Learning from the Mike Leach Coaching Tree
Jan 06, 2023 8:11 pm
Coach ,
It’s been a heart-wrenching end to the year losing a titan in this game like Mike Leach. His players and staff pulled themselves together and paid their final tribute to their coach in a bowl win over Illinois.
As word of Coach Leach’s passing spread, the outpouring of messages and stories shared in the media by coaches, players, and fans showed how much of an influence Coach Leach had not just on this game, but in the world.
In the coaching world, Mike Leach developed so many coaches, many of them leading their own programs now.
His reach and influence will continue on through those coaches.
One of those former assistants, a graduate assistant at Kentucky eventually becoming a receivers coach for the Wildcats and then serving as Coach Leach’s receivers coach has his program on the biggest stage this Monday as he leads the TCU Horned Frogs in the National Championship game.
Sonny Dykes was with Coach Leach at Kentucky from 1997-1999 and then at Texas Tech as the receivers coach from 2000-2006. He’s just a branch of the immense Leach coaching tree.
Just take a look at some of the head coaching names connected to Leach (compiled by hailstate.com):
Dave Aranda – Baylor head coach – Graduate assistant coach under Leach from 2000 to 2002 at Texas Tech when Leach was head coach of the Red Raiders
Neal Brown – West Virginia head coach – Played under Leach as a wide receiver in 1998 when Leach was offensive coordinator at Kentucky
Sonny Cumbie – Louisiana Tech head coach – Played under Leach as a quarterback from 2000 to 2003 when Leach was head coach at Texas Tech, then later in the decade, served as a graduate assistant coach under Leach
Sonny Dykes – TCU head coach – Coached wide receivers and later was the co-offensive coordinator under Leach from 2000 through 2006 when Leach was head coach at Texas Tech
Josh Heupel – Tennessee head coach – Played quarterback under Leach at Oklahoma in 1999 when Leach was the offensive coordinator for the Sooners
Dana Holgorsen – Houston head coach – Coached alongside Leach as assistants at Valdosta State from 1993 to 1995, then served as a wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator under Leach from 2000 to 2007 when Leach was head coach at Texas Tech
Kliff Kingsbury – Arizona Cardinals (NFL) head coach – Played quarterback for Leach from 2000 to 2002 when Leach was head coach at Texas Tech
Seth Littrell – Former North Texas head coach – Played quarterback under Leach at Oklahoma in 1999 when Leach was offensive coordinator for the Sooners, then later served as running backs coach at Texas Tech from 2005 through 2008 when Leach was head coach of the Red Raiders
Lincoln Riley – USC head coach – Played quarterback for Leach in 2002 when Leach was head coach at Texas Tech, then joined Leach's Red Raider staff from 2003 through 2009, first as a student assistant before working his way up to being a wide receivers coach
Ken Wilson – Nevada head coach – Linebackers coach under Leach from 2013 through 2019 when Leach was head coach at Washington State
Eric Morris – New Head Coach North Texas - Played receiver under Leach from 2004 through 2008 when Leach was head coach at Texas Tech and also served as a receivers coach for Leach in 2012 when Leach was head coach at Washington State
But that's not all. Here are some current assistants from the Leach tree with most either currently or previously holding coordinator titles:
Robert Anae – Syracuse offensive coordinator – Offensive line coach for Leach from 2000 to 2004 when Leach was head coach at Texas Tech
Bill Bedenbaugh – Oklahoma offensive line coach – Played offensive line for Leach in 1991 when Leach was offensive line coach at Iowa Wesleyan, then coached offensive line for Valdosta State in 1996 when Leach was also an assistant, then served as a graduate assistant, running backs coach and offensive line coach for Leach from 2000 through 2006 when Leach was head coach at Texas Tech
Alex Grinch – USC defensive coordinator – Defensive coordinator for Leach from 2015 through 2017 when Leach was head coach at Washington State
Brandon Jones – Houston running game coordinator/offensive line coach – Played on the offensive line for Leach from 2003 through 2006 when Leach was the head coach at Texas Tech, then served as an offensive assistant with the Red Raiders under Leach from 2007 to 2008
Wes Welker – Miami Dolphins (NFL) wide receivers coach – Played receiver under Leach from 2000 through 2003 at Texas Tech when Leach was head coach.
You see the influence of Coach Leach and his mentor in the Air Raid offense and in the coaches who are part of his tree.
It Starts with How to Practice
It’s not just the concepts. It’s more than that. It’s how they game plan, practice, think, and call plays.
Coach Mumme pointed out that Coach Leach was the only one doing it exactly as they did in 1991.
Many of these coaches have evolved how they do things but much of it comes back to the Mumme/Leach philosophies.
Coach Mumme said on Coach and Coordinator Podcast , “To be successful at the way we practice and play, you have to have a great capacity for boredom because you are gonna do the same things over and over again…you gotta try to make each rep better”
The way they practice is what they feel is the secret to the success of the Air Raid.
USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley certainly was able to build upon what he did with Oklahoma. That starts with having a plan for practice. Offensive success starts with being efficient and effective with the time you have. Coach Riley outlines the week for them in this video:
Simplicity in Planning
The simplicity of the offense lends itself to conciseness and clarity in game planning. WSU/MSU Running Back’s Coach Eric Mele was with Coach Leach since 2012. He’s learned the power of simplicity and it carries over to game planning. He talks about how they oversimplify the game plan in this video (click on image for video):
I am sure like most, you wonder what is on Coach Leach’s “small little folded up piece of origami” as Mele calls it, he shares the situational side of that small call sheet in this video (click on image for video):
Air Raid teams definitely rely on rhythm and it’s something that La Tech Head Coach Sonny Cumbie emphasizes to start their practices.
Coach Cumbie, was one of the top passers in Texas Tech history under Coach Leach and has become known as one of the most-innovative offensive minds in college football.
He returned for his second stint on the Texas Tech staff in December 2020 as he was named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
He was tabbed interim head coach for the final four games of the regular season and he moved on to La Tech after.
Coach Cumbie starts practice with good-on-good for 4 plays of “team pace.” The purpose is to work on communication within a fast tempo. It serves to help activate their brains and communication for the rest of practice. He illustrates it with practice film here:
Putting Together an Offense
One thing you can count on from these coaches is that they can pick their quarterbacks well. It is such an important part of their offenses. Sonny Dykes has done a great job of that, but in putting together his offenses, that’s not where he begins.
For Coach Dykes, there’s always been a process in place for determining what his offense will look like in the next season. It starts with the offensive line.
What an offense is able to do in the run game and the passing game is dictated by the physical measurables and athletic ability of the offensive line.
For example, if a big line means utilizing bigger splits. Coach Dykes talked about the line at Texas Tech that had huge splits. The line backpedaled and could take on the bull rush and the QB and big throwing lanes. This type of line is more suited to base blocking and inside zone.
The smaller athletic line requires tighter splits allowing for combos. This line can be better at gap schemes with pullers, pin and pull, and wide zone because of the athleticism they possess.
Coach Dykes talks about building around the offensive line in this video:
The Plays
The exciting part of breaking down any offense starts with the plays. We all know watching an Air Raid team can be exciting because there is always an opportunity for a big play.
While not a pure Air Raid team, Coach Riley uses Air Raid concepts. Here he explains the popular Y-Cross:
New Purdue Offensive Coordinator Graham Harrell was a record-setting quarterback for Coach Leach at Texas Tech. He spent the 2022 season as West Virginia's offensive coordinator, after three years in the same role at USC. Coach Harrell began his coaching career under Leach at Washington State before landing his first coordinator role at North Texas in 2014.
Simple things like quick game are effective in all offenses and Coach Harrell shares his favorite quick game concept here:
Houston Head Coach Dana Holgorsen is a Mike Leach disciple. He served with him on Hal Mumme’s coaching staff at Valdosta State, then went on to spend seven years on the staff at Texas Tech.
Mesh is an Air Raid staple that’s found its way into many teams playbooks because of its ability to beat the excessive man coverage that has popped up to beat RPO.
Understanding how to read the Mesh is a good starting point for understanding how it attacks coverages.
Coach Holgorsen runs an efficient, high-percentage play offense, leaning on Air Raid concepts like the Mesh.
His goal is to get 5-6 yards a play, paired with their larger receiving core and hybrid tight ends to open up the passing game. Coach Holgorsen dives into the QB read progression in the video below (click image for video).
Video: Reading the Mesh -Dana Holgorsen
Coach Holgorsen shows an 11 personnel 2x2 Mesh against tight man coverage in this video:
Of course Air Raid influence doesn’t mean these coaches all evolved into pass-happy coaches. They will run the ball and former North Texas Head Coach Seth Littrell loved condensed sets for the run as much as he did for his Air Raid passing concepts.
With gaps and angles created, the pin and pull is an outstanding play from a bunched set. North Texas Head Coach Seth Littrell illustrates the concept in this video:
That’s just a small sample of Coach Leach’s influence on the technical and tactical side of the game.
As we mentioned, Coach Leach’s impact on the game spreads from the branches of his coaching tree into all of the communities these coaches impact.
Thank you Coach Leach for your positive influence on the game.
Always be Growing!
Coach Grabowski
To learn more from the coaches in the Mike Leach tree, all of these presentations are available together here.