In a heartfelt message on Twitter, USC Trojans football head coach Lincoln Riley expressed his sadness over the death of Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Mike Leach. Riley also did not forget to thank Leach for helping him get his coaching career started.
Coach-
You will certainly be missed, but your impact on so many will live on-
Thankful for every moment. You changed my life and so many others.
All of our prayers are with Sharon & the Leach family-
Rest In Peace my friendš
Before he became a household name in the world of college football, Riley was a student assistant for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, working under Mike Leach, who coached the program from 2000 to 2009. Riley started as a student assistant in Lubbock in 2003 and left the school the same year Leach ended his stint as the Red Raiders head coach.
While Mike Leach went on to try his hand at broadcasting after his Red Raiders tenure, Riley became an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Eastern Carolina Pirates and stayed with the team for five years. Riley made the jump back to the Big 12 in 2015 to be part of the Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff. He would eventually be the program's head coach from 2017 until 2021.
All of Riley's accomplishments so far in his college football coaching career might have been possible even without the help of Mike Leach, but Riley made sure to let everyone know that Mike Leach was a huge reason why he was able to reach the place where he's now.
Leach passed away Monday at the age of 61.
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