SECDAWG
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Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett knows he's going to have a hard time replacing the late Mike Leach for the Bulldogs, let alone in the pantheon of college sports.
Leach tragically died in December 2022 at just 61 years old due to heart-related complications. Arnett, Leach's defensive coordinator at Mississippi State since 2020, took over to lead the Bulldogs to a 19-10 win over Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl and is now going into his first season as a head coach at 36 years old.
He knows he has big shoes to fill. So much so that he's wise enough to not even try to become another Leach. There was only one pirate of college football.
"Who's going to duplicate Mike Leach?" Arnett said on Monday, via ESPN's Alex Scarborough. "There's no chance in hell."
Leach was known for his quirky personality and legendary quotes, but behind all that was one of the architects of modern-day football. He was an early adopter and innovator of the "Air Raid" offense, and all of his teams came to take on that high-flying and exciting attitude. Leach coached at Texas Tech (2000-2009), Washington State (2012-2019) and Mississippi State (2020-2022).
Not only will Arnett not look to replace Leach the person, but he's going to go his own way as a head coach as well. In fact, he's already tweaking Mississippi State's offense.
"We're not running the pure Air Raid that we ran then," Arnett said. "And I don't think [Leach] would necessarily have a problem with that because he would want me to run a program that's in the vision that I see as best fit for its future."
The Bulldogs' entire offensive staff is new, and Arnett is a defensive-minded coach. Notably, former Appalachian State and Central Michigan offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay is the new man in charge of the offense. His offense, per ESPN, will be focused more on the vertical passing game and traditional run concepts.
Some of the main concepts of the Air Raid include horizontal and crossing patterns as well as screens, large splits from offensive linemen, and one running back sets to go along with a no-huddle offense.
https://www.yardbarker.com/college_..._he_cant_replace_mike_leach/s1_13132_38634239
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Leach tragically died in December 2022 at just 61 years old due to heart-related complications. Arnett, Leach's defensive coordinator at Mississippi State since 2020, took over to lead the Bulldogs to a 19-10 win over Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl and is now going into his first season as a head coach at 36 years old.
He knows he has big shoes to fill. So much so that he's wise enough to not even try to become another Leach. There was only one pirate of college football.
"Who's going to duplicate Mike Leach?" Arnett said on Monday, via ESPN's Alex Scarborough. "There's no chance in hell."
Leach was known for his quirky personality and legendary quotes, but behind all that was one of the architects of modern-day football. He was an early adopter and innovator of the "Air Raid" offense, and all of his teams came to take on that high-flying and exciting attitude. Leach coached at Texas Tech (2000-2009), Washington State (2012-2019) and Mississippi State (2020-2022).
Not only will Arnett not look to replace Leach the person, but he's going to go his own way as a head coach as well. In fact, he's already tweaking Mississippi State's offense.
"We're not running the pure Air Raid that we ran then," Arnett said. "And I don't think [Leach] would necessarily have a problem with that because he would want me to run a program that's in the vision that I see as best fit for its future."
The Bulldogs' entire offensive staff is new, and Arnett is a defensive-minded coach. Notably, former Appalachian State and Central Michigan offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay is the new man in charge of the offense. His offense, per ESPN, will be focused more on the vertical passing game and traditional run concepts.
Some of the main concepts of the Air Raid include horizontal and crossing patterns as well as screens, large splits from offensive linemen, and one running back sets to go along with a no-huddle offense.
https://www.yardbarker.com/college_..._he_cant_replace_mike_leach/s1_13132_38634239
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