I first met Mike Leach at Iowa Wesleyan

Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach died Monday night at 61 years old. Check back for The Athletic's coverage of Leach's career and reactions from the college football world.

The Athletic College Football Staff

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Summary

Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach died Monday night at 61 years old. Check back for The Athletic's coverage of Leach's career and reactions from the college football world.

(Photo: Jordan Prather / USA Today)

I first met Mike Leach at Iowa Wesleyan

I first met Mike Leach when I was a junior in high school and he was an assistant at Iowa Wesleyan back in 1991. He recruited three of my teammates and then one of them followed him to Valdosta State. Eccentric, visionary, ironic. He will be missed. RIP.

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Greg Sankey: 'His, humor, depth and point of view continually challenged all of us'

Statement from SEC commissioner Greg Sankey:

"The life of Mike Leach touched thousands upon thousands of people through his coaching, leadership teaching and insightful commentary.

"We will miss Mike. Every conversation with Mike made you think. His humor, depth and point of view continually challenged all of us to think differently and reevaluate our perspectives. His innovative approach to the game contributed to the evolution of college football.

"We mourn his untimely passing as we offer our support to Mike’s wife, Sharon, their children and grandchildren, along with his current and former players, coaching colleagues and the Mississippi State community."

Statement from Oklahoma football

Leach was Oklahoma's offensive coordinator in 1999, Bob Stoops' first season as head coach.

My Mike Leach story

I was to write the Texas Tech angles before the 2002 Tangerine Bowl versus Clemson. Introduce myself (then in Columbia, S.C.) after Texas Tech arrives at team hotel in Orlando. Leach immediately starts talking about the bars in Five Points. An American original. RIP.

Statement from Texas Tech

“Texas Tech athletics joins the countless others across the game of football who mourn the passing of Mike Leach. Coach Leach will be forever remembered as one of the most innovative offensive minds in college football history. His impact on Texas Tech football alone will live on in history as one of the greatest tenures in the history of our program. From his 84 wins to his record-setting offenses, Coach Leach quickly built a legacy here at Texas Tech that will never be forgotten. Our thoughts and prayers are with Coach Leach’s wife, Sharon, and their entire family during this difficult time.”

Leach was always a huge help

Gutted by the Mike Leach news. He was terrific to me in my first job at the Valdosta Daily Times when he was part of the VSU staff and was a huge help on my first book. Just awful, terrible news. Prayers to his family, friends and coaching colleagues.

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There was no one like Mike Leach

There's no one even remotely like Mike Leach. He was brilliant. He could be hilarious. He could be maddening. His influence on football and coaching is truly remarkable. He didn’t just change college football. He changed FOOTBALL. Texas HS. Seven-on-seven. Bill Belichick’s Patriots. Everything.

Mike Leach, who made the Air Raid mainstream, dies at 61

There is an alternate universe where the committee that selected the new football coach for the Key West (Fla.) High Conchs chose correctly in 1996. That year, the offensive coordinator at Valdosta State applied for the job, which would have allowed him to do his favorite thing in his favorite town. Committee members barely considered Mike Leach. They thought he was overqualified.

Had they given him the job, Leach probably never would have left. He probably would have spent the rest of his days drawing up plays while the palms swayed. He and wife Sharon would have walked to Harpoon Harry’s and dined while laughing at all the tourists running to look at a giant buoy.

Robbed of his dream job, Mike Leach instead had to settle for changing the way nearly everyone in college football studies offense. His impact, first on Texas high school football before the collegiate ranks and then in the NFL, will be a massive part of his legacy. He brought the Air Raid to the mainstream, showing everyone in the sport that teams could overcome talent deficits (or enhance talent advantages) if they spread the field, juiced the tempo and tolerated a healthy degree of risk on fourth down.

Read more here.

(Photo: USA Today)

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