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Mike Leach and legacy
Posted on 12/13/22 at 2:34 pm
Posted on 12/13/22 at 2:34 pm
Before I start... this is in NO WAY a shot at mike leach.
The guy never won a national title, and to my knowledge never won a conference title. But will will be remembered, and talked about forever among those who did. Goes to show you that there is so much more to the game, than wins and losses. Mike Leach was a living legend, and will forever be a legend to college football. It is rare that fans of every other school have such respect and admiration of a coach at another school. Mike leach changed the game to what it is today. He left his mark on the game, and so many individuals throughout the sport of football at every level. The guy never played any college football, hell he has a damn law degree.. and came into the most popular sport in america, did it his way, and completely changed the way every coach looked at football from then on. He never tried to be someone he wasnt, he was an open book (literally as seen in his interviews) and thats why he was so well loved by everyone. Going to miss seeing leach on the sideline, but im sure he is up there telling some wild stories with the man above. Here's to you Mike
The guy never won a national title, and to my knowledge never won a conference title. But will will be remembered, and talked about forever among those who did. Goes to show you that there is so much more to the game, than wins and losses. Mike Leach was a living legend, and will forever be a legend to college football. It is rare that fans of every other school have such respect and admiration of a coach at another school. Mike leach changed the game to what it is today. He left his mark on the game, and so many individuals throughout the sport of football at every level. The guy never played any college football, hell he has a damn law degree.. and came into the most popular sport in america, did it his way, and completely changed the way every coach looked at football from then on. He never tried to be someone he wasnt, he was an open book (literally as seen in his interviews) and thats why he was so well loved by everyone. Going to miss seeing leach on the sideline, but im sure he is up there telling some wild stories with the man above. Here's to you Mike
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Posted on 12/13/22 at 2:37 pm to oleyeller
He literally invented a whole style of offense. Modern football is nothing like it is today without him. Absolute legend.
Posted on 12/13/22 at 2:39 pm to Rtowntiger
He was a big reason OU won that title under Stoops as the coordinator
He was not gonna realistically win a natty with the teams that gave him opportunities as a head coach
Now, if a team like Texas or some other big name would have given him an opportunity, who knows.
Maybe he would been in a better position.
He was not gonna realistically win a natty with the teams that gave him opportunities as a head coach
Now, if a team like Texas or some other big name would have given him an opportunity, who knows.
Maybe he would been in a better position.
Posted on 12/13/22 at 2:40 pm to Rtowntiger
quote:
He literally invented a whole style of offense. Modern football is nothing like it is today without him. Absolute legend.
For real... that is a legacy! I remember I wanted leach so bad at tennessee. We had an offer on the table and he was taking the job. And our idiots in administration blew it up. I was so jealous when msu ended up getting him
Posted on 12/13/22 at 2:42 pm to oleyeller
Texas Tech parting company with Leach was… and will remain… the dumbest move in the history of their program. He had Tech on the brink of greatness.
Posted on 12/13/22 at 2:44 pm to oleyeller
quote:
The guy never won a national title, and to my knowledge never won a conference title.
He won 11 games at TTU and Washington State which is almost impossible
Posted on 12/13/22 at 2:47 pm to foosball
quote:
He won 11 games at TTU and Washington State which is almost impossible
Exactly!
Posted on 12/13/22 at 2:50 pm to nicholastiger
quote:
He was a big reason OU won that title under Stoops as the coordinator
Leach was there in 1999 and then took the job at TT. Mangino was the OC when they won the title in 2000.
On a side note, Brad Davis and Josh Heupel played on those 1999 and 2000 teams.
Posted on 12/13/22 at 2:51 pm to oleyeller
I loved that Leach wasn't afraid to go to the "off the beaten path" schools and compete. And you know what? He did pretty damn well at all of them.
Maybe his quirky personality precluded him from the "big" jobs; we'll never know.
Leach and Bill Snyder are in categories of their own because of what they accomplished at non-powerhouse schools.
Maybe his quirky personality precluded him from the "big" jobs; we'll never know.
Leach and Bill Snyder are in categories of their own because of what they accomplished at non-powerhouse schools.
This post was edited on 12/13/22 at 2:55 pm
Posted on 12/13/22 at 3:01 pm to oleyeller
He played high school ball
Played rugby (like old school football without pads) at BYU
Saw BYU football passing game, makes you wonder if this was the incubator for the "Air Raid"
It is often interesting how something in youth translates to the "ah ha" moment
We see Einstein as the old man but his best work was in his late teens and early 20 (a young man) working as a clerk in a patent office.
Played rugby (like old school football without pads) at BYU
Saw BYU football passing game, makes you wonder if this was the incubator for the "Air Raid"
It is often interesting how something in youth translates to the "ah ha" moment
We see Einstein as the old man but his best work was in his late teens and early 20 (a young man) working as a clerk in a patent office.
Posted on 12/13/22 at 3:15 pm to oleyeller
#1 I don't think that SEC fans appreciate how hard it is to have one winning season in Lubbock. To win consistently is almost impossible. Texas Tech hasn't won an outright conference title in football since before the Southwest Conference. Lubbock truly is in the middle of nowhere and it is an awful town. Tech is a subpar school on its best day. The football program has no tradition of any success. We should all be in awe of what Leach achieved there before being completely screwed over.
#2 Leach was an innovator. He made his offense very easy for his players but made it look very complicated to opponents. Leach had a small # of plays that could be run out of a small # of formations. They got each play down to perfection. It was very hard to defend.
#3 Leach did and said what he wanted. There aren't many people in the public eye who seem to tell the truth every time when asked a question. If you are young and take nothing else from all of this, chart your own course.
#2 Leach was an innovator. He made his offense very easy for his players but made it look very complicated to opponents. Leach had a small # of plays that could be run out of a small # of formations. They got each play down to perfection. It was very hard to defend.
#3 Leach did and said what he wanted. There aren't many people in the public eye who seem to tell the truth every time when asked a question. If you are young and take nothing else from all of this, chart your own course.
This post was edited on 12/13/22 at 3:16 pm
Posted on 12/13/22 at 3:25 pm to SneezyBeltranIsHere
quote:
#3 Leach did and said what he wanted. There aren't many people in the public eye who seem to tell the truth every time when asked a question. If you are young and take nothing else from all of this, chart your own course.
Preach, brother!
Have an up vote
Posted on 12/13/22 at 3:25 pm to oleyeller
The only reason he never won a title is due to where he coached.
I have no doubt he wins one at a bigger program. You can thank Craig James bitch arse for ruining his reputation in his prime years for that, otherwise Leach probably gets bigger offers. I’m glad schools like WSU and MSU gave him a chance. By all accounts he was a man of high character who simply told it like it is.
Sad that a good honest man got shite on back then and never got a shot at a big program. But sleazebags like Freeze get their 2nd chance
I have no doubt he wins one at a bigger program. You can thank Craig James bitch arse for ruining his reputation in his prime years for that, otherwise Leach probably gets bigger offers. I’m glad schools like WSU and MSU gave him a chance. By all accounts he was a man of high character who simply told it like it is.
Sad that a good honest man got shite on back then and never got a shot at a big program. But sleazebags like Freeze get their 2nd chance
Posted on 12/13/22 at 3:32 pm to foosball
quote:
He won 11 games at TTU and Washington State which is almost impossible
And next year was set for a shot at a 10-win regular season and a bowl win to get to 11.
Posted on 12/13/22 at 4:18 pm to Cheese Grits
quote:
Saw BYU football passing game, makes you wonder if this was the incubator for the "Air Raid"
He mentioned in an interview that I saw way back that he and Hal Mumme while at Valdosta state wanted to incorporate the philosophies of the vertical passing game with the principles of the triple option. They wanted to use the entire field, like the BYU passing game but wanted every skill player to be able to contribute and keep defenses guessing and level the talent gap.
One of the anecdotes was at halftimes he would go through stats and make sure that the ball was being evenly spread out so that defensive coordinators couldn't pick up on tendencies.
Would have been interesting to be in the room when they worked out how to combine the two philosophies into one coherent offense.
This post was edited on 12/13/22 at 4:19 pm
Posted on 12/13/22 at 4:24 pm to oleyeller
Mike Leach was an innovator with an enormous coaching tree. He's arguably the most influential college coach of the last 40 years.
Posted on 12/13/22 at 4:26 pm to Rtowntiger
quote:
He literally invented a whole style of offense. Modern football is nothing like it is today without him. Absolute legend.
This.
A few things that are important about Leach to me.
1. The invention of the Air Raid. It pretty much changed football in ways that are still apparent today.
2. He consistently did more with less than almost any other coach in recent memory.
3. Who he was. The only coach that I can think of that was sort of like was Hank Stram. Leach was a voracious reader and delved into all kinds of things that interested him. He had formulated opinions on just about everything, and they were almost always fascinating.
4. He was a true original. There will never be another coach like him.
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