Mike Leach

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This is the article about the football coach. For the Denver Broncos football player, see Mike Leach (American football). For the former American pro player see Mike Leach (tennis).
Mike Leach
Date of birth March 9, 1961 (age 46)
Place of birth Susanville, California
Sport Football
College Texas Tech
Title Head coach
Record with Team 56-34
Overall Record 56-34
Coaching Stats College Football DataWarehouse
Coaching positions
2000-Present Texas Tech

Mike Leach (born March 9, 1961 in Susanville, California) is the current head coach of the Texas Tech football team. Leach has had a winning season every year since his tenure began at Tech. Former Texas offensive coordinator Emory Bellard considers Leach the best offensive coach in the nation.[1]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Leach is a 1983 graduate of Brigham Young University, with a B.S. in American Studies. He is atypical among NCAA Division I head football coaches, as he did not play football at the college level. Leach is one of only five such coaches, with Mark Mangino of the University of Kansas, Paul Johnson of the United States Naval Academy, Dennis Franchione of Texas A&M University, and Charlie Weis of the University of Notre Dame. In 1986 Leach earned a law degree from Pepperdine University. Leach is also one of the most prominent graduates of the United States Sports Academy, from which he earned a Master's of Sports Science/Coaching in 1988.

[edit] Coaching career

Leach is known for building some very potent offenses, directing very prolific passing-oriented teams that have broken school and NCAA records at Valdosta State University, University of Kentucky, and University of Oklahoma, where he was offensive coordinator, and Texas Tech, where he became head coach in 2000. The Leach-coached Red Raiders' best finish came in 2002 and 2005, having 9-win seasons. In 2002, Tech swept its in-state conference rivals Baylor, Texas, and Texas A&M first time since 1997 and defeated Clemson by 55-15 in the Tangerine Bowl. It was the Red Raiders' first postseason win since 1995 when they beat the Air Force Falcons in the Copper Bowl. In 2005, the Raiders opened their season 6-0, the best start since 1998, and defeated Oklahoma first time under Leach's tenure.

Under Leach, the Red Raiders have built a strong passing offense. It has led the NCAA in passing yardage for four years in a row. Leach might be more known for plugging new quarterbacks into his spread/pass-oriented offense and having them reel off NCAA records. At Kentucky he tutored prospect Tim Couch into a No.1 NFL Draft Pick. At Oklahoma, Josh Heupel became an NFL draft pick following a year under Leach's tutelege. At Tech, he inserted Kliff Kingsbury for three years, who broke the NCAA records for completions in a career. Following Kingsburry, BJ Symons stepped in producing the most passing yards in a season in NCAA history. Sonny Cumbie jumped up leading the Red Raiders to an upset of nationally ranked California in the Holiday Bowl. Cody Hodges got called to duty, leading the NCAA in passing. Sophomore quarterback Graham Harrell, the first non-senior starting QB since Kliff Kingsbury, struggled early in the 2006 season. However, he showed steady improvement beginning with the game against Iowa State and ended the season with a record-setting victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Under Mike Leach, Texas Tech has been known for its high-scoring offense and come-from-behind victories. A 70-35 win over heavily favored Texas Christian University in 2004 began with TCU leading 21-0 with 8 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Before Tech's scoring drives started, a TCU defensive back was caught mouthing into a TV camera, "They aren't going to score." Later in the season, Texas Tech beat Nebraska, 70-10, forcing the Cornhuskers to give up more points in a single game than they had before in their 114-year history. In 2005, the Red Raiders were losing to Kansas State, 13-10, late in the second quarter but won the game 59-20. Also in 2005, Tech had a halftime lead of 14-10 over Texas A&M. By the end of the game, they increased the margin to 56-17. It was the Aggies' worst loss to the Red Raiders in the 64-year-old series.[1] The 2006 season ended with the Insight Bowl where Tech overcame a 31-point deficit in the third quarter to defeat the Minnesota Golden Gophers 44-41 in overtime. The victory made history as the largest comeback in Division I-A bowl history.

During the 2005 game against Texas A&M, Fox Sports Net featured a segment that focused on Leach's odd affinity for pirates.

Mike Leach was chosen to coach the South team during the 2007 inaugural Inta Juice North-South All-Star Classic game.

Leach is 56-34 with the Red Raiders including 6-8 against the Texas Longhorns and the Texas A&M Aggies, Tech's arch-rivals. With a 4-3 record, he is the all-time winningest coach in postseason play in Tech football history.

[edit] Bowl Appearances

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.capcitysportsreport.com/past/november/offensive_mastermind.pdf

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Joe Dickinson		 Oklahoma Offensive Coordinator
1999		 Succeeded by
Mark Mangino
Preceded by
Spike Dykes		 Texas Tech Head Football Coach
2000-present		 Succeeded by
(current)

Freeland • Higgenbotham • Cawthon • Morgan • Weaver •King • Carlen • Sloan • Dockery • Moore • McWilliams • Dykes • Leach

Big 12 Conference Head Football Coaches
North Division: Dan Hawkins (Colorado) • Gene Chizik (Iowa State) • Mark Mangino (Kansas) • Ron Prince (Kansas State) • Gary Pinkel (Missouri) • Bill Callahan (Nebraska)
South Division: Guy Morriss (Baylor) • Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) • Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State) • Mack Brown (Texas) • Dennis Franchione (Texas A&M) • Mike Leach (Texas Tech)
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