STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach has been reserved in discussing officiating during his tenure with the Bulldogs. When asked about questionable calls, he often holds back for the sake of not having to pay a fine to the SEC.
Such remained the case during Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference when Leach was asked how he would grade officiating this season.
“That’s obviously a ridiculous question,” Leach said. “You know that unless I plan to spend some money, but I’ll tell you what. You go ahead and mail me a check. I think $30,000 will cover it although I would want to check the market first. You go ahead and mail me the check, and I’ll give you one heck of an answer.”
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Mississippi State is coming off a 45-19 loss against No. 1 Georgia in which MSU was on the wrong side of a few suspect calls.
Early in the game, Mississippi State appeared to force and recover a fumble in its own territory. However, officials deemed forward progress had stopped, eliminating a chance at a review. Later in the game, it appeared an intentional grounding penalty should have been called against Georgia’s Stetson Bennett. That was soon followed by what looked like a missed block in the back on a 70-yard Georgia touchdown run.
Leach has had viral rants about a variety of subjects, including officiating while at Texas Tech. However, he’s sticking to dinosaurs, folding chairs and Halloween candy for his iconic moments in Starkville.
Leach was also asked about his relationship with Jackson State coach Deion Sanders. Though he couldn’t remember exactly when the two met, Leach feels they got close while both were prominent figures in Texas.
Leach was impressed with Sanders’ baseball career, let alone the success he had on the gridiron as a player and now as a coach.
“He’s a great coach,” Leach said. “It’s amazing because he’s been so successful at so many things… I’ve always appreciated what he does for football players and athletes as far as trying to be a good example.”
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mike Leach will put SEC officiating on blast — if you pay him $30,000