Mississippi State coach Leach dies at age 61

Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach passed away Monday night after problems related to a heart condition, the school revealed. He was 61.

Leach’s family stated, in a declaration released Tuesday by the school, that Leach participated in organ contribution at the University of Mississippi Medical Center as “a final act of charity.”

“We are supported and uplifted by the outpouring of love and prayers from household, buddies, Mississippi State University, the healthcare facility personnel, and football fans worldwide,” Leach’s household stated. “Thank you for sharing in the happiness of our cherished other half and father’s life.”

Leach suffered what the university at first explained in a news release as a “individual health issue” at his home in Starkville on Sunday, which needed him to be airlifted to the UMMC in Jackson, about 125 miles from Mississippi State.Leach, in his

3rd season as Mississippi State’s coach, had actually informed ESPN after the routine season concluded that he struggled with pneumonia during the season but was feeling much better. He was at practice Saturday before suffering his health problem on Sunday.

“Coach Mike Leach cast a significant shadow not simply over Mississippi State University, but over the entire college football landscape,” university president Mark E. Keenum stated in a statement. “His innovative ‘Air Raid’ offense altered the game. Mike’s keen intellect and unvarnished sincerity made him one of the country’s true coaching legends. His passing brings terrific unhappiness to our university, to the Southeastern Conference, and to all who loved college football. I will miss Mike’s profound interest, his honesty, and his wide-open method to pursuing quality in all things.

“Mike’s death also highlights the fragility and unpredictability of our lives. 3 weeks ago, Mike and I were together in the locker room celebrating a hard-fought success in Oxford. Mike Leach genuinely welcomed life and lived in such a way as to leave no remorses. That’s a deserving tradition. May God bless the Leach family during these days and hours. The prayers of the Bulldog family go with them.”

Leach was in his third head-coaching stint, with a 19-17 record for the Bulldogs, 8-4 this season. He was at Texas Tech from 2000 to ’09 and Washington State from 2012 to ’19. He was the AFCA nationwide coach of the year in 2018 at Washington State.

“We are sad and ravaged by the passing of Mike Leach,” Mississippi State interim athletic director Bracky Brett stated in a declaration. “College football lost one of its most precious figures today, but his legacy will last permanently. Mike’s energetic character, influential existence and amazing leadership touched millions of professional athletes, students, coaches, fans, family and friends for decades.

“Mike was an innovator, pioneer and visionary. He was a college football icon, a training legend but an even much better individual. We are all much better for having known Mike Leach. The ideas and prayers of Mississippi State University and the entire Bulldog household are with his wife Sharon, his children and the whole Leach family.”

Understood for his respected Air Raid offenses, Leach was 158-107 in his 21 seasons as a head coach. He was also known for his quirky character, dry wit and penchant for talking about history, service and politics (and, truly, just about anything else) as conveniently as he did quarterbacks making the ideal checks out and receivers running the ideal routes.Nicknamed the”Pirate,

” Leach had an affinity for pirates and even had a life-sized statue of a singing pirate in his workplace when he was at Washington State. It was a gift from Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Knight, who was the basketball coach at Texas Tech when Leach was in Lubbock as football coach.Never one to shy away from opining on any subject, Leach once quipped, “I miss out on streakers, “after a fan ran onto the field and dropped his trousers following a touchdown in Washington State’s 24-21 win over Stanford in 2017. And after Donald Trump won the governmental election in 2016, Leach congratulated Trump by means of text and offered to be Trump’s “Secretary of Offense.”

Leach had many interests. He was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed to take a trip, particularly to his favorite spot in Secret West, Florida. He finished in the upper 25% of his class with a law degree from Pepperdine University and coauthored a book on Geronimo and the Apache leader’s approach to leadership. After maturing mostly in Cody, Wyoming, Leach made his bachelor’s degree from BYU, where he played rugby. He didn’t play football in college but carefully studied Hall of Popularity BYU coach LaVell Edwards and his offense.After getting his

law degree in 1986, Leach started his football training profession at Cal Poly in 1987, then joined Hal Mumme’s staff at Iowa Wesleyan in 1989. Mumme, the developer of the Air Raid offense that made Leach a superstar in training, stated Leach deserved a lot of credit for turning the scheme into a trademark name. Leach worked for Mumme as offensive line coach at Iowa Wesleyan and likewise served as a de facto publicist, sending out news releases to national newspapers about the team’s high-flying exploits.”When you say,’Air Raid,’he was the person who

developed the name,” Mumme informed ESPN in a current interview.” He came up with the name so that we would be able to publicize it, and it’s most likely fitting considering that he’s been the man who took it the furthest.”Leach followed Mumme to Valdosta State and Kentucky

, where quarterback Tim Sofa blossomed and became the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL draft. Leach invested the 1999 season as Oklahoma’s offensive planner, significantly enhancing the Sooners’offense under coach Bob Stoops, before landing his very first head-coaching job at Texas Tech in 2000. Leach developed record-setting offenses at Texas Tech and quarterbacks such as Kliff

Kingsbury and Graham Harrell. The Red Raiders went 11-2 in 2008 and finished in the AP Top 25 in five of Leach’s final 6 seasons as coach.He coached 10 seasons at Texas Tech prior to being fired on Dec. 30, 2009. A former player, Adam James, accused Leach of mistreating him after he suffered a concussion. Leach was suspended on Dec. 28, 2009, and then fired for what the university termed a”defiant act of insubordination.” He took legal action against the university for wrongful termination, and he lost a quote for financial damages because of a legal technicality but has continued to battle to get records relating to his dismissal.Washington State had suffered through eight straight non-winning seasons when Leach arrived on the Palouse in 2012. But he led the Cougars to a bowl game in his second season and, from 2015-18, won at least 8 games every season, including 11 in 2018. “Mike is a man who’s remained in the spotlight for 15 or 20 years, in the Huge 12, the Pac-12, the SEC,”Mumme stated in a current interview with ESPN.

“So he’s the person who everyone has actually looked to. He’s won football games at places you’re not expected to win. “Leach is endured by his better half, Sharon; kids Janeen, Kim, Cody and Kiersten; and three grandchildren.Keenum and Brett had placed defensive planner Zach Arnett in charge

of the football program when Leach was hospitalized. The Bulldogs are set to deal with Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 2. ESPN’s Chris Low, Adam Rittenberg, Dave Wilson and The Associated Press added to this report.