ARLINGTON, TX — The legacy of former Texas Tech, Washington State, and Mississippi State Head Coach Mike Leach is still being felt around the college football world ahead of the 2023 football season. Head Coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Joey McGuire, was asked in an interview after his press conference at Big 12 Media Days about the coaching legend.
“Well, we’re missing a phenomenal personality. I can get emotional about him,” McGuire said of the late Coach Leach.
Mike Leach
Mike Leach passed away in December 2022. After complications related to a heart condition he had, Leach, 61, died after a brief hospitalization
Leach still holds the most wins by a Texas Tech head coach in the university’s history. Texas Tech will posthumously induct former coach Mike Leach into the Red Raiders' Hall of Honor, the athletic department announced back in June. Leach led the team from 2000-09. Texas Tech’s best football season also happened under Leach. The 2008 Red Raiders upset the, at the time, no. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns in Lubbock 39-33 in an all-time great performance by eventual NFL wide receiver Michael Crabtree.
Leach left Texas Tech two seasons later but was still beloved by many in the Red Raider family. Coach McGuire says that Leach’s impact continues to be felt even after his passing. “What’s crazy is that I didn’t know Coach Leach that well. I knew of him; everybody knew of Coach Leach, McGuire said with a smile. “Every sound bite— everyone here probably has a sound bite from Coach Leach, and it usually had nothing to do with football. I will tell you this. There are a lot of people that have coached this game that has not had an impact on this game the way he has.”
Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire watches during the first half of the team's NCAA college football game against Murray State, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Brad Tollefson)
A coach with his roots deep in Texas High School Football, McGuire said that Leach’s legacy in high school football is completely ingrained in its identity. “There is not a stadium you could go into on a Friday night and watch high school football in this state that doesn’t have some kind of Air Raid in it,” Texas Tech’s coach said. “He is going to be missed. I want 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…I just wanted to say thank you to Coach Leach.”
Coach McGuire still has aspects of Coach Leach's influence in his own coaching style. The Red Raiders continue to be one the most prolific passing teams in the country, with an explosive offense year in and year out.
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