'I'll never forget that': Auburn football's Hugh Freeze shares story about Mike Leach
AUBURN — Ahead of his team's matchup with Mississippi State on Saturday, Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze was asked to share any stories he had regarding the late Mike Leach.
Leach, who coached the Bulldogs from 2020-22, passed away in December following complications from a heart condition. Freeze previously coached at Mississippi State's rival, Ole Miss, though he and Leach never coached in the state at the same time, as Freeze was with the Rebels from 2012-16.
“Coach Leach and I, we weren’t real close," Freeze said Thursday evening on Tiger Talk. "I didn’t get to know him. But I think everybody that was in college football had a Leach story. Mine is really one phone call that I had with him about a possible hire I was going to make. Usually, those take about five minutes, and coach Leach’s conversation with me lasted about 30.
"I will never forget how he just made you feel like you had his full attention. That’s a rare quality in coaching. Normally we’re like, ‘Man, how fast can I get out of this conversation and get back to what I was doing.’ But coach Leach, he honored every minute that we were on that phone together and I’ll never forget that.”
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Leach was a collegiate head coach for 21 seasons, leading Texas Tech (2000-09) and Washington State (2012-19) before he arrived in Starkville, Mississippi. He also held various assistant roles over the years at Iowa Wesleyan, Valdosta State, Kentucky and Oklahoma.
Auburn athletics director John Cohen previously held the same role at Mississippi State and hired Leach to lead the Bulldogs in 2020.
"My friend Mike Leach…a pioneer, intellectual giant, provocateur and fearless warrior," Cohen wrote on social media shortly after Leach's passing. "A great man who impacted so many lives, including my own. Sharon, the entire Leach family, and MSU are in our hearts and prayers.
"Rest In Peace Mike. You made the world a better place."
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Hugh Freeze shares Mike Leach story ahead of Auburn-Mississippi State
