Who was Mike Leach AKA Pirate?

Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach, who was earlier lifted to the hospital following a decline in his health condition, died due to heart complications on Monday night.

Leach was the head coach of Mississippi since 2020, and previously coached at Texas Tech University from 2000 to 2009, and Washington State University from 2012 to 2019, where he set the record for third-most wins of any coach in school history. 

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Leach is survived by his wife and four children.

Who was Mike Leach? 

Leach was born in  Susanville, California to Frank and Sandra Leach. The family shifted residences quite often, before settling in Cody Wyoming. 

He secured his high school education at Cody High School, and later on joined Brigham Young University in Utah, graduating from the university with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies. 

Leach began his career as a football coach in 1987, when he joined Cal Pol, California Polytechnic State University’s football team, and later College of the Desert in 1988. 

Leach has worked for several institutions, taking up positions as an offensive coordinator. He joined Oklahoma staff in 1999 and worked under head coach Bob Stoops. Leach helped the team secure the top rank in terms of offense, which they were ranked at 12th position earlier. 

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Leach joined Texas Tech Red Raiders a year later after working at Oklahoma. He made several changes to the team which resulted in a steady performance by the team. Leach continued with the team for several years and earned a fortune of $1 million between 2006-2009. 

While coaching Red Raiders, Leach faced several backlashes which eventually lead to his suspension and firing as the coach of the team, on the grounds of inappropriate behavior towards player Adam James. 

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Lech joined Washinton state in 2011 on a five-year contract, ultimately being regarded as the fourth-highest-paid coach in the Pac-12. 

Leach joined Mississippi State Bulldogs in 2020 until his death in 2022. 

Leach got married to Sharon Leach, the two had four children through their marriage.