SEC football: 15 instances where it just meant more

13. Mike Leach told Alyssa Lang that she and her fiancé Trevor Sikkema should elope instead of planning a wedding, while having no idea that Trevor also worked in sports, too!

Months later, I still can’t believe Mike Leach is gone. There is never going to be another Pirate. As we try to swing our swords whenever we can to honor the life and legacy of one of college football’s most important people of all time, try not to cry watching this clip of the former Mississippi State head coach talking to Alyssa Lang of the SEC Network about having weddings.

He told Lang and Trevor Sikkema to elope. Leach had no idea that Sikkema worked in sports, too.

I don’t know if this will go down as Leach’s greatest interview response ever, but it’s the one that gets me emotional every time I watch it. This was weeks before he tragically passed away at the age of 61 from a heart attack. Knowing what we know about Coach Leach, he would have talked to Sikkema on the phone about his and Lang’s wedding. Sadly, he never got the chance to…

Leach may have been one of the godfathers of the Air Raid offense, helping the most remote outpost in each major conference win a ton of games with it. However, I think his personality and curious nature is what we will miss the most about him. Completely comfortable in his own skin, Leach was never afraid to answer the tough questions. He was college football. We will miss him.

People asked Leach all sorts of questions over the years, but his rapport with Lang was so special.