{"id":2367,"date":"2026-06-01T16:07:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T16:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2367"},"modified":"2026-06-01T16:07:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T16:07:05","slug":"offensive-mastermind-mike-leach-who-died-in-2022-heads-ballot-for-college-football-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2367","title":{"rendered":"Offensive mastermind Mike Leach, who died in 2022, heads ballot for College Football Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
FILE – Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach looks at the scoreboard during the first quarter of a football game against SMU, Sept. 3, 2007, in Dallas. (AP Photo\/Matt Slocum, file)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Mike Leach, the eccentric and revolutionary offensive savant whose teams set dozens of scoring and passing records over his 21-year head coaching career, is among the nominees for the 2027 College Football Hall of Fame class.<\/p>

Read more Serena Williams is returning to pro tennis at age 44 after nearly 4 years away from the sport<\/a><\/p>\n

The National Football Foundation released the ballot<\/a> Monday for the class that will be announced in January. It includes 80 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 99 players and 39 coaches from lower levels.<\/p>\n

A player is eligible 10 full seasons after his last year in college and must have received first-team All-America honors by a major selector. The nominee\u2019s college football achievements are a prime consideration, but his post-football record as a citizen also is a factor.<\/p>\n

Leach, who died in 2022<\/a> at age 61, became eligible for induction under adjusted criteria for coaches to be considered. The NFF announced last year the minimum career winning percentage required would go from .600 to .595 beginning in 2027.<\/p>\n

Leach had a .596 winning percentage with a 158-107 record at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State.<\/p>\n

Leach was known for his innovative wide-open offenses<\/a> and his knack for pulling upsets. He won 18 games against Top 25 opponents when his team was unranked.<\/p>

Read more Andres Iniesta signs with UAE\u2019s second-tier club Gulf United for his first coaching job<\/a><\/p>\n

Among other FBS coaches on the ballot are Larry Coker, whose Miami team won the 2001 season\u2019s national championship; Dennis Franchione, who made stops at TCU, Alabama and Texas A&M Ralph Friedgen, who led Maryland to bowls in seven of his 10 seasons; Darryl Rogers, 1977 Big Ten coach of the year at Michigan State; Jackie Sherrill, all-time wins leader at Mississippi State; and Tommy Tuberville, who led powerful Auburn teams of the 2000s.<\/p>\n

Heisman Trophy winners Cam Newton of Auburn (2010) and Robert Griffin III of Baylor (2011) are on the ballot along with first-time nominees Tavon Austin of West Virginia, Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin, A.J. Hawk of Ohio State and Barrett Jones of Alabama.<\/p>\n

Nominees go through a screening process to assure they meet eligibility criteria before a vote is taken among members of the NFF and Football Writers Association of America. Voting results are sent to the NFF Honors Court, which makes final selections.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here<\/a> . AP college football: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/ap-top-25-college-football-poll<\/a> and https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/college-football<\/a><\/p>

Read more Chicago Bears sticking to stadium timeline amid uncertainty with Illinois incentives<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Offensive mastermind Mike Leach is among the nominees for the 2027 College Football Hall of Fame class<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nOffensive mastermind Mike Leach, who died in 2022, heads ballot for College Football Hall of Fame - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2367\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Offensive mastermind Mike Leach, who died in 2022, heads ballot for College Football Hall of Fame - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Offensive mastermind Mike Leach is among the nominees for the 2027 College Football Hall of Fame class\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2367\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-01T16:07:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/891fa5856911636da13abf615a4d5520-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2173\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2367#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2367\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Offensive mastermind Mike Leach, who died in 2022, heads ballot for College Football Hall of Fame\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-01T16:07:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2367\"},\"wordCount\":470,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2367#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/4071c8dde184f404efd782d0edbf8976-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2367#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2367\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2367\",\"name\":\"Offensive mastermind Mike Leach, who died in 2022, heads ballot for College Football Hall of Fame - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2367#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2367#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/4071c8dde184f404efd782d0edbf8976-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-01T16:07:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2367#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2367\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2367#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/4071c8dde184f404efd782d0edbf8976-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/4071c8dde184f404efd782d0edbf8976-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2173,\"caption\":\"FILE - Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach looks at the scoreboard during the first quarter of a football game against SMU, Sept. 3, 2007, in Dallas. 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