Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life

by Mike Leach

you want to think originally, it helps to actually be original, and Leach was.

I loved how Lombardi valued toughness and that nothing replaced the fundamentals. With him, execution was paramount: “We know what we’re gonna do and you know what we’re gonna do, but you know that we know that you know and you still can’t stop it.”

The situation with that math teacher was the first time in my life I ever experienced how adults, just like kids, could be immature and petty. I learned that they can screw you over if they feel like it.

Joe Cronk is why I love athletics. He is the reason why I coach.

was raised a Mormon, and though that was a factor in choosing BYU, it was not a big factor. Your religion is your religion no matter where you go.

wanted to reinvent myself. In high school, people tend to get rutted into little cliques.

if you’re doing the same old thing that everybody else is doing, that’s who you become—everybody else.

I have always encouraged my kids to go away for college because I valued my own experiences away from my home turf. It allowed me to carve out my own deal, to reinvent, or more specifically, to develop myself.

For example, one time I went to a bowling alley and some random guy thought my hair wasn’t short enough. He turned me in to the honor police. It was like that all the time. I had to deal with a certain amount of uptight judgment at BYU.

The whole deal about haircuts and hair length at BYU was foolish. It was an overreaction to the ’60s.

As a coach or as anyone leading a group of people will understand, people are fickle, and you have to be ready for just about anything.

guy who was up is going to be down. Another guy who was down is going to be up. Somebody thinks they’re getting screwed. Somebody’s really coming along, but you’re just not sure if he’s ready.

The best actors are the ones who best connect with the audience. The best lawyers are the ones who best connect with the jury. The best coaches are the ones who best connect with their players.

We have too many “non-tryers” these days. They’re afraid of how things may look. Rather than experiencing the journey, they’re worried about how they’ll be perceived. It’s really unfortunate.

What affects an outcome more than anything else is effort and attitude.

He assisted Coach Mac for the season and after the year ended, I got hired to be a graduate assistant. Coach Mac says to me, ‘That guy right there is going to be a big-time head coach someday. You watch.’ I said, ‘You’re crazy. There’s no way.

they ask me about following their dreams of a coaching career, I tell them they should be prepared to do it for free. The best time to go for it is when you’re just out of college, because if you wait until you have two kids, a boat, and a house payment, then it’s really hard to change. It’s much easier to have nothing and continue to have nothing. There’s no better point in your life to be a vagabond for a couple of years.

Several times in my career I’ve taken less money for what I considered a better opportunity.

I even got a rejection letter from Charlie Sadler when he was the head coach at Northern Illinois. He later became my defensive line coach at Tech.

The NFL doesn’t possess a ton of independent thought. A lot of teams copy each other.

Overcoming your fears and whatever other nagging resistance you may have is always the first step to solving any problem. You have to defeat yourself before you defeat someone else.

Coaches are their own worst enemies. We constantly draw ourselves into the trap of doing too much with a play. It reminds me of watching TV as a kid. I’d be sitting there enjoying some show. Then my dad would come in and start monkeying with the picture. Pretty soon, nobody could watch anything.

I have the utmost respect for football wives and the sacrifices they make to hold everything together. Being a coach is not a 9 to 5 job. The hours are brutal. The recruiting travel is insane.

Folks would call up the radio station or write to the newspaper claiming we weren’t bringing anything but a bag full of gimmicks. They didn’t know what they were talking about. Our system was fundamentally sound. An offense doesn’t just accidentally work.

The fact that someone coaches in the SEC doesn’t mean that he’s any smarter than someone who coaches at a small college or in high school.

There is nothing balanced about running it 50 percent of the time and throwing it 50 percent of the time if you are only utilizing two or three offensive skill positions and only attacking part of the field.

1) Be a team; 2) Be the most excited to play; 3) Be the best at doing your job.

He made a big deal that you can’t take anybody lightly. You have to have respect for everybody you play.

People think you need to yell all the time to be a “discipline” guy. I don’t think that could be more wrong.

I had a sign in my office that said, “You’re either coaching it or allowing it to happen.”

Discipline requires encouragement.

Bennie and I were always on the same page with this stuff. We always tried to match the punishment to the offense. You were guilty of fighting; well, you’re going to train like a fighter. You were guilty of not going to class; well, you’re going to run by the academic buildings carrying cinder blocks while being quizzed on English Lit. We wanted our punishments to be a deterrent and an inconvenience, but we also wanted to have a little fun.

“I just try to concentrate on what I can control, and that is me going out and believing in myself.”

If they say “me, me, me” or “I, I, I” and complain a lot, you need to get rid of them.

In old Westerns they’ll talk about how killing changes a man. Well, firing or cutting someone does too.

I probably should’ve let two assistants go. We had another guy who was one of those eye-rolling, clock-watcher, second-guesser types, who was never a good X’s and O’s guy.

I’ve read about 20 books on pirates (the best is probably Under the Black Flag).

I have never met a great player or an overachiever who does not have a big ego. That doesn’t mean they’re unpleasant. Their ego may be well covered with genuine modesty. Ego is why they know that they’re the ones to get the job done.

there’s a difference between narcissism and a healthy dose of ego.

Ego shouldn’t come off as abrasive. Confidence should be genuine, not artificial. You can’t help but respect a guy whose ego manifests itself through hard work, focus, determination, and the willingness to take his own path.

Ripping is generally for situations when you don’t have their attention or they’re not playing hard. If you’re not getting a good enough effort, that’s when you rip into them.

I think speeches are generally overrated, but good communication and having everybody on the same page is underrated.

Being a great communicator is something I constantly strive to be. The central role of a coach is to reach his players.

Seinfeld works because you get to observe the curious nuances of people and their interactions with one another. In order to coach effectively, you have to be a good people watcher. You have to study their nuances, how they represent themselves, and how they interact with others. All of your guys have different backgrounds, personalities, and things going on in their lives.

I also hate when people compare football to war. That’s disrespectful to war. It’s nothing like war. I haven’t been in a war, but I know football’s not like that. It may be fun to pretend it is, but pretending is where it ends.

worry about what you’re gonna do, not what the other guy might do.

I don’t mind being called an “outside-the-box” thinker. I guess that’s a compliment in this age of shameless conformity.

I do find the term “outside the box” lame, overused, and non-descript. Really, I’m just striving to be open-minded in my search for solutions. My mindset is no guts, no glory.

He’s the one who said the thing that’s going to impact the score is you doing the best you can, and if you want to change the score, change yourself.

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.”