Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life

by Mike Leach

Overview

Legendary head coach Mike Leach tells his captivating story––from rural Wyoming to law school to the upper echelons of the SEC.

SWING YOUR SWORD is the first ever book by one of the most fascinating and successful coaches in sports today. A maverick who took an unlikely path to coaching through law school, Mike Leach talks about his unorthodox approach to coaching and the choices that have brought him success throughout his career. A lover of the game who started creating formations and drawing his own plays as a kid, Leach took his Texas Tech Red Raiders to numerous bowl games, achieving the #2 slot in national rankings and being voted 2008 Coach of the Year before being unceremoniously fired at the end of the 2009 season. The scandalous nature of his dismissal created a media frenzy and began a personal battle between Leach and his accusers that remains unresolved.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781938120121
Publisher:	Diversion Publishing
Publication date:	07/07/2011
Pages:	274
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Mike Leach (1961–2022) was a groundbreaking and innovative football coach known for his revolutionary "Air Raid" offense, which redefined college football strategy. Over his 21-year head coaching career at Texas Tech, Washington State, and Mississippi State, Leach became one of the most respected and colorful personalities in sports, earning numerous Coach of the Year awards and leaving a lasting legacy on the game.
Beyond football, Leach was a polymath with a law degree from Pepperdine University, an interest in history, and an affinity for pirates, which inspired much of his unique leadership philosophy. In Swing Your Sword, he offers an unfiltered look at his unconventional journey, from coaching obscurity to becoming one of the most innovative minds in football. The book is as insightful, entertaining, and bold as the man himself.

Table of Contents

Foreword Michael Lewis v

Acknowledgements ix

Growing Up

The Early Years 3

Byu 20

Law School 27

Finding My Way

Why Not Me? 43

Iowa Wesleyan 56

Valdosta 68

Kentucky 78

Boomer Sooner 89

Running the Show

Building the Team 107

Setting the Tone 138

Life at Tech 157

Sticking to Your Guns 177

The Power Play 190

Gone Fishin' 218

Epilogue 232

Appendix: Game Week 243

Afterword Peter Berg 258

Notes 261

Editorial Reviews

I could tell that our players liked him right away. What really struck me was how sure of himself of what he wanted to do. He had such conviction and confidence in his way of doing it and there wasn't any second guessing it: "This is what we're going to do. It is going to work. It has worked everywhere we've been." I remember feeling great. This is exactly what we needed to do.

From the Publisher

He’s one of the most unique people I’ve ever met. He’s infinitely curious about everything. He doesn’t come in there and meet new situations with an agenda. He likes to walk straight up and ask the tough questions. He loves it when someone is real as can be. He wants to learn something new. He wants to hear another point of view on something. Mike Leach is an infinitely interesting guy. His free association is epic. Nobody has the ability to free associate like this guy. He starts going and you’re thinking, ‘O.K., where are you going with this?’ I love his re-set. His re-set line is always, ‘well, the thing is.’ Whenever he switches gears to another subject, that his comma, it’s ‘Well, the thing is. . . ‘

Matthew McConaughey

Mike Leach has proved he can write a book that's as good as his passing schemes. I might add that it also ranks up there with his leadership and communication skills. Don't miss this eye-opening entertainment.

Dan Jenkins

Mike Leach is a great leader and an amazing motivator of men. And he got screwed. He’s got fantastic ingenuity, not only on the football field, but what he did with Texas Tech. The guy was on the cover of the New York Times Sunday Magazine as the head coach of Texas Tech. Think about how unusual that is. He is just so smart and really is a great guy, and a great coach.

Donald Trump

I think he’s brilliant. Mike Leach is a renaissance man through and through. The commercials about the World’s Most Interesting Man—that’s Mike Leach. I love him so much. I aspire to live a full and rich life and he’s doing it. He’s as interested in literature as he is in football. He’s just a very complicated, well-rounded individual. He’s a real maverick and an inspiration.

Peter Berg

I could tell that our players liked him right away. What really struck me was how sure of himself of what he wanted to do. He had such conviction and confidence in his way of doing it and there wasn't any second guessing it: "This is what we're going to do. It is going to work. It has worked everywhere we've been." I remember feeling great. This is exactly what we needed to do.

Bob Stoops