When Mike Leach Almost Duped Texas into a Red River Shootout Upset

[Jason Howeth]

With a story cameo by our departing coach:

"But he was like, 'Oh, this is going to be amazing. This is going to be hilarious. This is going to be epic.'"

As Leach carried on, Littrell and Smith grew just as excited.

"I thought it was pretty clever, to be honest," Littrell said.

Leach then handed the script to Smith and ordered him to execute the plant, which he did to perfection.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24866357/the-untold-1999-texas-oklahoma-story-mike-leach-fake-play-script?platform=amp

[GMG_Dallas]

I was thinking about Leach this morning and how much impact he's had on football. It's hard to find an FBS team that hasn't had a Leach disciple on staff. In this story alone, you've got Littrell and Heupel. Last night, you had Kingsbury coaching Monday night footfall. Dave Aranda, Neal Brown, Graham Harrell, Cumbie, Dykes, Holgerson, Lincoln Riley, Spavital and the list goes on. Outside of Saban, I can't think of a more impactful modern day coach. Nearly every game we watch today has a bit of Leach in it. Incredible legacy.

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

Very few coaches have their own coaching tree. Let alone the nationally known "Leach coaching tree" or "Leach Disciple". You hear those terms, and you know exactly what is meant. What a legacy. RIP Legend

[NT93]

20 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

Outside of Saban, I can't think of a more impactful modern day coach. Nearly every game we watch today has a bit of Leach in it. Incredible legacy.

Well stated.  I was thinking about the Saban comment and though he’s had more success and probably has more coaches in his “coaching tree”, Leach probably had more of an impact on the actual game of football.  That’s kind of crazy to think about.  

[GMG_Dallas]

1 hour ago, NT93 said:

Well stated.  I was thinking about the Saban comment and though he’s had more success and probably has more coaches in his “coaching tree”, Leach probably had more of an impact on the actual game of football.  That’s kind of crazy to think about.  

Absolutely. I remember a few years back when NFL defenses were making adjustments to defend the air raid because so many players were coming into the NFL having played in an air raid in college and NFL offenses were starting to scheme to fit those players' strengths. I realize Leach wasn't alone in creating that offense but with his coaching tree, it's his reach that made the impact.