under John McDougall, the longtime coach at Cody High School in Cody, Wyoming. Under Coach MacDougall, Cody played in two top division state championships while Leach was a student, winning one in 1976 in triple overtime against coach John Deti's Laramie Plainsmen. Head coaches under whom Leach served: Lyle Setencich: Cal Poly (1987) Hal Mumme: Iowa Wesleyan (1989–1991), Valdosta State (1992–1996), Kentucky (1997–1998) Bob Stoops: Oklahoma (1999) Assistant coaches under Leach who became college head coaches: Dave Aranda: Baylor (2020–present) Zach Arnett: Mississippi State (2022–present) Art Briles: Houston (2003–2007), Baylor (2008–2015) Jeff Choate: Montana State (2016–2020) Sonny Dykes: Louisiana Tech (2010–2012), California (2013–2016), SMU (2018–2021), TCU (2022–present) Dana Holgorsen: West Virginia (2011–2018), Houston (2019–present) Seth Littrell: North Texas (2016–2022) Greg McMackin: Hawaii (2008–2011) Ruffin McNeill: East Carolina (2010–2015) Lincoln Riley: Oklahoma (2017–2021), USC (2022–present) Ken Wilson: Nevada (2022–present) Players under Leach who became college or NFL head coaches: Neal Brown: Troy (2015–2018), West Virginia (2019–present) Sonny Cumbie: Louisiana Tech (2022–present) Josh Heupel: UCF (2018–2020), Tennessee (2021–present) Kliff Kingsbury: Texas Tech (2013–2018), Arizona Cardinals (2019–2023) Eric Morris: Incarnate Word (2018–2021), North Texas (2023-present) Personal life Leach was the oldest of six siblings. He and his wife, Sharon, were the parents of four children, along with three grandchildren. Leach was atypical among NCAA Division I head coaches in that he did not play college football. Famous among fans for his fascination with 18th-century pirates such as Blackbeard and Calico Jack, Leach lectured his players on the history of pirates, and told them before games to "swing their swords." His office had been described as a museum of pirate paraphernalia. Notably, his office at Washington State included a life-size statue of a singing pirate, a gift from basketball coaching legend Bob Knight, who had coached at Texas Tech for most of Leach's tenure at that school. In particular, Leach admired the teamwork exhibited by pirates: Leach spent time during each off-season pursuing non-sport interests. Besides pirates, he had studied topics such as Native American leader Geronimo, American pioneer Daniel Boone, grizzly bears, chimpanzees, whales, and American artist Jackson Pollock. Leach made a cameo appearance on the TV series Friday Night Lights. In the show's fourth season, he portrayed a "random loon" at a gas station who implores a despondent coach Eric Taylor to "swing your sword" and "find your inner pirate." During the spring of 2019, Leach co-taught a five-week seminar at Washington