I’m sitting in the waiting room of a car garage, talking to a man about Mike Leach and his life. The man, who is an Ole Miss fan, said, “I liked Mike Leach. He was an original.” I agree. Coach Leach was an original — and a legend. He mastered the very rare art of feeling comfortable in his own skin. And in the short time he coached at Mississippi State, he and Lane Kiffin made the rivalry better. Heck, they made the state better.

This one hurts.

Why? We both came to this conclusion. After so much loss over the past couple of years, we just lost someone who brought joy to the world. Whether it was his Air Raid offense or some off-the-wall comment about the state of the world, he made life interesting.

Life is less interesting now. RIP to a legend.

Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today’s Editor-At-Large. He’s also host of a weekly statewide radio program and a television program on Mississippi Public Broadcasting and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.