Somehow Patrick Mahomes and the late Mike Leach never met, but the influence is obvious
Patrick Mahomes never met Mike Leach. By the time Mahomes arrived at Texas Tech, Leach had been gone from Lubbock for five years, fired after alleged mistreatment of a player.
But Leach’s impact on one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks is profound.
“A huge influence,” Mahomes said.
Leach died this week at age 61 of complications related to a heart condition. He was in his third season as the Mississippi State coach, and he also coached at Washington State.
Leach’s longest stay in a job was his decade at Texas Tech that produced national passing leaders regularly while operating the Air Raid offense. The first in that group was Kliff Kingsbury, who went on to become the Red Raiders’ — and Mahomes’ — coach.
And Mahomes’ numbers soared at Tech, as if he were a Leach quarterback. Mahomes continues to share the NCAA record for passing yards in a game at 734 against Oklahoma in 2016.
Big numbers followed Mahomes into the NFL. In his fifth year as a starter in a career that has produced a Super Bowl title and MVP, Mahomes leads the league in passing yards and touchdowns.
“I learned from Coach Kingsbury, so it was like I was learning from Mike Leach himself,” Mahomes said. “His impact will be known for a long time around the NFL and college football.”
Andy Reid’s playing career at Brigham Young overlapped with Leach while he was student there. An injury prevented Leach from playing college football. He competed in rugby. But Cougars Coach LaVell Edwards allowed Leach to occasionally sit in on film sessions, and Leach developed friendships with coaches.
Reid said Leach didn’t visit the Chiefs as college coaches often do in the spring and summer. But Reid said they spent time together when Reid was with the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Very creative,” Reid said. “Just a good guy. He left a nice legacy behind him for sure in football. Very unique.”
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 3:56 PM.