Former College of the Desert football coach Mike Leach dies at 61
Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach died following complications from a heart condition, the school announced on Tuesday. He was 61.
Leach enjoyed a long career, with head coaching stops at Texas Tech, Washington State, and Mississippi State. But for one year, he called the Coachella Valley his home, working as a linebacker coach for College of the Desert in 1988, the second job as a football coach, with many more stops along the way to go.
The COD Roadrunners mourns the loss of Coach Mike Leach. Rest In Peace. pic.twitter.com/HX0cGMveW9
— Desert Athletics (@COD_Athletics) December 13, 2022
"In the course of coaching and if you've been coaching as long as I have, there's a lot of stops in the path and each stop makes you stronger, builds you, and helps you build your arsenal of knowledge and experience in this business. And one of those stops was College of the Desert that was led by John Marman," Leach said in a video tribute to Marman for his memorial last year.
Marman was the longtime athletic director at COD for several years.
Leach fell ill Sunday at his home in Starkville, Mississippi, near the university. He was treated at a local hospital before being airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) away.
Leach fought through a bout with pneumonia late in this season, coughing uncontrollably at times during news conferences, but seemed to be improving, according to those who worked with him.
News of him falling gravely ill swept through college football the past few days and left many who knew him stunned, hoping and praying for a recovery.
“It’s hard to put into words the impact that Mike Leach had on the players he coached, the game of football and me personally,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes posted on Twitter. “He was a unique personality and independent thinker and a great friend. No one had a greater influence on my life other than my father.”
Leach passed away Monday night.
