Mike Leach, the college football coach who died Monday evening after a massive heart attack at his home in Mississippi, had a connection to Fort Worth that went beyond his games against TCU. John Fletcher, CEO and founder of Fletcher Consulting Public Relations in Arlington, shared a story from 2010 in a remembrance for the Fort Worth Business Press.
Leach had just been terminated as head football coach at Texas Tech over the controversial discipline of one of his players. Around that time, the Business Press was planning its Power Attorneys event, which honored top legal minds in the Fort Worth area. Its staff knew Leach had earned a law degree from Pepperdine University, and they asked Fletcher to book him as a speaker.
Fletcher was well placed to help. A close friend, Carey Hobbs, often vacationed with Leach and had served on the Texas Tech Athletic Council and the university's Board of Trustees. After a call to Hobbs, the details were confirmed in a very short time. At the luncheon, Leach entertained the audience with insights and humorous stories about the legal and coaching professions.
What came next was not on the program. One of Fletcher's clients was Bryan Horton, managing partner of Eventide Spring Water in Mineral Wells and a Texas Tech graduate. Horton also coached the six-man football team at Community Christian School in Mineral Wells, known as the Warriors. In the same November week as the luncheon, the Warriors were set to play in the Texas state quarterfinals for six-man football.
Fletcher asked Horton to bring the team to the Fort Worth area for an early afternoon workout. The hope was that Leach, on his way to DFW Airport, might stop and watch for five minutes or so. Hobbs secured the coach's approval, and HEB ISD authorized the use of Pennington Field, located on Airport Freeway at the Central Drive exit.
Leach promised five minutes but stayed for more than an hour. He analyzed the team's workout and helped the receivers improve their passing routes. He also drew up a trick play, which the Warriors used in that weekend's quarterfinal game. The play won the game and sent the team to the state semifinal the following week.
Asked by a reporter from NBC 5/KXAS why he had given his time to the team, Leach said, "It's not very likely that any six-man football players would get an interview with a college football coach at the highest level, so it's my honor to meet with them, encourage them, and hopefully inspire them."
Fletcher wrote that Leach touched many lives during his career and that the players, their families and their coaches, including Horton, will be inspired for the rest of their lives by his kindness, which Fletcher called a "Godwink." According to Fletcher, Leach performed many behind-the-scenes kindnesses that very few people knew about.
