John Michael Leach (born October 18, 1976) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a long snapper in the National Football League (NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Boston University and College of William & Mary. He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2000. His NFL career sequentially spanned 16 seasons as a member of the Titans,

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

, Denver Broncos, and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

Early years

Leach attended Jefferson Township High School in Jefferson Township, New Jersey. He

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

, baseball and basketball. In football, Leach was a first-team, all-state selection as a punter. By the time Leach had graduated in the mid-1990s, he finished as the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in Falcons basketball history. Additionally, Leach appeared in three

NJSIAA The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

basketball playoff games.

College career

Leach attended Boston University (1995–1997) and The College of William & Mary (1998–2000). At The College of William and Mary, during his junior season, his 58 receptions as a tight end were the second-most at the position in school history (to Glenn Bodnar's 69 catches in 1984) and his punting average set a single-season school record of 44.4 yards. The performance earned him Associated Press second-team All-America and second-team All- Atlantic 10 honors that season. He also earned first-team Walter Camp All-American honors at tight end as a senior.

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

Leach signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans on April 20, 2000.TENNESSEE TITANS 2000 ROSTER MOVES
He played in 15 games for the Titans during the 2000 season and four games during the 2001 season before being released by the team.

Chicago Bears

Leach signed a future contract with the

on January 10, 2002 and attended training camp with the team before being waived on August 26 of that year.

Denver Broncos

He signed with the Denver Broncos on November 4, 2002, and served as the team's long snapper for the eight remaining games that the Broncos had during the 2002 season. His first game with the Broncos occurred on November 11, 2002, as part of a 34–10 home loss to the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. Leach served as the Broncos long snapper in every game through the 2008 season since his first appearance with the team in 2002. He was featured in an August 2007 issue of '' Sports Illustrated'' in which writer Peter King listed the top 500 players in the NFL. Leach was ranked number 1,000 as a symbolic gesture to show that every player has a necessary role on a roster. The Broncos released Leach on March 1, 2009 after the team signed free agent long snapper

Lonie Paxton Leonidas E. "Lonie" Paxton III (born March 13, 1978) is a former American football long snapper. He played college football at California State University, Sacramento#Athletics, Sacramento State and was signed by the New England Patriots as an ...

Arizona Cardinals

Leach was signed by the

on March 11, 2009, replacing incumbent Nathan Hodel. Leach spent 7 seasons with the Cardinals; totaling 19 solo tackles and 1 fumble recovery.

Retirement as an NFL player

In January 2016, Leach announced his retirement from the NFL, via Twitter, just days after the Cardinals' loss to the Carolina Panthers in the

NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

.Arizona Cardinals long snapper Mike Leach Retires
AZCentral.com, January 27, 2016

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bio

Denver Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leach, Mike 1976 births Living people Jefferson Township High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Dover, New Jersey Players of American football from Morris County, New Jersey People from Jefferson Township, New Jersey American football punters American football tight ends American football long snappers Boston University Terriers football players William & Mary Tribe football players Tennessee Titans players Chicago Bears players Denver Broncos players Arizona Cardinals players