head coach of the football team? The mass of people loading buses actually worked out like that? Me, of all people? They just lost by three and a half touchdowns. I don’t wanna be standing here right now at all." I was a frightened 30-year-old just trying to get to my car and get home.
I recall the look on his face being one of, "What the hell just happened to my football team?" He really was just staring off into blank space, but you could also tell he was reliving what the Buckeyes had just done to him and his team. That was Coach Leach.
The Monday or Tuesday after TTU lost to Ohio State to open that 2002 season, they were practicing for their road game at SMU. We were at the practice field to do that week's show interview. They had two weeks in between the game at Ohio State and the game in Dallas, so it wouldn’t be our standard show interview immediately after the game, which is what he preferred to do.
This was at the very beginning of practice. Players and coaches were still making their way to the practice field from Jones Stadium. Coach Leach was walking toward us when something distracted him. It was a running back who was, by my estimation in the moment, goofing around with teammates. Practice hadn’t officially started as people were still making their way to the field, but nonetheless Coach Leach didn’t take kindly to the RB’s antics.
He walked 10 or 15 yards away from us, toward the player, and unleashed a colorful monologue that lasted 30 or so seconds. In that time, I looked at the show producer and photographer and said, "Is this the best time to do this?" You might say I was suddenly concerned. My crew didn’t have any supportive response other than to have the same look of fear as myself.
Coach eventually walked over, arriving to the interview spot. He was breathing, not just heavily, but intently and deeply. I didn’t know what to do except start the interview, and we did, and we made it through. Credit to Coach Leach for doing his best to flush his system and smile, sort of, for the TV camera. That was Coach Leach.
A rant for the ages
Coach Leach always got a kick out of me quickly putting on makeup for the show interview, and/or checking my face and hair in the compact case mirror. He’d laugh under his breath, and sometimes stare at me as if there was something wrong with me. He eventually began to mimic me and other media members upon the interview podium with his own rendition of us putting on makeup. It was funny. Wish we had video clips of that. He got the biggest, and strangest, kick out of men putting on powder. That was Coach Leach.
Remember the famous, or rather infamous, 2007 rant by Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy that day in Stillwater? The Cowboys had won an absolute shootout over Tech, 49-45, before Gundy’s rant. For all that was (and it was a lot) the postgame news conference opposite his was almost just as good. Google "Mike Leach rant Stillwater Oklahoma" and you might get a good laugh. There’s a news clip from KOCO ABC Oklahoma City. That was Coach Leach.
Moonlighting in law
Did you know Mike Leach was a lawyer? I was in the news conference house the day he went after another journalist for divulging to an insider website in Kentucky that Leach might eventually be out at Texas Tech. The coach did not back down. It was really uncomfortable. That press room felt like it was literally shrinking. The journalist tried to stand his ground, too, but unsuccessfully I’d say. He backed off, and looked rather abstractly small when things were said and done. Mike Leach knew the law, and made his point right to the point. That was Coach Leach.
In 2003 Tech played back-to-back road games at North Carolina State and Ole Miss. Both programs had future NFL Hall of Fame quarterbacks under center, Phillip Rivers and Eli Manning (at least I’d guess both will someday be enshrined in Canton). Anyway, after the Ole Miss game – which by the way is one of the greatest college football games that nobody ever saw because it wasn’t on television – I asked him during the show interview why it was important to play those kinds of games outside of the Big12.
He didn’t say anything. He just shook his head no, as in: "I’m not going to answer." That was a strange moment. I’m not sure why he didn’t wanna answer, but he didn’t. I quickly, and awkwardly, moved on. That was Coach Leach.
The last game I covered with him as the TTU head coach was the 2004 Holiday Bowl, where they beat the Cal Bears, 45-31, with that guy named Aaron Rodgers playing QB for the Bears. The Tech offense was led by Sonny Cumbie, who outdueled Rodgers that day. They won many more games after that season, but for me, it was a prime opportunity to show how good his "Air Raid" offense could be going out to southern California and handing the Golden Bears a double-digit bowl loss.
His preparation had been intense that week. Texas Tech, other than SeaWorld the first day, didn’t participate in any of the bowl activities that weren’t required. He was focused. He wanted that one. He admitted after the game that he slept in until 10 a.m. on gameday after the full week of preparation. Don’t hold that against him. They finished off their 8-4 regular season in perfect fashion.
I last saw Coach Leach some years ago during his book tour, at the San Antonio signing event. It was great to see him, and before the interview he asked me two things. Did I still wear makeup? Was I married yet? The answers were still no and yes. That was Coach Leach.
RIP, Coach. You’re already missed.
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