When news surfaced that Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach died on Monday night, numerous tributes and reflections for one of college football’s most unique personas began to pour out across social media.
As media members, fans, alums and students of the university reflected on their fondest memories of Leach, no one knew him quite better than Hal Mumme, a former Kentucky football coach and one of the creators of the “Air Raid” offense.
Leach, a protégé of Mumme’s lethal offensive scheme, served as the Wildcats offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during the 1997–98 football season. But even before his days in the Bluegrass State, the two were paired together at Iowa Wesleyan and Valdosta State, creating explosive offenses that were well documented.
