Utah coach Kyle Whittingham shared his condolences at the death of Mike Leach, the Mississippi State coach who died Monday night following complications from a heart condition and a man Whittingham called a close friend.
Whittingham and Leach faced each other several times when Leach coached at Washington State from 2012-2019.
What did Kyle Whittingham say about Mike Leach?
“The world of college football lost a great one today. Mike Leach was a close friend and I will miss him. He was a person I always looked forward to conversing with, not only about football, but life in general,” Whittingham said in a statement shared on Twitter.
“He brought a wealth of knowledge to our profession, and I admired and loved how straight up and unfiltered he was. Truly a one of a kind coach and person. My heart goes out to his wife and family in this devastating time. Mike, I love you and we will miss you.”
After practice on Tuesday, Whittingham reflected on Leach’s life.
“Just an awful turn of events. 61 years old. He was a good friend of mine. It’s devastating and we will miss him. All of college football will miss him,” Whittingham said.
There was no telling where a conversation with Leach would go.
“He was brilliant. You could pick any subject — UFOs, Sasquatch, politics — three hours. You wouldn’t get much talking, he would carry the conversation. He was well-versed in every subject.”
Even the pregame visits between Leach and Whittingham were entertaining.
“One time we were talking before the game and pulls a banana out of his pocket and he just starts eating this banana and he says, ‘You want one?’ I said ‘No, I’m good, coach.’ That’s just who he is,” Whittingham said.
“He was his own man, his own person. He said what was on his mind. He was one of a kind. His humor was second to none. I’ll miss him dearly.”
Leach was an offensive innovator, taking the Air Raid offense to new heights as a head coach.
“He’s really the guy that took the Air Raid and made it what it is ... Mike Leach developed it and took it to where he did during the course of his career. He’s an offensive innovator. He deserves the credit for making that offense come to fruition,” Whittingham said.
Both Whittingham and Leach are graduates of BYU — the Utah coach played football under LaVell Edwards in the early 1980s, while Leach played rugby at the school around the same time.
Their paths have crossed multiple times throughout their coaching careers. Leach owned a 4-2 record over Whittingham and Utah during his time at Washington State.
Prior to coaching at Washington State, Leach was the head coach at Texas Tech from 2000-2009. He spent the past three seasons as Mississippi State’s head coach.
In 2019, ahead of their final meeting as fellow Pac-12 coaches, Whittingham shared why he loved conversations with Leach.
“He is the most entertaining coach you will come across. He is as smart as a whip and personable,” Whittingham told the Deseret News. “You can literally choose any topic and you will get a couple of hours’ worth of dialogue. He knows a lot. He must read a lot.”