Rule Change Opens Hall of Fame Door for Leach

Rule Change Opens Hall of Fame Door for Leach

Mike Leach, who died in December 2022 after his final season as Mississippi State head coach, has been placed on the ballot for the 2027 College Football Hall of Fame class following a revision to the National Football Foundation’s eligibility criteria for coaches. The NFF lowered the minimum career winning percentage required for coach candidates from .600 to .595, beginning with the 2027 class. Leach’s career record of 158-107 across stints at Texas Tech, Washington State, and Mississippi State produced a .596 winning percentage, which now clears the revised threshold.

The NFF released the full 2027 ballot, which includes 80 FBS players and nine FBS coaches alongside candidates from lower divisions. The class will be officially announced in January. Leach, widely credited with popularizing the Air Raid spread offense, is one of nine coaches under consideration from the Football Bowl Subdivision. Also on the coaching ballot are Larry Coker, who led Miami to the 2001 national championship; Jackie Sherrill, Mississippi State’s all-time wins leader; and Tommy Tuberville, who guided Auburn through a dominant stretch in the 2000s.

Notable players on the FBS ballot include Heisman Trophy winners Cam Newton, the Auburn quarterback honored in 2010, and Robert Griffin III, the Baylor signal-caller who won in 2011. First-time nominees include Tavon Austin of West Virginia, Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin, A.J. Hawk of Ohio State, and Barrett Jones of Alabama.

Ballot voting by NFF members will determine which nominees advance to Hall of Fame selection. The official 2027 class announcement is scheduled for January.