Mike Leach Eligible for College Football Hall of Fame in 2027

New York, NY

Mike Leach, the innovative former college football coach, is now eligible for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. The National Football Foundation (NFF) revised the required career winning percentage from .600 to .595, allowing Leach’s name to be considered for the 2027 class.

Leach boasts a career winning percentage of .598 with a record of 158-106. Notably, he won 18 games against AP-ranked teams while his team was unranked, a record since the AP Top 25 Poll’s inception in 1936.

Steve Hatchell, NFF president and CEO, expressed the organization’s commitment to recognizing deserving coaches. He stated, “This adjustment reflects thoughtful dialogue and allows us to better recognize coaches whose contributions extend beyond a narrow statistical threshold.”

Leach is widely recognized as one of the greatest coaches previously ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration. After graduating from law school, he began his coaching career in 1987 as an offensive line coach. His first offensive coordinator role came in 1989 at Iowa Wesleyan, where he learned from Hal Mumme. Together, they pioneered what is now known as the Air Raid offense.

Leach’s coaching career includes time at several institutions. He spent years with the Red Raiders, seeing remarkable success, including B.J. Symons breaking the FBS single-season passing yard record in 2003. Under Leach, quarterbacks consistently ranked among the top in their positions.

His influence is evident across college football, with former players like Graham Harrell and Kliff Kingsbury leading teams and coaching at various levels. Kingsbury notably coached the Arizona Cardinals from 2019-2022 and is currently the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders.

During his decade at Texas Tech, Leach took the team to bowl games each season, accumulating the most wins in school history. He faced controversy in 2009 when he was fired over alleged inappropriate treatment of a player. Following this, he spent his last years vigorously defending his reputation.

After a stint at Washington State, where he led the Cougars to a significant 11-win season in 2018, Leach passed away in December 2022 due to heart-related complications, just before a bowl game.