Since Mike Leach's tragic passing in December of 2022, a regular point of discussion has been his candidacy for the College Football Hall of Fame, or rather the lack thereof. Despite being an unquestionable coaching legend, the former Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach has been ineligible for inclusion in the CFB HOF due to some stringent selection criteria that he did not meet.
Many have campaigned for an exception to be made so that the late Pirate would, rightfully, be admitted in the CFB HOF. Finally, those efforts have paid off, with a notable change coming to the selection criteria that will make Mike Leach eligible for admittance.
College Football Hall of Fame adjusts eligibility requirements, Mike Leach now eligible
In order for a college coach to be eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame, he must have coached for at least 10 seasons and finished his career with at least a 60% winning percentage. The winning percentage requirement was the hold-up for Mike Leach, who finished just shy of that mark at 59.6%.
That will no longer be an issue for The Pirate. According to CFB insider Brett McMurphy, The CFB HOF is officially lowing the minimum career winning percentage requirement to 59.5% in 2027, meaning that in two years, Mike Leach will be eligible.
It's the proper decision, and now Leach will get the recognition he deserves once he's voted in. That being said, the fact they lowed the winning percentage requirement by 0.5% shows just how ridiculous that requirement was in the first place. While standards exist for a reason, in a sport where the definition of success can be so drastically different from one program to the next, it makes little sense to have an arbitrary cutoff point to determine a coach's worthiness for recognition. It shouldn't have taken this change to get Leach into the HOF.
Regardless, a wrong is being righted. Mike Leach is undoubtedly a Hall of Famer. You quite literally cannot tell the story of the game of football - the entire game, not just college - without bringing up The Pirate and his impact. The mastermind's development of the Air Raid offense and the success it brought changed the way the game was played forever. He is one of the single most influential figures in the sport's history.
The College Football Hall of Fame would have been forever incomplete without Mike Leach. It's a huge win for the sport knowing that he will someday soon be enshrined there.