Leach had an immense impact on the sport but is one win shy of meeting the qualification standard.
Nine coaches appear on the College Football Hall of Fame’s ballot for 2025, including two of the biggest names in the sport over the past quarter century: Urban Meyer and Nick Saban. Tommy Tuberville, who gained fame at Auburn, also appears.
So does Miami’s Larry Coker and Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen.Mike Leach, who made Texas Tech relevant, did the same for Washington State and, along the way, changed the game like few coaches in the past 50 years. Leach wasn’t on the 2025 ballot for a good reason: Coaches aren’t eligible until three years after retirement unless they are at least 70 years old.But Leach was only 61 when he passed away in Dec. 2022, from complications related to a heart condition, following his third season at Mississippi State. There is no process to fast-track coaches for posthumous induction, according to Steve Hatchell, president of National Football Foundation, which runs the Hall of Fame Which means the earliest Leach could appear on the ballot is the spring of 2026 — except for one teeny-tiny problem:The Hall of Fame requires coaching nominees to “have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.”The man whose Air Raid passing game has come to dominate high school and college football and is used throughout the NFL …Who mentored current head coaches Josh Heupel , Dave Aranda , Sonny Dykes , Lincoln Riley and a slew of others … Who had 16 winning seasons and just five losing seasons at three schools that will never, ever be mistaken for football blue bloods …does not qualify for the Hall of Fame because his career record is 158-107 and not 159-106. “We’ve heard every reason why we should look beyond why someone is not in the Hall of Fame. But at some point, you have to say, ‘These are the rules.'”It’s vastly more difficult to win 55 percent of your games a year at Texas Tech or Washington State than 65 percent of your games at Texas or Washington. Yet because of the sheer number of potential inductees — more than 700 colleges and universities play football — the Hall of Fame needs a baseline for players and coaches.“Mike was great to the National Football Foundation and the Hall of Fame,” said Hatchell, whose NFF office is located in Irving, Tex. “If we needed counsel on something, I’d call him. We love Mike and what he did for the sport. What he did for Texas Tech and Washington State was nothing short of phenomenal.There are coaches in the Hall of Fame with a winning percentage below .600 — Iowa legend Hayden Fry, for example — but the governing board changed the criteria after Hatchell took over in 2005.So Leach cannot enter the Hall through the established route for coaches. But there are two other avenues:Because the Hall doesn’t round up with the winning percentage, Hatchell explained, Leach’s case “would be more like: Is it different that he passed away” while still coaching.“We recognize people that way,” Hatchell said, “but most coaches would rather go in as coaches than the outstanding contributor category.” The first step is a nomination: Either Texas Tech, WSU or Mississippi State would have to offer Leach’s name for induction once he’s eligible in 2026. At that point, the Hall of Fame would have to consider both established policy and potential precedent. But there is only one right answer for a coach who’s one victory shy of meeting the selection standard for winning percentage.Once eligible, he’s worthy of immediate induction.*** Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference.Miss Manners: I'm a bride-to-be with a flashy ring, and I don't like the questions I getAsk Amy: Our wedding was happy. Since then, things have gone downhill fast.Ask Amy: I needed my friend's help, and all she offered was prayersDear Abby: I thought I was like a second mom -- then they put me on the B-listNot in my backyard: Illegal California ADUs outpacing permitted ones Massachusetts middle schooler banned from wearing ‘only two genders’ shirt loses federal appeals case
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