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Washington State Football: 5 reasons why college football needs Mike Leach

By Justin Dottavio

EUGENE, OR - OCTOBER 10: Head coach Mike Leach of the Washington State Cougars looks up at the video screen during the third quarter of the game against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
EUGENE, OR - OCTOBER 10: Head coach Mike Leach of the Washington State Cougars looks up at the video screen during the third quarter of the game against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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TEMPE, AZ – OCTOBER 22: Head coach Mike Leach of the Washington State Cougars watches from the sidelines during the first half of the college football game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium on October 22, 2016 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ – OCTOBER 22: Head coach Mike Leach of the Washington State Cougars watches from the sidelines during the first half of the college football game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium on October 22, 2016 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

3. Mike Leach is our intellectual savior

Leach’s former protege Kliff Kingsburry could be defined as suave, PJ Fleck, the new name in the Big Ten, could be defined as energetic, James Franklin at Penn State a shark and Alabama’s Nick Saban and Washington’s Chris Petersen stately.

Mike Leach isn’t your typical former great athlete-turned-coach or CEO-like fast-talker that sells his program on TV. He’s not going to woo fans with his form fitting polos like Larry Fedora, or his Under Armour 1/4 zip-ups like Kingsbury.

What you get from Mike Leach is our intellectual savior. He’s not quite as sophisticated as Lloyd Carr or Joe Paterno, he’s Judd Apatow’s pick for a head ball coach — frumpy but lovable.

Why is Leach the coach of the nerds? First and foremost, he didn’t even play college football. He has an obsession with 18th century pirates. He has a Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine. He probably likes The Solid Verbal but wouldn’t tell anyone. His idea of killing time trapped in the car with Petersen was learning Spanish on his phone, or staring out the window. He invented “6” which is a play every football fan should know and every coach should run.

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