THREADS BLOG

Mississippi State honors late coach Mike Leach with ‘Pirate’ helmet decal

Jan 2, 2023, 9:27 AM | Updated: 9:34 am

The 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl — formerly known as the Outback Bowl — will be paying tribute to a fallen coach on Monday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay.

No. 22 Mississippi State will be honoring the late Mike Leach with a pirate decal featuring the initials “ML” on its helmets when the Bulldogs take on the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Leach’s nickname was “Pirate.”

Leach, who died at the age of 61 on Dec. 13, gave one of the greatest contributions to the game of college football by being an innovator of the Air Raid offense.

One of his disciples and former quarterback at Texas Tech from 1998-2002 was current Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury.

β€œI don’t think he ever realized how big a figure he was in college football,” Kingsbury told reporters on Dec. 13. β€œI wish he could have seen the outpouring because I don’t think it ever hit him like that.”

The No. 10 USC Trojans will also be paying tribute to Leach with a “ML” decal on the back of their helmets when they take on the No. 16 Tulane Green Wave in the 2023 Cotton Bowl.

USC head coach Lincoln Riley backed up Kingsbury at Texas Tech in 2002 before serving as an assistant coach under Leach from 2003-09.

β€œThere’s a bunch of (memories), but you would learn a lot about life — probably 50-50 life and football in his meetings,” Kingsbury said. β€œAnd he always thought everybody was open. … That was kind of his beauty, he truly thought that his offense was unstoppable.

“He made you believe in yourself more so than you did. … Everywhere he’s gone he’s won. There’s a method to the madness and it just was an honor to call him a friend.”

Threads Blog

Pat Tillman PT-42 helmet that Arizona State will wear against UCF...

Kevin Zimmerman

Arizona State football wearing Pat Tillman PT-42 helmets vs. UCF

Arizona State football will honor the late Pat Tillman with "PT-42" helmets when the Sun Devils host UCF on Saturday.

3 days ago

Suns wing Ryan Dunn...

Damon Allred

Report: Suns rookie Ryan Dunn inks Nike shoe deal

Phoenix Suns wing Ryan Dunn's memorable start to his NBA career continued with a reported shoe deal with Nike.

7 days ago

(Jaden Bradley Instagram)...

Bailey Leasure

Arizona basketball version of Devin Booker’s Book 1s out there

Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley revealed on his Instagram that an Arizona-version of Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker Nike shoe Book 1s exist.

8 days ago

Oklahoma State's OA helmets for homecoming against Arizona State features an OA logo....

Kevin Zimmerman

Oklahoma State throws it back 125 years with uniforms vs. Arizona State

Oklahoma State is throwing it back to celebrate their 125th season of football during homecoming Saturday when Arizona State rolls into Stillwater.

12 days ago

Suns tease the waistband with a cactus on upcoming jerseys...

Kevin Zimmerman

Phoenix Suns tease cactus-themed jerseys

Might the Phoenix Suns return to The Valley jerseys with a cactus theme that nods to the 1994-95 NBA All-Star Game?

21 days ago

Quarterback Kyler Murray #1 of the Arizona Cardinals warms up before the NFL game against the Detro...

David Veenstra

Cardinals to wear all-black uniforms for Monday Night Football game against the Chargers

The Arizona Cardinals will be wearing their all-black uniforms for their Monday Night Football game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

21 days ago

Mississippi State honors late coach Mike Leach with ‘Pirate’ helmet decal