‘Swing your sword‘: MSU trailer honors legacy of Coach Mike Leach

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Mississippi State will have another way to honor their late head football coach Mike Leach as they head to their bowl game in Florida.

KLLM Transport Services teamed up with The Decal Guys of Jackson to honor Coach Mike Leach by providing a special wrap of MSU’s equipment truck.

KLLM sponsors the equipment truck for Mississippi State each year, along with the trucks for Ole Miss, Southern Miss, and Jackson State.

“It’s just a way that we can in a small way honor his life and honor the people from Mississippi State University as they are going to a bowl game this year, unfortunately without their head coach,” said KLLM President and CEO, Jim Richards.

KLLM was humbled to have the opportunity, along with the Decal Guys of Jackson, MS., to honor Coach Mike Leach with a special wrap of the @HailStateFB trailer for their bowl game. He was a special person to all he met. #SwingYourSword https://t.co/Q8Ahgt9Uv6
— KLLM Transport Services (@KLLMtransport) December 22, 2022

Both sides of the truck feature the words Swing Your Sword in big, bold letters next to an image of Leach, wearing a university cap, tee, and headset.

The three-word mantra emerged in the wake of a 2003 loss at Missouri, according to Mike Leach’s autobiography, Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life.

Their quarterback, Brad Smith, ran for almost 300 yards on us. Our team was really struggling. We had an overly aggressive offense and a timid defense, and it got to the point where they were starting to point fingers at one another. We were 5-3. We had just lost back-to-back games. The next day, I showed up at our team meeting with a sword. The blade was about 3 feet long, and really glistened when the light hit it.
I’m pretty sure the players had no clue what was about to happen...
I swung this long sword through the air in front of them.
“Your body is your sword. Are you going to swing your sword aggressively, but really out of control like you’re out there playing street ball?” I said as I began to haphazardly flail the sword around. “If you’re frantic, without being clear-minded, you put yourself into a vulnerable position. Are you going to duck your head and swing it timidly? Or are you going to have great technique and swing it without any hesitation?”
Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life, by Mike Leach

Leach was in his third head-coaching stint, with a 19-17 record for the Bulldogs when he died after complications related to a heart condition.

Four of the nine highest single-season passing yardage totals in FBS history and seven of the top 26 came under quarterbacks coached by Leach, according to ESPN.

This is a snapshot of the legacy behind the words and images on the university’s new equipment truck.

On the left-hand side of Leach is a Jolly Roger pirate flag, a symbol of Leach’s fearless coaching style and well-known personality. In addition to his love for pirates, the moniker, “The Pirate” was how many people referred to the football coach.

“Be a team, be the most excited to play, be the best at doing your job, play the next play, respect everyone, fear no one,” the wrap reads.

The truck will be seen traveling to Tampa Bay, Florida for MSU’s ReliaQuest Bowl appearance against Illinois. The game is set for January 2, starting at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.

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