Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire honors the late, great Mike Leach at Big 12 Media Days.
It is still so incredibly sad that "The Pirate" Mike Leach is no longer with us.
The former Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State head football coach passed away during the holiday season from a massive heart attack. There will never be another person like him in college football, or in any other sport for that matter. Leach was truly one-of-one. His legacy will always be about being cutting edge, eclectic and being 100 percent comfortable in your own skin.
So when Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire swung his sword at Big 12 Media Days with the Jolly Roger-inspired inner lining of his Red Raiders sports jacket, that's what we're talking about!
Leach may have had a fractured relationship with Texas Tech up until his untimely passing, but his reach extends far beyond any remote Power Five outpost he ever coached at. Everyone loved him!
Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire honors Mike Leach at Big 12 Media Days
What I loved about Coach Leach the most was he was one of us. The Other Guys, so to speak. He didn't play college football, but nobody gave a f**k. He loved to see how many points he could score on the opposition, giving his teams with usually inferior talent a greater opportunity to compete. Given that McGuire is a coach's coach to a T, I think his wardrobe really cuts through.
I'll admit it. It was weird watching Zach Arnett's Mississippi State Bulldogs take on Bret Bielema's Illinois Fighting Illini in Tampa without Coach Leach present. I mean, the man was called the freaking Pirate, and their bowl game was played in a stadium with literally a pirate ship that fires cannons whenever the Buccaneers hit pay dirt. I'm just glad he went out on top in the Egg Bowl…
Yes, I'm still torn up about losing Coach Leach. Nobody did a better job of making people feel belonged in the college football universe than him. At this time, please try to think about ways you can swing your sword and be The Pirate in your every-day life. It is the spirit of curiosity, the spirit of childlike wonder and the spirit of authenticity. We can never forget what he meant to all of us.
Coach McGuire swung his sword this week! Thank you for keeping The Spirit of The Pirate alive!
