Mississippi State's helmet was the perfect tribute to Leach

Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver Lideatrick Griffin. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Mississippi State's pirate flag helmet was the perfect tribute to Mike Leach

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 1/2/23

Mike Leach never got to see his No. 22 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs take on the Illinois Fighting Illini in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

The college coaching legend tragically passed away on Dec. 12 after suffering complications from a heart condition.

Leach was a well-known and well-liked coach who had notable stops at Texas Tech and Washington State before landing at Mississippi State, and though many paid tribute to the late head coach in the games played between his passing and the ReliaQuest bowl, perhaps no tributes were as fitting as the one the Bulldogs wore on their helmets against Illinois.

Mississippi State will be wearing these awesome pirate helmets to honor Mike Leach at their bowl game today.

RIP to the legend. State by a billion today. pic.twitter.com/UWz10PnB7C
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 2, 2023

It was also fitting that the ReliaQuest bowl was played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa — home of the Buccaneers.

Raymond James features a life-sized pirate ship that shoots "cannon balls" whenever the home team scores a touchdown.

Leach famously liked pirates and used a pirate metaphor to inspire his Texas Tech, a theme that caught on in Lubbock.

He liked pirates so much, in fact, that he had a life-sized talking pirate skeleton in his office at Washington State.

How many FBS football coaches have a talking pirate skeleton in their office? Only @wsucougfb @Coach_Leach #Wazzu pic.twitter.com/10bCfcdx2K
— Stefanie Loh ｜卢敏仪 (@StefanieLoh) August 17, 2015