Mike Leach had strategic reason for memorable media comments

Mike Leach was one of the most unique personalities in sports history, and there have been many reminders of that since the college football legend died on Tuesday. What many people did not know, however, is that there may have been a legitimate strategy behind some of Leach’s legendary exchanges with the media.

In addition to being one of the best coaches in the country, Leach was also one of the smartest. He attended BYU in the 1980s and later got his law degree from Pepperdine. Leach was known for engaging with reporters on just about any topic, including but not limited to long-winded wedding advice and a detailed rundown of what he likes on his Thanksgiving plate.

Leach seemed to genuinely enjoy those conversations, but Andy Staples of The Athletic says the banter served multiple purposes. While Staples says Leach was, “interested in everything,” the late coach was also more than willing to discuss topics other than football because he felt it gave his team an advantage.

“But he was always more interested in football than he let on, and often the soliloquies about weddings or cargo shorts or live animal mascots were calculated moves to keep anyone from asking him to reveal actual football information that might put his team at a disadvantage,” Staples wrote.

Most people would never have thought of it that way, but it makes sense. Think about Bill Belichick. The future Hall of Fame coach often gets hammered with questions about injuries and roster decisions, and he almost always takes the Fifth. If he were more open to questions about Halloween candy and mascots fighting one another, perhaps there would be less time for the more important questions.

Leach, who was 61, died from complications related to a heart condition. We have seen a number of touching tributes to him.