Former Head Coach – Texas Tech University Football team
Arguably one of the most innovative coaches in the country, Mike Leach not only transformed Texas Tech Football, but also the face of college football with an all-out aerial assault. This is evidenced by the number of programs incorporating more passing into their schemes than before. Leach’s offense became a hot, commodity as coaching staffs from across the country came to Lubbock to get a glimpse into what makes the program tick.
Leading the nation’s most prolific passing offenses in the country, Leach, received the All-American Football Foundation’s ‘Johnny Vaught Head Coach Award in 2006 as well as numerous accolades in 2008 including being named the Big 12 Coach of the Year and receiving both the George Munger and the Woody Hayes Award for National Coach of the Year. Leach was also a finalist for Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year and AFCA National Coach of the Year Awards.
Leach helped guide the Red Raiders to four-straight NCAA passing titles from 2001-2004 and again in 2007 & 2008 as well as three-consecutive total offense titles (2001-2003) during his tenure. Leach’s offense produced school records in nearly every passing category in 2000, but surpassed those numbers with each new season. His teams combined for over 151 team and individual records at Tech.
Leach’s off-field accomplishments are equally as impressive as his success on the field. Texas Tech’s graduation rate of 79% put it at the top of the Big-12 Conference and among the country’s elite academic institutions. Leach was also an AFCA Academic Achievement, Honorable Mention from 2001-2008 (recognized for graduating more than 75% of football student-athletes). Graduation rates among African-American student-athletes were also consistently among the highest in the nation.
Leach-coached Red Raiders’ best finishes with their nine-win seasons in 2002, 2005, and 2007 and an 11-win season in 2008. While leading the Red Raiders to 84 wins since 2000, Leach is the only coach in school history to lead his teams to a bowl game every year. He is the all-time winningest coach in both regular season and postseason play in Tech football history.
Prior to Texas Tech, Leach, in just one season at Oklahoma, directed a Sooner offense that went from one of the worst in the Big 12 Conference to one of the best. For his efforts, Leach was nominated for the 1999 Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in the country.
Prior to joining Bob Stoops’ Oklahoma staff, Leach served as offensive coordinator for Hal Mumme at the University of Kentucky and Valdosta (Ga.) State University. Leach and Mumme first teamed up at Iowa Wesleyan College in 1989. From 1989 to 1991 he served as offensive coordinator and line coach for an offense that led the NAIA in passing yardage one season and finished second the other two.
Leach has also made coaching stops in Pori, Finland, where he served as head coach in the European Football League (1989), as well as one-year stints at College of the Desert (1988) and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo (1987).
In August 2010, Mike Leach joined CBS College Sports Network as a football analyst where he joined play-by-play announcer Roger Twibell. Leach also hosted a Sirius Radio Show, College Football Playbook with Jack Arute.
After graduating with honors from BYU in 1983, Leach earned a Master’s Degree from the U.S. Sports Academy and his law degree from Pepperdine University, where he graduated in the top one-third of his class.
The oldest of six siblings, Leach and his wife, Sharon, are the parents of four children; Janeen Kim, Cody, and, Kiersten.
