Mike Leach Tells a Very Mike Leach Story About Tracking a Raccoon

“I was curious where the sucker lived.”

Covering Washington State football might be one of the best beats in American sportswriting. Not because of anything about the team, really, just because you get to talk to Mike Leach all the time. 

Just within the past year, Leach has used his meetings with the media to discuss the possible existence of Big Foot and aliens, as well as to give his thoughts on planning a wedding.

Reporters are happy to ask Leach all sorts of off-the-wall questions and Leach is more than happy to answer them. On Tuesday, Leach was asked if he ever sees wildlife while out on a walk and told a story about tracking a raccoon. 

Ever tracked a raccoon? Mike Leach has. An all-time tale from the #WSU coach. pic.twitter.com/p1fx2V1zlo

— Theo Lawson (@TheoLawson_SR) April 11, 2018

•Inside the Eccentric, Outspoken and Truly Unusual Mind of Mike Leach

“Tracked a raccoon one time in the snow,” Leach said. “I was in the neighborhood and I was just curious where this raccoon lived. There’s some fresh raccoon tracks. He’d been digging at somebody’s garbage. So I followed the tracks, and I don’t even know if these people know it, but he lives right in the back of their house.”

But why? 

“It was residential enough—I was curious where this sucker lived, so I walked about a half a mile out of my way to sort that out.”