Mississippi State coach and college football icon Mike Leach dies

Mike Leach, a fixture in the college football coaching community, has died at the age of 61

Mississippi State head football coach and college football icon Mike Leach died at the age of 61, the school announced.

MSU said Leach dies from complications due to a heart condition.

"Mike was a giving and attentive husband, father and grandfather. He was able to participate in organ donation at UMMC as a final act of charity," the Leach family said in a statement. 

"We are supported and uplifted by the outpouring of love and prayers from family, friends, Mississippi State University, the hospital staff, and football fans around the world. Thank you for sharing in the joy of our beloved husband and father's life." 

News originally broke on Dec. 11 that Leach suffered a “personal health issue” while at home and that he was taken by emergency transport to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., some 125 miles away from his home in Starkville.

Mississippi State initially released a statement confirming the health emergency, but did not offer any other details about his situation or any cause, but news of him being ill swept through the college football community over the past few days.

Reports emerged that Leach suffered a severe heart attack while at home.

Late in the football season, Leach said he was dealing with a bout of pneumonia that appeared to cause a persistent cough, but seemed to be improving, according to those who worked with him.

Leach was a fixture on college football sidelines since the 1980s, initially working on the Cal Poly staff, and is credited with helping develop and popularize the "Air Raid" offense, an aggressive, pass-heavy, no-huddle offensive system that features four wide receivers and the quarterback from the shotgun formation.

Leach employed the system when working as a coordinator at Oklahoma and Kentucky before taking his first job as a head coach at Texas Tech in 2000.

He landed at Washington State, leading the Cougars football program from 2013 to 2019 and set a school record with 11 wins in the 2018 season.

Leach arrived in the SEC in 2020 when taking the position at Mississippi State, going 19-17 overall and 11-15 in conference play since his arrival.

Mississippi State went 8-4 this past season and defeated rival Ole Miss on Thanksgiving, his first victory in the Egg Bowl series.

Leach was 158-107 in 21 seasons as a head coach.

He is survived by his wife Sharon and four children: Janeen, Kimberly, Cody and Kiersten.

---

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams

Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Facebook