Mississippi State Football Coach Mike Leach Dies at 61

Mississippi State Football Coach Mike Leach Dies at 61
Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach talks with his team in the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M in Lubbock, Texas, on Oct. 24, 2009. Mike Fuentes/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:

Gruff, pioneering and unfiltered, Mike Leach was one of the most influential football coaches of this or any generation. His boundless curiosity and fascination for people, places and things made him famous beyond the field, a unique character in sports.

Leach, who was in his third year at Mississippi State after helping revolutionize the game of football from high school to the NFL with the Air Raid offense, died Monday night following complications from a heart condition, the school said Tuesday. He was 61.