The university announced Leach’s death Tuesday morning, praising him as an “innovator, pioneer and visionary.”
“He was a college football icon, a coaching legend but an even better person,” said interim athletic director Bracky Brett. “We are all better for having known Mike Leach. The thoughts and prayers of Mississippi State University and the entire Bulldog family are with his wife Sharon, his children and the entire Leach family.”
BENDER: Mike Leach’s influence on college football will be felt for decades
What happened to Mike Leach?
The university initially announced Sunday afternoon that Leach had been transported to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., after experiencing what it called a “personal health issue.”
The Clarion Ledger reported Monday that Leach had suffered a heart attack at his Starkville home and EMTs used a defibrillator multiple times to restore his heart rhythm. The report, which cited unnamed sources, said Leach was transported to a local hospital via ambulance, then flown by helicopter to the hospital in Jackson, about 125 miles away.
The newspaper reported Leach “may have suffered seizures with the possibility of brain damage” and called the situation “dire.”
The university released a new statement shortly after that report emerged, saying Leach “remains in critical condition” and that his family is with him in Jackson.
Leach, 61, was in his third season at Mississippi State. He was 19-17 in that time, including an 8-4 record in 2022. His team improved its record year-over-year in each season under Leach, going from 4-7 in 2020 to 7-6 in 2021 and 8-4 — potentially 9-4 — in 2022.
The university on Sunday named Bulldogs defensive coordinator Zach Arnett as the team’s interim coach “until Coach Leach returns” amid bowl preparation. The 22nd-ranked Bulldogs will play Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday, Jan. 2.
MORE: Football world mourns death of Mike Leach
Mike Leach coaching career
Born in Susanville, California, Leach grew up in Cody, Wyoming and attended BYU, where he played rugby.
He took the long way up the coaching ladder, beginning in 1987 as offensive line coach at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and had a brief stint coaching in Finland in 1989 before getting his big break by joining Hal Mumme’s staff at Iowa Wesleyan.
The pair developed a high-powered, pass-heavy offense known as the “air raid” beginning there and carried it to Valdosta State and Kentucky. Leach spent 1999 as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma before getting his first major head coaching job at Texas Tech in 2000.
Leach spent 10 years in Lubbock, reviving the Red Raiders’ program and becoming one of college football’s most beloved personalities with his unique outlook at outspoken style. He also won, leading Texas Tech to an 84-43 record and reaching a bowl game every year of his tenure.
Leach was fired in December 2009 after allegations of mistreatment by Red Raiders player Adam James and spent the next few years away from the sidelines, working in television and radio and writing a book called “Swing Your Sword” while featuring prominently in coaching carousel rumors.
He returned to coaching in 2012 at Washington State, leading the Cougars to a 55-47 record and six bowl games in eight seasons. Leach jumped from there to the SEC with Mississippi State in 2020, going 4-7 in his first season before posting winning records each of the last two years.
In all, Leach was 158-107 as a college head coach and leaves behind a track record as a leader who made fringe Power 5 programs relevant again.
