Longtime Nashville area high school football coach Bobby Leech dies at 85

Longtime Nashville Metro high school football coach Bobby Leech died Tuesday. He was 85.

Leech, who retired in 1992, played football at Litton in the late 1950s. His career head coaching record was 118-57, going 68-37 at Madison and 50-20 at Stratford.

He began his coaching career in 1961 as an assistant at Stratford under legendary coaches Herschel Moore and Ronald Webb before moving to Goodlettsville in 1970, where Leech was the defensive coordinator. He also spent one year as an assistant at a high school in Florida.

Leech got his first head coaching job at Madison in 1976. After spending 10 years there, he returned to Stratford as the head coach for six seasons.

One of Leech's best seasons was in his final one at Stratford. He led the Spartans to a 12-2 record, the District 12-AAA championship and the semifinals of the state playoffs. The Spartans' offense averaged 30.8 points per game in the regular season, and the defense shut out five opponents, including the first two in the playoffs.

That team featured one of the greatest backfields in Metro history, with three running backs who rushed for at least 1,000 yards in Michael Coleman, Erik Gardner and Gregory Young.

In his first season at Madison, Leech led the Rams to the Class AAA Central Division championship and a 7-4 record, their first winning record in six seasons.

In Madison's final year as a high school (1985), Leech led the Rams to an 8-3 record and a 31-14 win over Lewis County in the Jaycees Pioneer Bowl in Columbia.

Leech also coached wrestling and track.

Family and friends will gather to remember Leech on Sunday (2-4 p.m.) in Bixler Chapel at Madison Church of Christ. The family has asked in lieu of flowers that donations be made to the Madison Church of Christ Benevolent Center.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X, formerly the Twitter platform, @MikeOrganWriter.