Mike Leach Passes Away After Major Heart Attack

December 13, 2022 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach passed away Monday night, December 12 after suffering a major heart attack on Sunday. Zach Arnett was named interim head coach for bowl season.

In a 21-year career as a major college football coach at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State, Leach compiled records of 158-107 over-all and 8-9 in bowl games.

Leach became known as "The Pirate" and once said that "Pirates function as a team. There were a lot of castes and classes in England at the time. But with pirates, it didn't matter if you were black, white, rich or poor. The object was to get a treasure. If the captain did a bad job, you could just overthrow him."

Leach is survived by his wife, Sharon; children Janeen, Kim, Cody and Kiersten; and three grandchildren.

An ESPN release said, "Known for his prolific Air Raid offenses.... , he was also known for his quirky personality, dry wit, and penchant for talking about history, business and politics (and, really, just about anything else) as comfortably as he did quarterbacks making the right reads and receivers running the right routes.

The network announced that the SEC Network will televise Remembering Mike Leach at 2 p.m. ET, an hour-long tribute show paying homage to the college football icon. The show will also stream live on the ESPN App and will be simulcast on Sirius XM channel 374.

In addition to this afternoon’s tribute show, SEC Now will be live beginning at 11 a.m. until the start of Remembering Mike Leach. SEC Network anchors Dari Nowkhah and Alyssa Lang will host throughout the day, joined by various contributors sharing their memories and perspective about Leach and the impact he had on so many.

The National Football Foundation issued a statement that read, "Coach Leach always had time for us and what we were trying to do at the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "His sense of humor was crafty, and he was incredibly smart. He was always inventive and his teams were really fun to watch. We will miss his friendship and insightful perspective on the issues of the day. He left us way too soon, and his untimely passing has made for an incredibly sad day for college football."

In a statement, the Leach family said: "Mike was a giving and attentive husband, father and grandfather. He was able to participate in organ donation at UMMC as a final act of charity. We are supported and uplifted by the outpouring of love and prayers from family, friends, Mississippi State University, the hospital staff, and football fans around the world. Thank you for sharing in the joy of our beloved husband and father's life."

Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum said: "Coach Mike Leach cast a tremendous shadow not just over Mississippi State University, but over the entire college football landscape. His innovative "Air Raid" offense changed the game. Mike's keen intellect and unvarnished candor made him one of the nation's true coaching legends. His passing brings great sadness to our university, to the Southeastern Conference, and to all who loved college football. I will miss Mike's profound curiosity, his honesty, and his wide-open approach to pursuing excellence in all things.

Read more here: MSU Bulldog family, college football community mourns the death of Coach Mike Leach