a photo of Mike Leach in a maroon MSU zip up kneeling next to a bulldog
MSU Head Coach Mike Leach, 61, is in “critical condition” at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson after suffering what MSU called “a personal health issue at his home” on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022. MSU Photo/File

Mississippi State University Head Football Coach Mike Leach is in “critical condition” at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson after suffering “a personal health issue at his home” in Starkville on Sunday, the university said. 

The Clarion-Ledger reported today that the 61-year-old Bulldogs coach suffered a “massive heart attack,” but MSU is not publicly confirming those details.

“Mike’s family is with him and appreciates the overwhelming expressions of love and support for the coach, but also requests that their family’s privacy be respected at this time,” MSU said in an update this morning. “That is the extent of the information that MSU has available regarding Coach Leach’s condition, and the university will make no other comment at this time. MSU will issue additional information via social media when it becomes available.”

Update on Head Football Coach Mike Leach: pic.twitter.com/My3CijA2XJ

— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) December 12, 2022

Before taking the head coach job at MSU in 2020, Mike Leach served as head coach for Texas Tech from 2000 to 2009 and at Washington State from 2012 to 2019. 

Leach was at practice with the team as recently as Saturday preparing for the upcoming Jan. 2 ReliaQuest Bowl. MSU officials temporarily placed MSU Defensive Coordinator Zach Arnett in charge of the football team on Sunday.

Award-winning News Editor Ashton Pittman, a native of the South Mississippi Pine Belt, studied journalism and political science at the University of Southern Mississippi. Previously the state reporter at the Jackson Free Press, he drove national headlines and conversations with award-winning reporting about segregation academies. He has won numerous awards, including Outstanding New Journalist in the South, for his work covering immigration raids, abortion battles and even former Gov. Phil Bryant’s unusual work with “The Bad Boys of Brexit" at the Jackson Free Press. In 2021, as a Mississippi Free Press reporter, he was named the Diamond Journalist of the Year for seven southern U.S. states in the Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Awards. A trained photojournalist, Ashton lives in South Mississippi with his husband, William, and their two pit bulls, Dorothy and Dru.