The late Mike Leach, one of college football’s most innovative minds, is now eligible for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame after a long-debated rule change.The National Football Foundation announced this past week that it is lowering the win percentage requirement for Hall of Fame eligibility from 60% to 59.5%. Leach, who helped revolutionize the game with his Air Raid offense, finished his career with a 59.6% win rate.Leach’s coaching legacy spans decades and includes head coaching stints at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State. While his overall win percentage narrowly missed the previous threshold, his impact on the sport was never in question.Now it begs the question, what other eligibility rules can change?At Georgia Southern’s spring game earlier this year, head coach Clay Helton wore a shirt that read “Do Right. Put Erk In,” a reference to former Eagles coach Erk Russell. Russell, who led Georgia Southern to three national championships and helped build the program from the ground up, only coached for eight seasons—two short of the Hall of Fame’s former 10-season minimum.The Eagles have made efforts in the past to change the qualifications, but still nothing has happened.Helton made an impassioned plea in his post spring game remarks, months before the official rule change that would eventually include coach Leach.“I know it ain’t easy. I know there’s stipulations and guidelines,” Helton said. “But sometimes the smart thing is to do the right thing, and the wise thing is to do the right thing. And the man deserves to be in the College Football Hall of Fame.”The rule changes are expected to spark renewed discussion around other legendary coaches whose careers didn’t meet prior statistical requirements but left lasting legacies on the game.
The late Mike Leach, one of college football’s most innovative minds, is now eligible for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame after a long-debated rule change.
The National Football Foundation announced this past week that it is lowering the win percentage requirement for Hall of Fame eligibility from 60% to 59.5%. Leach, who helped revolutionize the game with his Air Raid offense, finished his career with a 59.6% win rate.
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Leach’s coaching legacy spans decades and includes head coaching stints at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State. While his overall win percentage narrowly missed the previous threshold, his impact on the sport was never in question.
Now it begs the question, what other eligibility rules can change?
At Georgia Southern’s spring game earlier this year, head coach Clay Helton wore a shirt that read “Do Right. Put Erk In,” a reference to former Eagles coach Erk Russell. Russell, who led Georgia Southern to three national championships and helped build the program from the ground up, only coached for eight seasons—two short of the Hall of Fame’s former 10-season minimum.
The Eagles have made efforts in the past to change the qualifications, but still nothing has happened.
Helton made an impassioned plea in his post spring game remarks, months before the official rule change that would eventually include coach Leach.
“I know it ain’t easy. I know there’s stipulations and guidelines,” Helton said. “But sometimes the smart thing is to do the right thing, and the wise thing is to do the right thing. And the man deserves to be in the College Football Hall of Fame.”
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The rule changes are expected to spark renewed discussion around other legendary coaches whose careers didn’t meet prior statistical requirements but left lasting legacies on the game.
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