published on June 04, 2024 in celeb

Remembering Mike Leach: One year later, friends reflect on a coach like no other

Last month, about an hour before Kansas State faced Texas, one of the members of the game crew came over to me to share a story. Well, actually, Billy Schott wanted to show me something.

The 71-year-old Schott — the game’s “Red Hat,” or more specifically the TV timeout coordinator — pulled up the left sleeve of his shirt. There it was tattooed across his biceps, a black pirate flag with the words “Swing Your Sword” above it and Mike Leach’s name below it.

Schott first met Leach in 1990 in Wichita Falls, Texas. Leach was an assistant at Iowa Wesleyan who was playing Midwestern State that day. Schott was the side judge.

“He had me cracking up the whole game,” Schott remembered. “I guess he liked me because I laughed at his jokes and because I was listening.”

About a month later, Schott was reffing a game in Sherman, Texas, when he got a tap on his shoulder pregame. It was Leach, who recognized him from earlier in the season. “He said, ‘By the way, my name is Mike Leach — not that it’s gonna mean anything in the long run,’” Schott recalled. “We just hit it off from there.”

Schott, a former Texas kicker, married his wife in Key West. They’d go back down there every year and hang out with Leach and his wife, Sharon. By the end of the night, or by the beginning of the morning, “they’d have solved all the mysteries of life,” Schott said.

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Schott, who also worked on the “Friday Night Lights” TV show, was there when Leach did his gas station cameo, the night before the coach’s Texas Tech squad played Schott’s alma mater.

“It was hilarious. Mike came up with his little schtick,” Schott said. “Kyle Chandler didn’t know what to expect, but it just came off perfect.”

Schott beamed with pride about the ink he’d gotten six months earlier to honor his buddy.

“(Fellow Key West resident Jimmy) Buffett sang about a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling,” Schott said. “Well, this is a permanent reminder of a permanent feeling. For an old man like me to get a tattoo to honor him, he’s gotta be special.”

Schott said he stopped counting how many times over the past year he’s watched a movie or show or saw some meme and thought, “Oh, Mike would love this.” Then, Schott would go down some mental rabbit hole about how much he misses his old friend.

I co-authored Leach’s autobiography, “Swing Your Sword,” and it’s hard to believe that it has now been one year since Leach died at 61. Many of us who knew him well are still struggling to wrap our heads around the fact that the guy who was always incredibly accessible is no longer a text or call away.

Billy Schott opted for a permanent Mike Leach tribute. (Bruce Feldman / The Athletic)

Eric Mele coached with Leach all eight of his years at Washington State and then all three years he was at Mississippi State. Mele was Leach’s running backs coach the first two years they were in Starkville. Much of the old Leach staff left Mississippi State, but Mele stayed on as the Bulldogs’ special teams coordinator in 2023.

“It’s been a tough year,” he said. “Made it hard to not think about him every day. I just tried to honor him with the way I coached. I carried one of his dip cans (Skoal Long Cut) in my back pocket on game days. We have a pirate flag waving in our front yard, and I enjoy one of his favorite cocktails once a week. The epic stories and lessons I learned from him, I’ll carry forever.

During Mele’s first two seasons in Pullman, he would spend at least two nights a week in the office with Leach until 1 or 2 in the morning, watching film and talking about everything under the sun.

“I’d love to have one more of those nights with him,” Mele said. “I miss those random texts and late-night calls about restaurant reviews, pizza spots and the mafia.”

Darcel McBath played defensive back for Leach at Texas Tech before spending five seasons in the NFL. He coached with him at Washington State and Mississippi State as well.

“It was really tough to cope, especially still being in Starkville and working at MSU without him,” McBath said. “The way I’ve coped is to apply all the things that he’s taught me. There were so many moments this year where I stopped and thought through what would Coach say or do. He was a true leader who had a way of keeping things in perspective, kept everyone focused on the goals and never panicked.

“This year has been a year of gratitude. I’ve tried to take it all in and appreciate it more. That’s something I think Coach Leach did better than anyone.”

McBath, 38, said there’s a long list of things that he misses about his old coach and friend, but the biggest is Leach’s perspective.

“I always loved having a conversation with Coach because he was going to make you think about something in a way you never had before,” he said. “He always had a way of simplifying things that other people saw as so difficult.”

Mike Leach took Wazzu to six bowl games in eight years. (William Mancebo / Getty Images)

Mason Miller coached the offensive line with Leach at Washington State and Mississippi State before becoming the offensive coordinator at Tarleton State this season. Like everyone, Miller says he misses the way Leach could tell a story. He also misses “egging him on about a topic and really getting him going.”

“I know this sounds corny,” Miller said, “but during games, I can hear him in my head. ‘Take a shot downfield. Stop bunting.’”

Miller can also hear it when he’s handling a situation with a player.

When it comes to coping with Leach not being there anymore, Miller has found a good way true to Leach’s own nature to do that.

“I think for me, telling stories about him when I can helps a lot,” he said. “My current head coach does a great job of always asking me questions about him, what he would say about certain day-to-day football stuff. That, for me, brings up memories, and those are special.”

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Drew Hollingshead, a Leach protege at Washington State and Mississippi State before becoming WKU’s offensive coordinator this year, said that coping without Leach was initially a struggle.

“It’s become easier because I know how upset he’d be with me if I wasn’t attacking every day to become a better coach or better person,” Hollingshead said. “He’d tell me to worry about the things I can control and to focus on the lessons that I learned from him to help those around me.”

Bill Bedenbaugh was watching the ESPN college football awards show last Friday when Leach was posthumously honored for his contributions to football.

“That’s when it really hit me that he’s not here anymore,” Bedenbaugh said.

The 51-year-old Oklahoma offensive line coach played for Leach at Iowa Wesleyan and coached under him at Texas Tech. He was 17 when Leach recruited him out of Chicago.

“It may be sad to say but when you’re in the midst of a season, your mind is so wrapped up in the day-to-day deal, but then you start thinking back to all the meetings or him taking phone calls from people he doesn’t know,” Bedenbaugh said. “He was always there, like you knew you could talk to him at any point. Hell, you couldn’t get him off the phone if you did.

“Even if you weren’t there with him, you’d watch his dang press conferences to see what he was talking about, and then you’d think back on all the times he helped you, and so many other people in their career. And you’d think about just how real the guy was. It didn’t matter who he was around, he was gonna be Mike Leach. I feel like I have some of that — about being true to who you are — in me because of him. I learned that from Mike, and I think the world would be a hell of a lot better place if more people were like that.”

Tony Athersmith is perhaps the farthest branch of the Mike Leach coaching tree. Athersmith won six national titles and two European championships in Great Britain. In 2002, he started coming to the United States to attend Leach’s camps and clinics to learn the Air Raid. Leach would sometimes stay at Athersmith’s home in England when he visited there. Leach would often call him in the middle of the night, U.K. time, to talk about everything from the prime minister to how their parliament compared to life in the States.

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“I still don’t think we have truly talked about the impact Mike’s had on the international game in terms of the Air Raid coaching tree internationally and the success of the Air Raid internationally,” Athersmith said. “There have been coaches in Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Australia, Italy and the list goes on who have learned from Leach to go on to win national titles and European championships.

“I think it would be hard to find a country that has not been impacted by Leach and the Air Raid. There is a number of us who still talk in Europe almost weekly and exchange ideas because we learned from Mike and have stayed in touch with each other. I know he hosted European coaches at Texas Tech, Washington State and at MSU, and his impact internationally is an untold story.”

Athersmith said it’s been hard personally not being able to message or call Leach.

“Since Mike passed away, I made the decision to step away from the game,” Athersmith said. “Losing my mentor was tough and still is. Every year, he asked me to come over. I couldn’t always afford it financially or get the time off to travel. I regret not taking him up on those opportunities and always thought, ‘Next year.’”

Mike Leach went 158-107 in his head coaching career. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Shan Suber knew Leach for only two years. She met him in 2020 when he came to her soul food restaurant in Starkville called WTF (it stands for Where the Food). He ordered the honey gold chicken wings “extra crispy.”

Like most people Leach met, they hit it off. Suber hosted parties for Leach at her restaurant and fed MSU players. Two or three times a season on Saturday nights, she would cook for the coach’s friends. He spread the word about her business on social media.

Leach was there for Suber when she needed him most. She was on the brink of closing when Leach came to the restaurant and handed her a check to help save the business. The story of their friendship, about how two people with such different political views had developed such a sweet bond, came to light days after Leach died last year in Sports Illustrated. It’s helped bring folks from as far away as Hawaii to WTF, where they want their wings made the same way Leach got them. They’re now The Pirate Gold — or the “Mike Leach Special” — which she said means no blood or runny juices.

“Even though Mike’s not here physically, his spirit and presence are still in my restaurant,” she said. “Mike was my guardian angel. He helped me at a time when I felt so low. He helped me stay afloat. I am forever grateful for Mike Leach. That’s what keeps me open and keeps me pushing. He said, ‘Shan, you have a purpose and you’re here. Don’t give up!’”

Hal Mumme was the first coach to take a chance on Leach. In 1989, he hired Leach to be his offensive coordinator and O-line coach at Iowa Wesleyan. And recruiting coordinator, video coordinator and equipment manager. Leach also taught two classes and served as the school’s sports information director. He did it all for $12,000 a year.

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It’s where the two cooked up the Air Raid. Leach was essentially Mumme’s little brother. For almost a decade, the two lit up defenses and ripped up record books at Iowa Wesleyan, Valdosta State and then in the SEC at Kentucky.

“He was just so much fun to talk to and be around,” said Mumme, now 71. “He was entertaining for everybody. For 10 years, he was my traveling companion when we’d go study offense or go recruiting. I really missed him after he left to go to OU (and become Bob Stoops’ offensive coordinator in 1999). I remember being on the sidelines in ’99 and thinking, ‘Something’s not right here. What am I missing?’ And then I’d realize it’s because Mike wasn’t there with me. This is worse than that.

“I haven’t been doing very well, to be honest. He was like my brother. What I miss most are the conversations. We had these long midnight conversations. They could go almost anywhere. When you were talking to Coach Leach, he could take a right turn on you almost anywhere. He’s probably the smartest guy I’ve ever known. The time we spent and the conversations that were not about football were what I missed most.

“Every time I’d called him, he’d go, ‘You know we changed the game, right?’ ‘I know, Mike. I know.’ And he was right. We did.”

Schott, the Red Hat with the “Swing Your Sword” tattoo, said the thing he misses most about Leach is the laughter.

“He always had a way of making everybody around him feel important and feel accepted,” he said. “Mike loved meeting people. I miss the camaraderie and being able to hang out.

“Whenever I have a down day or a down moment, I think about Mike. And it’s sort of cheesy, but it’s like the people who are still mourning Jimmy Buffett: He always said keep the party going. He wouldn’t want you moping. Mike had a similar outlook on life.

“When my mom was terminally ill with cancer, she told me, ‘I don’t want you to remember the day I died. I want you to remember all the days I lived.’ That became my philosophy on life, and so if I do get down, I think about all the times I had with Mike and all the laughs we had, and that’s where he’s still helping me.”

(Top photo: Chris McDill / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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