College HOF rules change, making Leach eligible

The National Football Foundation announced an adjustment to eligibility criteria Thursday that will open a door to make Mike Leach a College Football Hall of Famer.

Leach, the late coach from Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State, had a winning percentage of .596, just short of the old benchmark that coaches had to win 60% of their games.

The new rule sets eligibility at .595, which would also extend new life to former Oklahoma State, LSU and Kansas coach Les Miles, who has a .597 win percentage after 37 wins with the Tigers were vacated because of NCAA infractions, and Jackie Sherrill, who had a .595 record over 26 seasons at Pitt, Texas A&M and Mississippi State.

Among active coaches, West Virginia‘s Rich Rodriguez is at .596. The change will go into effect beginning with the 2027 hall of fame ballot.

Rodriguez told ESPN he had no idea he was now eligible when asked about the criteria change during Big 12 spring meetings.

“I believe that was done for my friend, Mike,” Rodriguez said. “I know a lot of us older coaches now take some pride in helping change the game in some way, helping it evolve in certain aspects and that’s one reason why we pushed to get Mike in.”

Leach’s mentor, Hal Mumme, who created the Air Raid offense that Leach spread throughout football, hailed the change as a great common-sense decision for a coach who won at places not many others had done before.

“It’s the only sane thing to do,” Mumme told ESPN. “Why is 60% the magic number? I mean, not everybody gets to coach at Notre Dame or Texas or something. Throw the rule out and vote people in on merit.”

Mumme said coaches should be judged on their performance, not an arbitrary cutoff. And, he said, Leach’s impact is far bigger than his record.

“Mike Leach was instrumental in changing the way football is played and has made it more enjoyable for fans and players,” Mumme said. “He had a huge role in that, and he should be in the Hall of Fame.”

TCU coach Sonny Dykes, who was an assistant on Leach’s staff at Texas Tech, was ecstatic to hear about the changes to the hall’s eligibility criteria.

“It’s awesome,” Dykes told ESPN from the Big 12’s spring meeting in Orlando, Florida. “I don’t know that anybody has had as big an impact on the game of football, whether it’s college football, pro football, high school football, than Mike has. He’s certainly deserving of the Hall of Fame. I don’t think that the Hall of Fame needs to be exclusive to coaches that have coached historically very successful programs.

“Mike did a great job of taking programs over and getting those programs to the highest level that they’ve ever performed at. So I’m excited for him. He certainly deserves it. It’s a real credit to him and to what he’s meant to college football that they reconsidered their model.”

All other eligibility requirements for coaches remain unchanged. They must have served as a head coach for at least 10 seasons and coached at least 100 games. They become eligible for consideration three full seasons after retirement or immediately if they are at least 70. Active coaches become eligible at 75.

“The NFF is committed to preserving the integrity and prestige of the NFF College Football Hall of Fame,” NFF president and CEO Steve Hatchell said. “This adjustment reflects thoughtful dialogue with leaders across the sport and allows us to better recognize coaches whose contributions to the game extend beyond a narrow statistical threshold.”

ESPN’s Andrea Adelson contributed to this story.