Mike Leach bashes 'sweater wearer' head coaches across college football
Mike Leach made some thoughts clear regarding his respect for LSU coach Brian Kelly and his disdain for “sweater wearers” in advance of the Mississippi State‘s showdown with the Tigers this weekend.
During the SEC Coaches Teleconference, Leach bashed “sweater-wearer” coaches, using the term as an insult to coaches who he believes are simply figureheads on the sidelines. Evidently, he doesn’t believe Kelly fits into that category, stating he can see the impact the esteemed coach has on his team.
“He’s a great X’s and O’s guy. He’s not a sweater-wearer,” stated Leach. “Most guys just want to wear the sweater but I have a ton of respect for him”
It’s well known Leach is far from a hands-off coach when it comes to his team’s scheme, and his unique terminology for his colleagues adds some more insight into his mind. Kelly has his respect, and it’s going to be fascinating to see the coaches face off on Saturday.
Mike Leach and Brian Kelly — two non “sweater-wearers” — will both be looking to end their showdown with an SEC victory. While only one coach will be successful in their pursuit, it’s evident there’s plenty of respect between the two coaches.
Brian Kelly opens up on his relationship, familiarity with Mike Leach
Even though the SEC is new to Kelly, the people aren’t always, as he and Leach knew other back in their days at Grand Valley State and Iowa Wesleyan, respectively. From there to the big time in the SEC west, it’s been a long road.
“I’ve known him for quite some time,” Kelly said. “Obviously, the tree that he is in — have many, many acquaintances. I’ve known him since the days I was at Grand Valley State and he was at Iowa Wesleyan. We shared a lot of common acquaintances in the business itself.”
Since crossing paths back during the fledgling days of their coaching careers, Kelly and Leach have coached at a number of places. Kelly has been the head coach at Central Michigan, Notre Dame and now LSU since his time at GVSU. Leach has been the coach at Texas Tech, Washington State and now Mississippi State.
While their personal coaching styles and on-the-field schemes on offense and defense vary greatly, Kelly has taken plenty from Leach, and surely vice versa. And while no one will be mistaking LSU’s offense for Leach’s air raid attack — or the other way around — the give and take is ongoing.
“We’ve gotten the chance to know quite a bit about the offensive structures,” said Kelly. “There’s a lot of concepts that he’s run that I was running about 25 years ago as well. So, we have obviously run into each other many times along our careers.”