TAYLOR: Leach influenced Valdosta State, then the world

Published 5:00 pm Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Mike Leach’s unexpected passing Monday has made me do a lot of thinking.

ESPN said his death was related to a heart condition. He was hospitalized Sunday in Mississippi. Leach had been head football coach at Mississippi State since 2020.

Most people around here know that Leach has quite the local connection. He was Hal Mumme’s offensive coordinator at Valdosta State from 1992-96. Leach and Mumme are the key figures in the creation of the Air Raid offense, a pass-heavy system that has revolutionized football.

Leach and Mumme began their little Air Raid experiment at Iowa Wesleyan. Valdosta State football was 10 years old when the two mad scientists used it for further experimentation. The approach went on to change college football permanently, but first it had to change the Blazers permanently.

Previous coach Mike Cavan had been a success — his best year was with a few Tift County Blue Devils on the field — but still rooted in the traditions of which he was raised. But here came a game like no other. A reliance on quarterback accuracy, a lot of quick receivers. It was predictable in that there would be much, much passing but not where it was going.

Valdosta State became Air Raid U, to the point where the next coach after Mumme wasn’t as successful, the Blazers immediately brought Chris Hatcher back to the fold because they not only wanted the system back because of its success, but because it was now closely tied to VSU’s identity.

Hatcher pushed Valdosta State even further, to that first national title in 2004, setting the standard that David Dean and Kerwin Bell achieved and everyone else has chased since.

Mumme was hired directly from VSU to Kentucky. Let’s put it in terms more vague, but more clear. Mumme was hired directly from a Division II school to the SEC. That’s quite an achievement.

Whereas Mumme was the first to hit the big time, it was somehow the more unorthodox, unconventional Leach who became the Air Raid’s face. He followed Mumme to Kentucky, but saw his profile rise as Bob Stoops’ offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. There is a story about a “lost” fake play script that Leach orchestrated for the Texas game that is the stuff of legends.

Leach got his first head coaching opportunity in 2000 at Texas Tech, with a very successful stint at Washington State before he was picked up by Mississippi State.

While he was turning no-name quarterbacks into passing machines, he shared a lot of philosophy. Despite being one of the architects of an offense that changed football forever, very little of his media conversations veered anywhere near that.

Instead, Leach became known for his off-beat personality. You knew where he stood on candy (Spree but no candy corn), wedding planning and which Pac-12 mascots he thought could win if they were really fighting. He spoke often about his affinity for Geronimo, even co-writing a book about him. He was apparently fascinated with a mobster or two.

With news trickling out that Leach’s situation was not good, social media lit up with stories and videos of Leach’s greatest hits. Coaches and sports persons from around America posted their admiration for what he helped create.

Leach wasn’t without his controversies, especially how his Texas Tech stint ended, but his football brain will never be quite replicated.

Hal Mumme and Mike Leach came south in 1992, with ideas that had success in the NAIA but were unproven beyond a league that was ripe for experiments. Anywhere else would need a whole lot more proof to see the Air Raid as viable.

I don’t think we fully appreciate what we had at Valdosta State. The Mumme years there featured not only himself and Leach, but Dana Holgorsen and Guy Morriss on the staff, two more future Division I head coaches. Chris Hatcher, who learned from these men, came back to VSU after traveling with Mumme and Leach to Kentucky. Hatcher’s staffs included Will Muschamp and Kirby Smart.

On top of the college coaches coming out of VSU are the litany of high school football people. Even if the philosophy does not completely match, you have children and grandchildren of the Mumme/Leach coaching tree hitting nearly every county in the state, influencing thousands of athletes then, now and years to come.

And while we were waiting for news about Leach Tuesday, Georgia Tech hired Buster Faulkner as its new offensive coordinator. Faulkner played for the Blazers under Hatcher. Yet another grandchild of the Mumme/Leach VSU tree.

Valdosta State Director of Athletics Herb Reinhard issued a brief statement on social media Dec. 13 about Leach’s passing.

There is only so much you can say in a graphic and this one mentioned that Leach had spoken fondly of his time in Valdosta. Indeed, Leach did. A whole chapter of his 2011 autobiography, “Swing Your Sword,” is devoted to his stint with the Blazers.

Like everything else, Leach was a student of his surroundings. Leach said he admired Nick Hyder, who was then coaching the Valdosta Wildcats. He said he loved the schools, as his oldest daughter, Janeen, was in elementary school then. Mumme, who comments in “Swing Your Sword,” said Leach encouraged him to apply for VSU because there was a swimming pool near the coaching offices. Still making young football assistant money, Leach mostly biked to work as he and his wife had one car between them.

“I’ve lived in some great places. I’ve lived in some horrible places,” said Leach in the book. “Valdosta, Georgia, is the only place I’ve ever cried over leaving.”

Leach had a sport to change, though, and Valdosta State got to play a measurable part of it. Football, both on the field and off, will never be quite as interesting as it was with Leach involved.

Becky Taylor is The Tifton Gazette sports editor.