The Pirate of Pullman: An Ode to Mike Leach

by Andrew Koontz

College football is a sport replete with great characters, but none are better than Washington State head coach Mike Leach. Leach is unlike any coach in the history of college football. The man stopped playing football after his junior year of high school. He has a law degree from Pepperdine University. He took his wife to A&W for their first date and paid entirely in coupons. He has written books about pirates as well as the Apache leader Geronimo. At face value, Mike Leach shouldn’t be a Power Five conference football coach; he should be a tax attorney. That’s what makes Leach so unique. The man has carved his own path through the jungle that is college football.

Image from USA Today

Steve Spurrier may have been the first coach to bring a pass happy offense to the SEC, but it was Mike Leach who brought the spread offense into its own while serving as the Offensive Coordinator at the University of Kentucky. Leach was choosing to throw the ball 50-70 times a game during a time period in which the inside running game dominated the SEC. But the SEC isn’t even the best conference to take notice of Leach’s contributions to college football. In the early 2000’s, Texas Tech tore apart the Big 12 through Leach’s Air Raid offense. Nowadays, every team in the Big 12 runs some sort of Air Raid, and most teams have at least one former Leach disciple on staff. Leach doesn’t even coach in the Big 12 anymore (Thanks a lot, Craig James), and he is easily still the most influential person in the entire conference. His contributions to offensive football are so immense, the number “6” has taken on a whole new meaning in the Big 12.

Image from USA Today

One of the most impressive things about Mike Leach is where he has managed to succeed. Lubbock, Texas and Pullman, Washington are not hotbeds of college football. There are no winning traditions or world class facilities. The key to Mike Leach’s success has been an uncompromising attitude to coach football and recruit athletes his own way. He gives his quarterbacks more autonomy than any coach in the nation. He is prone to long and rambling press conferences where topics such as the federal reserve or sovereign immunity (Leach’s personal favorite rant) are as likely to come up as a question about his defense’s pass rush. He walks four miles to work everyday. If he could be any other mammal, he’d be a raccoon (because “they have the run of things”). There is no one else like Mike Leach, because he is 100% his own man. Keep swinging your sword, Coach Leach. This game is made more enjoyable thanks to personalities like yours.

Andrew Koontz is a connoisseur of ACC football and fried chicken. Wofford grad. Long suffering Duke football fan. When in doubt, just gotta send it.