Inside the mind of Mississippi State's Mike Leach, and a legacy that will live on | Opinion
STARKVILLE, Miss. — My phone rang at 10:35 p.m. the night of Nov. 9, 2021. Mississippi State football was gearing up to face Auburn in a game that wound up being perhaps the most memorable win for Mike Leach in his three seasons with the Bulldogs.
The conversation lasted until just before 2 a.m. It featured nearly four hours of unfiltered Leach − perhaps the most fascinating coach college football has ever seen.
That phone call was all that came to mind Sunday when news broke that Leach had suffered a medical emergency and had to be airlifted to University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. The call was still on my mind when news broke Tuesday that Leach, who was 61, died on Monday night.
MSU went on to beat Auburn, overcoming a 28-3 deficit in the process. Leach ended the call saying Mississippi State was a young team but he was confident they could go into Auburn and get the win.
That was about the only moment football was discussed. The call was scheduled for a story about Leach’s days studying law at Pepperdine. Scheduled is a loose term, by the way. This is how phone interviews with Leach worked: You ran it by the team’s sports information director, who ran it by Leach and then you texted Leach asking what time worked best for him. That usually resulted in him giving you a call late in the evening.
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It was an interview he agreed to do likely in large part because it wasn’t about football. He wanted to know who I interviewed. He wanted to know what former classmates and professors said about him. He wanted to reminisce on a time where he was making far less than $5 million a year.
Leach was intriguing. He was hilarious. He was witty. His viral clips are evidence of it.
But the only thing on my mind after that call: He was so intelligent. Leach was smart because he listened. I was covering Mississippi State for the Daily Journal in Tupelo, Mississippi, at the time. It was my first job out of college. He could have declined the interview request or just given me what I needed and carried on.
Instead, he asked me about my life. He asked about my family, diving into details of my Serbian background overlapping with his growing interest for visiting the Balkans. He asked what I thought about Big Ten football as an Indiana graduate − then he made sure to remind me of the SEC’s superiority.
"You’ll never make a name as fast in the Big Ten as you will in the SEC," Leach said.
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Leach wanted to know what exactly happened in Yugoslavia. He wanted to know what each side thought. He wanted to discuss the "What if?" many sports fans in the Balkans asked themselves after Croatia lost to France in the 2018 World Cup final.
"Imagine if the Serbs and Croatians were playing together," Leach said. "No way they’d lose to France."
As any reporter knows, giving you hope about soccer isn’t enough for a coach you cover to win you over. Leach and I didn’t always agree on matters. Of course, I wish he gave injury updates or was always timely in arriving to his weekly press conference.
But it was never personal. Leach had his way of doing business, and it’s hard to argue against it considering his way got him to the pinnacle of a grueling profession.
As a young reporter, getting that time from someone as accomplished as Leach meant the world. Mississippi State won’t be the same without Leach, and that’s a testament to how special he was to so many.
Leach deserved more trips to Europe. He deserved more time with his family.
Though he's done swinging his sword and his iconic one-liners will only come in the form of old videos, The Pirate’s legacy will surely live on.
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.