[Pages H2423-H2424]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING MIKE LEACH

  (Mr. Baumgartner of Washington was recognized to address the House 
for 5 minutes.)
  Mr. BAUMGARTNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mike Leach, a 
dear friend, a brilliant coach, and one of the most original minds 
college football has ever known. His long overdue path to the College 
Football Hall of Fame was finally cleared with last week's decision to 
revise the hall's eligibility criteria. As such, Mike Leach will be 
eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2027.
  Mike Leach wasn't just a coach. He was the most influential mind in 
college football in the last 30 years. No one is more deserving of 
being in the Hall of Fame.
  Mike was a pioneer. He was the architect of the Air Raid offense, a 
system that changed the game and

[[Page H2424]]

launched the careers of countless players and coaches. It 
revolutionized football from the high school level to the heights of 
the NFL. More than that, Mike Leach was a thinker and a storyteller. In 
life, for me, he was a cherished friend.
  Most Hall of Fame coaches inherit programs steeped in tradition. Mike 
didn't. In fact, he didn't even play football at the college level. He 
was a rugby player who earned a law degree. He took on the challenge of 
rebuilding, starting at the lowest levels of college football. He 
worked his way up in the true American Dream fashion.

  He coached at Texas Tech, Mississippi State, and, most importantly 
for me, at Washington State University. He didn't just win games; he 
changed cultures. He made football fun, fearless, and innovative.
  Off the field, Mike was just as remarkable. A few years back, 
together, we created and taught the insurgent warfare in football class 
at Washington State University, which we then taught on a special basis 
at Mississippi State University.
  When I first met Mike, I had come off some time working with the 
State Department in Iraq where I had the privilege of working very 
closely with General Petraeus and came to know General Mattis.
  When I thought about Mike and the connection to football and how he 
was an innovator and an insurgent warrior, I thought about the football 
analogy. General Petraeus and General Mattis would be a little more 
like Nick Saban. How do we win when we have all the heavy firepower, 
the four-star and five-star recruits?
  Mike was more like Ho Chi Minh, sitting out in the jungle. How do we 
win with two-star recruits and three-star recruits?
  We created this class to look at asymmetric strategy. It was a great 
success and great fun. Mike and I would speak two to three times per 
week, often about politics and culture.
  Together, we traveled the world, visiting over 10 countries, from 
Israel to Dubai, Tanzania to Panama. He was a pirate with a playbook. 
He was intellectually curious, endlessly witty, and genuinely kind. His 
insights on leadership, war, and human nature are a fundamental reason 
of why I am here today.
  Mike and I also talked about him running for office someday. Not many 
folks know that, but he looked seriously at coming to Congress. At the 
time he did so, I told him that he has a young team. He is making over 
$5 million a year. He can always run again. Unfortunately, he was taken 
from us too soon when he passed.
  His legacy lives on, and his greatest love was for people, for his 
players, his friends, and his family. Coach Leach finished with a 
career just .004 below the previous threshold-winning percentage for 
the Hall of Fame. With last week's decision by the National Football 
Foundation to revise the rule, the door is now open, and rightfully so.
  If the Hall of Fame is about more than just numbers, if it is about 
impact, innovation, and legacy, then Mike Leach belongs there without 
question. I urge the foundation to complete this long overdue 
recognition.
  Mr. Speaker, I say to my friend, who I have no doubt is watching 
Congress every day, that he always did things his own way. Now, even 
the Hall of Fame is catching up to him.

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