A Grip on Sports: Mike Leach’s death brings back memories of his time in Pullman

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Mike Leach probably hated funerals. They went against his nature. He rarely liked to look back, except at some esoteric and long-forgotten piece of historical information or trivia. His life, which he lived his way, was about looking forward to what tomorrow would bring. But now there are no more tomorrows for Leach, the former Washington State football coach, who died Monday night at 61.

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• There will be a funeral, of course. A big one. But in Leach’s case, it might be better to allow all those who knew him to gather in a football stadium somewhere – maybe in his beloved Key West – and let them talk. Just turn on the recorders and let everyone share their most memorable Mike Leach moments.

For some, those moments may not be the happiest. Leach was blunt. Not the easiest person to deal with. When he was successful, he was called quirky. When he was not, other adjectives were used. All were right.

But for most of his players or assistant coaches or support personnel, those who knew him best outside his family, there would be hours and hours of Leach-isms to share, almost all of which would make them laugh until they cried. And crying is a good thing when dealing with the passing of someone close.

We have our own Leach stories, though our paths didn’t cross as often as one might think, even if we were covering Washington State when he was hired to revive the program in late November of 2011. We talked with him a few times then, a couple more when we were part of the WSU football radio team and, most recently, when we were writing for The Athletic.

That 90-minute interview is what we remember most. Not because of the result of the conversation, a long story for the publication, but because of the varied places it took us.

From Cody, Wyo., where Leach grew up, to Finland, one of the first places he coached the game he would change. From Malibu, where he went to law school, to San Luis Obispo, where he made all of $3,000 a year to coach offensive linemen. From Iowa to Georgia to Texas to Washington. And, always, the trade winds of the Florida Keys.

At each stop Leach preached his gospel of the Air Raid, a term he embraced because its connotations reached back into history but also seemed a little out of place in college stadiums these days.

Just like Leach himself.

But back to that interview in his Washington State office, a place dominated by a pirate statue and filled with enough clutter to open a second-hand store. He talked and talked and talked, coughing occasionally, as he often did, but was willing to answer any question as long as it interested him.

Somehow, we got on the subject of college football in the 1970s. Actually, intramural college football in that decade. Leach’s interest was piqued. He switched from subject to interviewee as we described the offense our baseball team ran playing seven-man flag football.

It spread the field, with linemen and receivers by the sidelines and only the center and quarterback in the middle of the field. The ball was snapped, the quarterback grabbed it and ran around until he found someone open. It was nearly unstoppable.

Leach was intrigued. He wanted to know more. Pulled out some paper. Demanded we draw it up. Nodded. Pointed out some similarities to what he was thinking about at the time. Used it to show how, even then, football was evolving. And the future was being created back then not at Alabama or Oklahoma, but in high schools and college intramurals, from baseball players to former rugby guys, like himself. That the game was just that, a game, and it was going to evolve forever.

He played a huge part in that evolution.

Funny thing, though. For all his quirks and mannerisms and revolutionary flare, he was, at his heart, a conservative man who thought something had been lost in the years between playing Little League in Cody to the modern day. Athletes had grown softer, bedrock principles had been discarded and truth, as he saw it, was ignored all too often.

But that was Mike Leach. A conservative radical. Until the end.

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WSU: In Leach’s Washington State tenure, he took the Cougars to almost as many bowl games as they had played in previously. Now it’s become a common occurrence. The latest will be Saturday, when they face Mountain West champion Fresno State in the L.A. Bowl. Colton Clark has his first look. … It was big recruiting day for the Cougars. Colton has stories on a prep offensive tackle, a JC tackle and a running back committing to WSU. … We can pass along a photo gallery from Leach’s time in Pullman. We also have other stories about his passing for you to read. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, Jon Wilner delves into next year’s Heisman race in the Mercury News. His conference front-runner? It’s not who you might think. … Oregon State wants to make amends for last year’s bowl fiasco. Florida’s talent won’t make it easy. … Stanford officially introduced Troy Taylor as its football coach. … Just how the heck did Colorado entice Deion Sanders to take over the program? … Kyle Whittingham has been doing so well for so long at Utah he’s entering rarified air. … In basketball news, Washington is receiving help from a new source. … Colorado is rebounding well. … Arizona State became the latest team to defeat Creighton. … Arizona and Pelle Larsson have a breather coming up due to friendship among the coaches.

Gonzaga: Northern Illinois had already played a game in the region, losing handily at Idaho a couple weeks ago. But the Huskies stayed closer to the 15th-ranked Zags last night in McCarthey, finally succumbing 88-67. Jim Meehan has the game story. … He also has a story on the Zags’ poll standing. … Ben Gregg had the best game of his GU career, scoring 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Theo Lawson has more here. … Theo also has a story on Drew Timme being named the WCC player of the week. … Jesse Tinsley has the photo gallery. … The folks in the office put together a recap with highlights. … The women won twice last week. Dealt with roster issues. And then fell a spot in the A.P. poll. Jim Allen has more. … Elsewhere in the WCC, San Francisco fell to New Mexico in Las Vegas. … The University of San Diego run away from UC San Diego.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky Conference, the faces are changing among the conference’s football coaches. … One of the new ones, Idaho State’s Cody Hawkins, is making his dad proud. … Next up for Montana State is top-seeded South Dakota State on the road.

Preps: Dave Nichols has a roundup from Monday.

Seahawks: The recipe to beat Seattle is simple: run the ball. Everyone knows it. Even Pete Carroll. … Questions? Here are some answers.

Kraken: Seattle made a roster change.

World Cup: There are two blue bloods in the semifinals. And two upstarts.

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• Mike Leach wasn’t everyone’s cup of coffee. Even when he was caught blowing on his because it was too hot during a pre-bowl press conference. But he made a huge impact on Washington State’s football fortunes, which will always be remembered fondly in these parts. Until later …