Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life

Mike Leach

Jul 2011 · Diversion Books

About this ebook

Newly-minted Mississippi State 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.

Ratings and reviews

All you really need to know, is that this is the first book I finished in 4 years. I Loved this book. I couldn't put it down. I must admit that when I bought the book, I was expecting a lot more X's and O's, but I didn't expect that this would have the incredible story line. Not as much football strategy as I would have thought, yet after reading the book, you kind of begin to understand why. I have recommended this book to all of my fellow coaches, it is that good.

Mike Leach has taken a step all legends make. In this book he shares his thoughts, concerns and secrets to success in more than just crushing his opponents, but how to live an abundant life. One that inspires success, eduation, loyalty and fun. Through this book, Mike teaches us the fundamentals of happiness in a complex world, and also how to rip apart defenses. Swing you Sword is now a life motto that I will preach to those around me. I will continue to learn from him in observation at WSU.

Excellent book!

About the author

After stints at Kentucky and Oklahoma, Mike Leach took over a subpar Texas Tech program that had one of the worst graduation rates in all of major college football. A decade later, Leach had guided Tech to unprecedented on-field success and the highest graduation rate of any public university in major college football. Leach spent seven seasons as the head coach at Washington State before moving to Mississippi State in 2020. He has also served as TV analyst for CBS College Sports and host of the daily College Football Playbook show on SiriusXM. He is native of Cody, Wyoming, and graduated from Brigham Young University. He earned his J.D. from Pepperdine Law School in 1986. Leach and his wife, Sharon, have four children.