[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 198 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7792-S7793]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Remembering Mike Leach

  Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to pay 
tribute to a very special man who was held dear by many Mississippians, 
Mississippi State University head coach Mike Leach, who passed away on 
December 12, 2022.
  Today, thousands of Mississippians and people from across the country 
will gather in Starkville to celebrate the life of Mike Leach, who 
began his coaching at Mississippi State in 2020.
  Coach Leach's quirkiness, youthful spirit, and dynamic coaching style 
immediately endeared him to football fans across my State. His likeable 
and unique personality broke barriers among schools. Whether you were 
cheering for Mississippi State, Jackson State, Ole Miss, Southern, or 
any other

[[Page S7793]]

school, you couldn't help but chuckle at the entertaining sideline 
interviews or admire how his ``Air Raid'' offense was changing the 
game.
  Coach Leach was an attorney. He started his coaching career shortly 
after graduating from law school. Mike Leach made a lasting impact on 
the game of football, to be sure, but, more importantly, his 
extraordinary leadership and passion for the game made a lasting impact 
on his players, his colleagues, and his loved ones.
  These remarks can't fully encompass Mike Leach's life as a husband, 
father, grandfather, scholar, mentor, and charitable man. Still, 
Mississippi is blessed to have been able to call Mike Leach one of our 
own these past years.
  While our State mourns, we remain grateful for the memories and the 
stories his legacy leaves.
  My heart goes out to his family and the entire Bulldog family.
  Hail State, and rest in peace, Coach.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The distinguished President pro tempore of the 
U.S. Senate.