Mike Leach has passed away

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2nd Degree Gopher said:
My understanding is that Hal Mumme is considered the father of the air raid. Leach coached under Mumme at a few spots, most notably Kentucky. Leach may have coined the name. Leach then took the offense to Oklahoma where he was OC before getting the HC job at Texas Tech.
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They started it out together while coaching at Iowa Wesleyan, which is where it really took off before they moved on.
 



Panthadad2 said:
Total innovative mind. One of the very few high level football coaches to never play college football; maybe freeing him from the existing coaching dogma. I could be wrong, but I recall his early Texas Tech years as being the first to implement the modern "air raid" type spread offense that eschewed time of possession in favor of increasing the number of offensive plays. How many teams have we seen implement those tactics since then?

Side note: I always wondered if his fast moving air raid offenses hurt his defenses as much as it helped his offenses given that he never coached at a helmet school defensive player depth-factory.
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I think it was called the air raid, as in the (Texas Tech Red) Raiders.
 


It’s been on my mind on and off all day. Just a feeling of sadness about losing Coach Leach.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of changes, many not for the better, with college football. Coach Leach was a guy that could help make college football a little more fun. He will be missed.
 


news.yahoo.com

'Go get that guy': How a Texas Tech walk-on kicker lived rent-free in Mike Leach's head

Nov. 10—STARKVILLE — Matt Williams should have been spending the weekend before Halloween like any student at Texas Tech in 2008: worrying somewhat about classes but mainly gearing up to watch Mike Leach's 7-0 team travel to face a top-20 Kansas team. Instead, there he was on Texas Tech's...
news.yahoo.com news.yahoo.com

I remember coming across this story about Leach and a walk on kicker at Texas Tech and Leach only could remember his name as Lynwood(his apartment complex name)
 

We’re blessed to have witnessed The Pirate from afar. He was a personality college football will miss. Shame on Craig James for taking him out of the game for years.
 



Gophers_4life said:
I think it was called the air raid, as in the (Texas Tech Red) Raiders.
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The air raid was coined by Leach when he took was being mentored at a small Wesleyan college. Leach started doing writeups to encourage people to watch the team.
247sports.com

Architects of Air Raid: Hal Mumme remembers Mike Leach

...
247sports.com 247sports.com


Leach served as UK offensive coordinator under then-head coach Hal Mumme in both 1997 and 1998, averaging 33.9 points per game over his two seasons with the Wildcats, helping guide Kentucky to an Outback Bowl appearance in 1998 and develop Tim Couch into a Heisman Trophy finalist and the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft.

"As a coach, he's the best I've ever been around. He's just as smart in football as he was in everything else," Mumme told BBN Tonight. "He was very innovative. Always coming up with ways to solve problems and he was great at handling players. I learned a lot from him."

Although the Wildcats went just 12-11 during Leach's two seasons and Mumme was unceremoniously fired following a 2-9 season in 2000 amid NCAA rules violations including a pay-for-play scandal, it is looked upon fondly by fans as one of the most memorable eras in UK football history, mainly because of the prolific Air Raid offense.

Over Leach's two seasons in 97-98, Couch passed for over 8,000 yards and 73 touchdowns.


Prior to following him to Kentucky in 1997, Leach served as Mumme's offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan from 1989-91, where he first coined the term Air Raid, and Valdosta State from 1992-96.

"We ruined a lot of tablecloths in restaurants and used up a lot of napkins. It was just a complete collaboration and it was fun to do," Mumme told Dari Nowkhah on SEC Now. "We enjoyed all of it and we didn’t mind working without a net. We were never afraid to be fired, we were never afraid to go for it on fourth down. Mike, we were just like brothers. It was so fun being on the sidelines with him. I remember when Bob Stoops hired him away, I was happy that he got that opportunity but I did miss him incredibly the next year."
 

MennoSota said:
The air raid was coined by Leach when he took was being mentored at a small Wesleyan college. Leach started doing writeups to encourage people to watch the team.
247sports.com

Architects of Air Raid: Hal Mumme remembers Mike Leach

...
247sports.com 247sports.com


Leach served as UK offensive coordinator under then-head coach Hal Mumme in both 1997 and 1998, averaging 33.9 points per game over his two seasons with the Wildcats, helping guide Kentucky to an Outback Bowl appearance in 1998 and develop Tim Couch into a Heisman Trophy finalist and the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft.

"As a coach, he's the best I've ever been around. He's just as smart in football as he was in everything else," Mumme told BBN Tonight. "He was very innovative. Always coming up with ways to solve problems and he was great at handling players. I learned a lot from him."

Although the Wildcats went just 12-11 during Leach's two seasons and Mumme was unceremoniously fired following a 2-9 season in 2000 amid NCAA rules violations including a pay-for-play scandal, it is looked upon fondly by fans as one of the most memorable eras in UK football history, mainly because of the prolific Air Raid offense.

Over Leach's two seasons in 97-98, Couch passed for over 8,000 yards and 73 touchdowns.


Prior to following him to Kentucky in 1997, Leach served as Mumme's offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan from 1989-91, where he first coined the term Air Raid, and Valdosta State from 1992-96.

"We ruined a lot of tablecloths in restaurants and used up a lot of napkins. It was just a complete collaboration and it was fun to do," Mumme told Dari Nowkhah on SEC Now. "We enjoyed all of it and we didn’t mind working without a net. We were never afraid to be fired, we were never afraid to go for it on fourth down. Mike, we were just like brothers. It was so fun being on the sidelines with him. I remember when Bob Stoops hired him away, I was happy that he got that opportunity but I did miss him incredibly the next year."
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I stand corrected, thanks!

Though I do believe people then took the term and applied "Air [mascot]" to it for other schools.
 






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