Mike Leach was a damn national treasure.
Regardless of who you cheer for, the legendary football coach was undeniably one of the best personalities in college football.
Leach, who pioneered the air raid offense during stops at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State, tragically passed away last year due to what was reported as complications from a heart condition. But the coach gave us some legendary moments over the years.
Coach was notably a BIG fan of pirates, and when he was head coach at Washington State he had an office full of pirate memorabilia (and a Sasquatch, because why not).
And he also provided us with some of best quotes in college football – quotes that usually don’t have anything to do with college football.
Like the time he debated the merits of pirates versus vikings during a press conference.
And who can forget the time a reporter asked for wedding advice and he delivered this incredible 3-minute rant:
And last year, he gave another sideline reporter some invaluable wedding advice:
“Go elope. Because basically every female in the family is going to terrorize you guys until it’s over.”
But one of my all-time favorite Mike Leach moments was in 2021 after his team beat Vanderbilt and a reporter asked his thoughts on Halloween candy.
Turns out the coach had made it known in the past that he was not a fan of candy corn.
So after the game, on the field and while the team was still singing the alma mater, a reporter took the opportunity to ask Coach Leach just what IS his favorite Halloween candy. And his answer didn’t disappoint:
Turns out he was a big fan of gummy bears (but only Haribo), and he thought that Europe has better candy than we do here. Leach also revealed that he wasn’t above going to the dollar store to find some Sprees in a box, which he calls “outstanding.”
Coach then talks about “candy innovation” and Nerds clusters before revealing that as far as chocolate, he’s an Almond Joy guy. (I was with you until the Almond Joys, coach. Everybody knows those are trash).
I mean, that’s just an incredible postgame interview.
Can you imagine the response if you asked Nick Saban about Halloween candy during an interview on the field after a game? And Leach not only answered the question, he gave a solid minute-long response like it was the most important interview of his life.
It’s not like those postgame interviews are really good for anything anyway. The coach usually just gives a couple of generic lines about how hard the team played, how proud they are of the team, and how they still have things to work on. So why not use the time to talk about Halloween candy?
Leach also gave an interview where he talked about Halloween costumes, calling trick-or-treating a “competitive event” and saying that “mobility is so critical” when picking out a costume. Oh, and he also discussed his hatred for candy corn again:
Man, college football just isn’t the same without Mike Leach. What a legend he was.
