'Swing Your Sword': One Year Ago Today We Lost Mike Leach And His Memory Still Lives On, Just When You Least Expect It

As the college football world still argues over the final playoff rankings, I'd sure love to hear what Mike Leach would have to say about it all. More than that, I'd just like to hear some of his postgame quotes once again. But the past is all we have to lean on, which is enough for me.

On this day, just one year ago, we lost one of the most charismatic coaches in football. Known for his quirky responses and history lessons on World War II, Leach was obviously one of a kind. But most importantly, Mike Leach was a man of the people, never afraid to share his opinion, even if it caused a ruckus.

It's fitting that on the last night he was with us, he shared the evening with a number of reporters at his house for the holidays. The college football world lost its 'Pirate' and we're still having trouble getting past the loss. Who knew that the former assistant coach under Hal Mumme would have such an impact on the business.

But after making his way up through the coaching tree, he found his calling at Texas Tech and it was as if he had launched himself to the moon. Besides what he did on the field, Leach's long-winded answers on halloween treats or wedding advice stand-out the most when looking back on his life off the field.

The passion Leach had for history turned into a professor job at Washington State, where he would taught a class of young kids about the art of war. Remember when the former Texas Tech coach made an appearance on Friday Night Lights, where we heard his phrase 'Swing Your Sword'?

Mike Leach Found His PlaceKicker After Halftime Contest

Let's be honest, this might be one of the crazier moves Mike Leach made during his coaching tenure. After being picked from the student section to attempt a field goal at halftime, Matt Williams was just trying to win free rent for a year.

Leach needed a placekicker, and after seeing what Matt Williams did at halftime during a kicking contest, the Texas Tech head coach sent the equipment manager into the stands to get his information.

"He takes one step and puts it down the center of the goal post," Leach pointed out. "That's pressure, I figured it would be easy to kick extra points after that."

Matt Williams would go on to finish the 2008 season with Texas Tech. He kicked for the Red Raiders in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

“Matt Williams – in his regular shoes, tennis shoes — one-steps it,” Mike Leach said in 2021. “It goes straight up and through – the type of thing where if you just had a center and a holder and nobody blocking the defenders on the line of scrimmage. You still would’ve made it because it went up right away.”

Leach Has Solid Advice Regarding Alyssa Lang's Wedding

Mike Leach never shied away from a topic, including marriage. This was evident when ESPN's Alyssa Lang was interviewing the former Mississippi State head coach following a 42-24 win over Texas A&M in Starkville.

Rather than go into all the specifics of how the game was won, Leach decided to give marriage advice to Lang, which will go down as one of the funnier moments of his career. In front of a national television audience after beating the Aggies, Leach told Alyssa Lang to just elope and get it over with.

“As soon as the season’s over or even in an off week, go elope,” Mike Leach noted. “Because basically every female in the family is going to terrorize you guys until it’s over. Once it’s over, they’ll be upset for a few days, but it’ll be over. Then you cruise along, have a happy marriage, have a happy life.”

Mike Leach Power-Ranking Pac-12 Mascots Fighting Skills

There wasn't a topic that Mike Leach was afraid of talking about, including mascots. While head coach at Washington State, the Cougars head coach was asked about ranking Pac-12 mascots that would win in a fight, if it were to happen.

I think it's safe to assume that his answer will live forever, given that the Pac-12 conference has now crumbled. While discussing the Arizona State Sun Devils, Leach made it clear that a Harry Potter fan would have the answers.

“You’d have to get one of those Harry Potter activists to read up on how you kill a Sun Devil, because there’s a lot of outside stuff there," Leach said.

In terms of predicting the future, the former Washington State head coach was right about the Oregon Ducks, even if it took five years for the school to leave for the Big Ten.

“The Duck might lose interest and just fly away and get out of there," Leach noted. "Which may be good advice under the circumstances."

Greg Sankey Introduces Mike Leach At 2022 SEC Media Days

I'll have to be bias on this one, because it came during such a monumental time. Unbeknown to anyone, this would be the final SEC Media Day for Mike Leach, in Atlanta before the 2022 season. The Mississippi State Bulldogs had Will Rogers at quarterback and Mike Leach prepared to use his signature Air-Raid offense.

As SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey took to the stage to introduce Mike Leach to the media, Sankey gave the best introduction for a head coach I'd seen to this day.

"He was the head football coach of a team in Finland, in the European Football League," Sankey started out. "When he was at Washington State, he taught a five-week course on insurgent warfare and football strategy. This past spring at Mississippi State, he had several hundred Mississippi State students gather for a special guest lecture on the same topic.

"He’s an author of two books, provides I’ve been told, outstanding Netflix recommendations, although he’s never shared those with me. An expert on best BBQ in town. He’s also a world traveler — this year, Columbia and Panama, last year an African Safari. The head coach of Mississippi State University, Mike Leach.”

There won't be another coach like Mike Leach, so quick to respond in the good times and bad times. He cared for folks, even if he didn't publicly show it. A man known for his love of Key West, Florida and sipping drinks on a barstool somewhere near the water. If you wanted to find him during the off-season you knew where to look.

The 'Pirate' will always have a special place in the hearts of college football fans, coaches and administrators. Some good moments, some bad. But we can't deny the man had an impact on us all, in some form or fashion.

If there's one thing we should take away from the life of Mike Leach, it's real simple.

"Swing Your Sword."