Watch: Texas Tech coach honors late CFB great, BYU grad Mike Leach at Big 12 media days

ARLINGTON, Texas — BYU wrapped up its first Big 12 media days assignment with half the league Wednesday before making way for the other half Tuesday at AT&T Stadium.

But a prominent BYU alum was on full display Tuesday, thanks to his influence on Texas Tech and Lonestar State football.

Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire wore a jacket lined with pirate flags as he made the media rounds, a nod to the late college football coach Mike Leach, who died in December after being hospitalized with a heart condition. He was 61.

Texas Tech's all-time winningest coach, Leach popularized the Air Raid offense under the tutelage of legendary coach Hal Mumme, with additional stops at Washington State and Mississippi State.

A former BYU rugby standout from Cody, Wyoming, Leach reflected often about how he would go to BYU games as a student and scribble plays learned from legendary coach LaVell Edwards that he would adopt into his own offensive philosophy.

His influence on the game won't soon be forgotten, McGuire said — both for his play calling and his eclectic personality that often featured viral sound bites on everything from aliens to Bigfoot to marriage advice to television sideline reporters.

"We're missing a phenomenal personality. I get emotional," McGuire said. "What's crazy is, I didn't know coach Leach that well. I knew of him, but everybody knows of coach Leach. Every person here probably has a soundbite from coach Leach, and everything. Usually it had nothing to do with football."

Texas Tech will honor Leach by inducting the late coach into the athletic department's hall of fame Sept. 29, the day before the Red Raiders host Big 12 newcomers Houston in conference play.

Leach went 84-43 at Texas Tech with 10-straight bowl appearances and an 11-win season in 2008 that included a win over then-No. 1 Texas.

In the process, he changed the public perception of Texas Tech — and the Big 12 — into a free flowing, wide-open offensive showcase. Three of Leach's former assistants — Dave Aranda at Baylor, Sonny Dykes at TCU and Dana Holgorsen at Houston — coach in the league, and former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley (now at USC) also coached with Leach.

"There are a lot of people who have coached this game that have not had an impact on the game the way he has," McGuire said. "There's not a stadium you can go to on a Friday night and watch high school football in this state that doesn't have some kind of Air Raid part, too. The guy was bigger than life.

"He's going to be missed, and I just wanted to tip my cap to him. He did a lot for Texas Tech, and it seems like I grow to know him more and more every day as I'm the head coach and learn more about him. This is a huge stage, and I just wanted to say thank you to coach Leach, for what he did for Tech and what he did for high school football in this state."

Related topics