Mike Leach to be eligible for College Football Hall of Fame after criteria change

The College Football Hall of Fame made a big announcement on Thursday that will make fans of the late Mike Leach happy.

The National Football Foundation (NFF) has announced a change to the eligibility criteria for coaches to be considered for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Beginning in 2027, the career winning percentage for coaches to be eligible for the Hall of Fame will be lowered from .600 to .595.

While the NFF did not explicitly say it, the change can safely be called “The Mike Leach Rule.”

Leach died in December 2022 from complications related to a heart condition. He was in his third season as the head coach at Mississippi State and had previously had successful stints as the head coach at Washington State and Texas Tech.

At the time of his death, Leach had a career record of 158-107 in 21 seasons as a head coach. That gives him a winning percentage of .596, which means he died before having a chance to become eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame.

Leach will now be eligible beginning in 2027 based on the new criteria.

There is a good chance that Leach would have become eligible before the end of his career had he not died unexpectedly. He essentially would have had to post an overall winning record for the remainder of his coaching years, and he had 16 winning seasons in total. The odds of him hitting the .600 mark were very good.

Leach was a respected coach who won at every stop in his career. He was also well known and liked for his quirky personality and countless entertaining exchanges with the media.

Most people would agree that changing the Hall of Fame criteria to make Leach eligible was the right move.