Mississippi State’s Football Stadium Unveils Perfect Mike Leach Tribute Following Coach’s Passing

On Tuesday morning, the college football world lost a true legend in the form of Mike Leach. The beloved head coach was gearing up for what would’ve been his third bowl game in as many seasons since taking the reins at Mississippi State when he suffered a heart attack on Sunday, and he was placed in comfort care before passing away at the age of 61.

The famously colorful coach left behind one hell of a legacy. Leach had an indelible impact on the game he devoted his life to thanks to the fairly revolutionary “Air Raid” offensive strategy that’s intrinsically linked to a campaign to get the College Football Hall of Fame to bend the rules that currently complicate the induction he undoubtedly deserves. He was also an incredibly entertaining character who added a level of intrigue to every single press conference he held thanks to his reputation for being a bit of a wild card.

Leach’s fairly unconventional approach to his job led to one journalist dubbing him “The Pirate” during his time at Texas Tech (a moniker that he fully embraced and alluded to during a brief but memorable cameo on an episode of Friday Night Lights).

Following his death, a number of fans drew some inspiration from that nickname while proposing various ways Leach should be remembered. That includes one person who proposed

Twitter

to college football’s “most eccentric playmaker,” and plenty of others have already pushed for Mississippi State and other teams to honor him by placing a pirate-themed decal on their helmets.

It seems like there’s a very good chance the Bulldogs will dream up some way to memorialize Leach when they face off against Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on January 2nd (the team reaffirmed its commitment to the contest on Tuesday, with one person at the school noting Leach would undoubtedly want them to play in a game at a venue that’s home to a pirate ship).

However, Mississippi State wasted no time unfurling the perfect tribute to Leach in Starkville, as a red Jolly Roger flag bearing the skull and bones was spotted flying at half-staff inside Davis Wade Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

Nailed it.

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