Lincoln Riley didn’t need long on the “Pardon My Take” podcast to deliver one of the more memorable Mike Leach stories you’ll hear from Texas Tech.
The USC coach was at 2026 Big Ten Football media days when the conversation turned to his old days in Lubbock, where he first arrived as a walk-on for the Red Raiders in 2002. Riley stayed with Texas Tech after that, moving into a student assistant role in 2003 before eventually becoming a graduate assistant and then the wide receivers coach on Leach’s staff, a job he held through 2009.
What stuck with Riley wasn’t a scheme, a depth chart or a practice rep. It was his first quarterback room meeting with Leach while he was getting ready for spring ball.
“He has a can of Copenhagen. He pops the can, takes a dip…Dip was so big that there was Copenhagen all over his face and he had trouble getting out big words,” Riley said.
He goes on a 10 minute tangent about how it’s made…He goes an hour and half on dip. Somebody comes and knocks on the door and is like ‘Coach, we’re starting practice in 10 minutes.’”
Riley said he looked around the room at the other quarterbacks and wondered what they were supposed to do once they got on the field, because the meeting had turned into a long lesson on dip instead of football.
He described his time under Leach as “awesome,” and said being in the quarterback room with him was a blast.
Riley’s career path took off after Texas Tech. He left for East Carolina in 2010 as offensive coordinator and stayed there through 2015 before becoming Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator.
He later took over as the Sooners’ head coach and held that job until 2021, when USC hired him. He is now entering his fifth season with the Trojans.
Leach’s own coaching path had its own twists after Texas Tech. He spent a couple seasons away from college football, working as an analyst before taking over at Washington State prior to the 2012 season. He coached the Cougars from 2012-2019 and went 55-47 there before becoming Mississippi State’s head coach in 2020.
Leach led the Bulldogs from 2020-2022 and finished with a 19-16 record in Starkville before his death shortly after the regular season ended. He remains one of college football’s most recognizable figures, known for the air raid offense and the personality that made him impossible to forget.
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