John Cohen's Hail Mary connected, and now, Mississippi State has an exciting new identity with Mike Leach
It started to feel like a pipe dream. The idea of Mike Leach coming to the SEC almost became a fantasy.
First, there was the meeting with Tennessee athletic director John Currie before he was summoned back to Knoxville so he could be fired instead of offering Leach a job after the 2017 season.
Then there was the flirting with Arkansas and Ole Miss after this past season. We even had about 2 minutes on Twitter when it appeared that Leach was set to become Ole Miss’ next coach, but it was snuffed out as a fake account tweeting out the news with the photoshopped graphic of Leach in Rebels gear.
And then after the dust settled on that fun in December, Leach signed a contract extension to stay at Washington State through 2024. The pirate-loving, passing game guru, part time professor was staying in the Pacific Northwest.
But 1 Hail Mary later, Leach is coming to the SEC.
Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen made the Leach dream a reality on Thursday. Days after reportedly meeting with him in Key West, Cohen confirmed reports that Leach’s ship was making its way to Starkville in 2020:
— John Cohen (@JohnCohenAD) January 9, 2020
In a few short days, MSU went from the program who fired a coach post-bowl game and appeared to be running out of options to fill the vacancy, to a program that now has a hire just as splashy as their not-so-friendly in-state neighbors.
Lord, have mercy on the 2020 Egg Bowl.
Oh, and have mercy on 2020 SEC Media Days, which now has an SEC West that consists of:
- Nick Saban
- Ed Orgeron
- Jimbo Fisher
- Sam Pittman
- Gus Malzahn
- Lane Kiffin
- Mike Leach
That’s a reality show, not a list of coaches from a big-time college football division.
But that’s what Leach will ultimately join. He’ll try to establish his brand at a place that has 1 winning season in conference play in the 21st century. That, to Leach, is nothing new. That’s what he did at Texas Tech, and it’s what he did at Washington State. Both programs were far from the dominant program in their own state, yet Leach owns 12 seasons of 8-plus wins in the 21st century.
Oh, and that identity that MSU lacked the last couple years? Leach will establish that in a hurry.
Leach is the guy who will take 5-minute tangents to rant about wedding planning mid-press conference, but he’s also the guy who just put together his 8th consecutive top-10 passing offense. Leach is the guy who taught a class called “Leadership Lessons in Insurgent Warfare and Football Strategies,” but he’s also the guy who told Gardner Minshew that if he didn’t want to be the third-string quarterback at Alabama, he could come to Washington State and lead the nation in passing.
Yes, the media loves Leach from an entertainment standpoint. But his act would’ve worn thin long ago had he not been an elite offensive mind.
For some, Leach’s act will rub them the wrong way. He’s not afraid to openly criticize players in press conferences. Leach once called his Washington State players “fat, dumb, happy and entitled” after a disappointing performance. The worst kept secret is that the reason he’s never had a big-time job despite his status as a household name and a revolutionary offensive coach is because athletic directors and boosters don’t want to deal with someone who doesn’t always play the politically correct game.
Who knows how Leach is going to gel with Cohen. One thing is clear, though. Cohen will be more motivated to make Leach work than he was with Moorhead, who was fired after 2 years and was seemingly on the hot seat in the midst of Year 2. One can disagree with Cohen’s handling of the Moorhead situation and still believe that Leach was an impressive get.
And what Leach will do in 2020 is that something that even a Moorhead believer can’t deny — he’s going to excite this fanbase in a way that perhaps no hire ever has at Mississippi State. The tone of 2020 is different with Leach than it is with say, Steve Sarkisian or Todd Grantham, both of whom were rumored to be candidates for the job.
As fun and exciting as Leach to MSU is on a variety of levels, there are still a few hurdles standing in his way. MSU has higher expectations than any place he’s been as a head coach. If you need proof of that, go check out the fired coach who had lost fan support after going 14-12 and beating Ole Miss twice in 2 years.
There’s also the defense that Leach has to take care of. A division that has offensive minds galore with Joe Brady, Lane Kiffin, Jimbo Fisher, Gus Malzahn and Steve Sarkisian is going to be brutal to defend. Years like 2018 when MSU had 3 first-round defensive players are far from the norm. It’ll take the right defensive mind on Leach’s side to make the Bulldogs anything more than those 2010s Texas Tech teams who put up points, but flirted with overall mediocrity on an annual basis.
But if you’re an MSU fan, you’re fired up right now and understandably so. You probably had plenty of moments this week when you wondered if your athletic director really had a plan after making an atypical, but drastic decision.
Now, it’s only a matter of time before the Bulldogs start leading the SEC in passing and Leach is giving us the oral history of cowbells.
The Leach-SEC marriage is finally happening — and to think, it only happened because of a fake dog pee celebration in the Egg Bowl.
What a time to be alive.
Tickets sales just went up. Cohen did it again. Good job, AD.
Be the fastest sell out in years. Oh and the new pirate styled fan gear as well.
There will not be a hotel room to be had within 60 miles of Oxford or Starkville for both programs first home game this Fall.
Since that’s all that matters.
Can’t bring me down. You can keep trying, but it won’t work.
Whatever you mean I guess I can’t. But Leach can.
Waiting for a journalist to ask him which SEC mascot would win in a death match. His PAC12 breakdown of this was epic. I think it would come down to Bama and Vandy (if the Commodore got to bring a ship).
What about the Vols…maybe if they could bring their gun.
Good coach, and probably the best option to counter ole Miss’s hire. Looked forward to the social media wars.
“Who knows how Leach is going to gel with Cohen. One thing is clear, though. Cohen will be more motivated to make Leach work than he was with Moorhead, who was fired after 2 years and was seemingly on the hot seat in the midst of Year 2. One can disagree with Cohen’s handling of the Moorhead situation and still believe that Leach was an impressive get.“
Cohen could’ve hired Leach before when he hired Moorhead. Bad look for our AD when he’s “more motivated” to make his second choice work than his first.
Wait, this piece didn’t start out with some version of “Napier was MSU’s first choice…”
Ha!
MSU has to give him enough time.
Please no. He will just cockroach you when you expect it least. He only came to the SECw to mess with A&M.
What does Leach have to do with A&M?
What beef does Leach have with A&M? The only Texas based program he has a grudge against is Texas Tech.
Egg Bowl week is going to be really entertaining with Kiffin vs Leach and I’m ready for all of it.
Pirate dog …
Great hire for MSU.
The Egg bowl week just got a lot more interesting.
True. Even if Ole Miss and Miss State are below or at .500 coming into the Egg Bowl, it will be a primetime game for ESPN.
MSU had to get Leach to offdset Laney. It will be interesting to see if Leach can elevate MSU to what they have been under Sherrill and Danny Boy or beyond. The big losers in all of this are Tx A and M and Auburn. The foremer will be exposed as an overpriced error and the later exposed and fored when he tries to run this gauntlet.
MSU has players to fit Leach’s system from day one. The cupboard is not bare . Watch out.
Hell compared to Wash st the cupboard is kind of loaded
Mike Leach will do two things in Starkville; He will fill the seats and score points. Both he will do quickly. Leach is by far the best progeny from the Hal Mumme tree of Air Raid coaches. Great hire for Mississippi State. I have followed Leach since he left UK. Very successful program builder at both Tech and WSU. It will be interesting to see who he hires on the defensive side. That hire, rather than the hire of Leach as HC, may ultimately determine his level of success at MSU. I may have to start cheering for the Bulldogs! Jk
We have a QB and WRs?
Great hire does more with less and is great at evals
Develops QBs nobody else goes after scores points and puts a fun 5o watch O on the field
Basically Mullen with a big 12 style up tempo O and way less emphasis on defense
SEC with Leach and Kiffin!!! I’ve literally dreamed about this
Good Hire… I am now officially a closet Miss St fan… Much man love for Leach..
Bravo Miss St. Great hire. Recently moved to Alabama…gonna have to go to Starkville to catch a few games.
This is going to be fantastic.
Kiffen will likely be more successful because he’ll have a balanced offense with more time of possession to rest his defense and he’ll be more serious about building a decent defense. But MSU will put up points, will be fun to watch, and will upset the occasional big program that isn’t focused coming into the game.
Leach should win at least 7 games in his first regular season.
Count on GameDay doing a feature in Key West now that Leach can get there in 2 hours.
This is gonna be great. Arggggh!
Texas Tech wasn’t very good before he showed up and sucked when he left. WSU was absolutely horrid before he showed up and he made them respectable.
Maybe he’ll make Spurrier Sr. his OC since Jr. will likely be joining him. What a division. Wow!
OMG…What hire Miss State! Egg bowl…Sec Media days just got a ratings boost.
I love how everyone is pretending this retarded mother fûcker is gonna actually do any better than 6-8 wins a year At Miss St. Y’all are funny!
You should change ur user name to tidepod77
I agree, Tidepod is much more fitting.
1. Look at their schedule next year.
2. The next time you have a thought, let it go.
You’re embarrassing! Just hush and let ‘em settle it on the field. Cohen’s gonna come out smelling like a rose.
This comment was for that Tide fan above.
What’s striking is how far behind Arkansas is in coaching. 1st year head coach vs a group of experienced and to varying extents very successful coaches.
That means nothing over a multi year stretch. Mullen was a first year HC at state. Maybe we should have passed on him for an experienced HC.
It “only happened because of a fake dog pee celebration?” Uh, that’s what was credited with SAVING Moorhead’S job after Ole Miss game, since the ensuing 15-yd. penalty substantially contributed to the missed PAT and the 1-point Bulldog victory as time expired seconds later. But, then Moorhead was fired after all — leading to Leach — because his QB got beaten up so badly by a teammate a few weeks later that he couldn’t play in the Music City Bowl, yet no player was suspended. In fact, no disciplinary measure was announced. All Moorhead would say was, it was handled “internally,” it was a team matter, the two players had “talked.” In reality, the crude end zone gesture/celebration was the last straw for Luke, i.e., why Ole Miss replaced him with Kiffin. This writer can’t seem to get basic details straight. . . .
Without the dog-pee celebration, Ole Miss would have kept Luke. It’s been speculated by several folks that MSU would have also stuck with Moorhead for another year if Ole Miss kept Luke.
Strategy for success. Do what OM does. No wonder we can’t win the West.
I would like to welcome Coach Leach as well as Coach Kiffin to their new positions. Maybe it is their competitive nature to want these positions and if so the ole phrase “jumping out of the frying pan into the fire” would definitely apply. Welcome to big time football guys,welcome to the strongest division of the strongest conference in the nation.
Roll Tide
The SEC West will now be even more of a weekly playoff!
Pro Tip: stop hiring offensive minded coaches who are allergic to defense!
L
An overrated showboat. Won’t win you anymore games but he’s great for off the wall quotes and post game interviews. Should be fun.
He’s not a showboat; he’s just eccentric. And he’s not overrated; I don’t think anybody expects MSU to win the SEC West, now or 10 years from now. But in a given year, if he can win two games a year as an underdog, he can win 9 regular season games a year.
But he’s fun and he’s entertaining. And at the end of the day, football is entertainment. It’s a great hire for MSU.
Let UF go 10 years without an East title and say football is only about entertainment.