The University of Mississippi State lost a football coach as Mike Leach has passed away and numerous of his fans and friends are sharing tributes to him on social media using his nickname, The Pirate, know its meaning
61-year-old Mike Leach passed away on Monday 12th of December at the University of Mississippi Medical Center following a few complications due to a heart condition. He was also known by his name The Pirate. Mike Leach was a 2-time national coach awardee of the year, and also a 3-time conference coach of the year.
Why Was Mike Leach Given The Nickname The Pirate
He was regarded as mastermind behind NCAA record-setting, air raid offense. Mike was born to Frank Leach and Sandra Leach. He married Sharon Leach and had 4 children with his wife, named Cody Leach, Kim Leach, Kiersten Leach, and Janeen Leach.
Mike Leach Aka The Pirate
The nickname The Pirate was given when Mike Leach was the head football coach at the University of Texas Tech, a position he was holding from 2000 to 2009. While Mike was teaching there, he brought a pirate’s sword to show his team and used it as a metaphor for giving the team some advice. Mike Leach spoke about swinging swords with great power, just like the pirates do.
His fans soon started sending him pirate items like flags and swords, and the media began referring to Mike as a pirate coach. He also developed the mantra which was “swing your sword” which became the title of his autobiography in 2011.
Coach Mike delved into the pirate talk in his autobiography in 2011, Swing Your Sword: Leading Charge in the Football and in Life.
Our body is just like your sword. Are you going to swing your sword aggressively or not in your hand’s team, or really out of control like you are out there playing street ball?”