Late Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach has been brought up multiple times during SEC Media Days this week, the second time the event has taken place since Leach passed away in December 2022.
On Monday, following his podium speech, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin made jest of why he no longer wears a tie to the event. Recounting to Leach’s final SEC Media Days, Kiffin told the SEC Network that he and his in-state counterpart went to Commissioner Greg Sankey and appealed what they thought was a requirement to dress to the nines. Sankey dumbfoundedly informed the two that there was no written rule in place making head coaches wear ties to media days.
“This was two or three years ago that I brought it up. I got (Mike) Leach to back me. So, I said, ‘Is there a rule written somewhere about the tie?’ And the commissioner said, ‘No, there’s not,'” Kiffin recounted. “I said, ‘Just like on offense, Coach (Art) Briles challenged that you’re supposed to huddle and that was a pretty good move. So, why are we wearing ties?’ The commissioner took into account what we said, and he actually did not wear a tie two years ago after that. He was buying into it.”
Pushing back on an unspoken rule over apparel wasn’t the first collective win Kiffin and Leach had off the field. In a more serious case, the two joined other Mississippi coaches at the state capitol in the summer of 2020 to successfully lobby for the state to change its flag from one with a confederate battle emblem to one more unifying to the average resident. You also might remember the viral video of Leach yanking at Kiffin’s face mask that day. That was something Leach was good at – having fun, even during a serious situation.
Another thing Leach was adept at was coaching football. While that might sound obvious, considering he won multiple Coach of the Year awards, it still might not resonate with everyone the tangible impact Leach had on the game as a whole. His Air Raid offense, which he whipped up alongside Hal Mumme during stops at Iowa Wesleyan, Valdosta State, and Kentucky, changed football from a slower-paced, overly methodical game into what you see now when you turn on the TV on Saturdays and Sundays.
The quick-paced, pass-heavy scheme was slowly perfected by Leach during stops at Texas Tech and Washington State. It got so popular, or hated for that matter, among both Leach proteges and opponents alike that other teams across the country began to pick up elements of the Air Raid and implement it into their own schemes. Even in the old-school Big Ten, schools like Purdue and Indiana decided to transition to a similar offense as recently as last season. While no NFL teams run a strict Air Raid system, much of what fans see on the highest level comes straight out of a Mike Leach playbook.
There aren’t enough words to truly convey Leach’s impact on football, but on day two of SEC Media Days, on Tuesday, Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz used his opening remarks to try to do so. He also used the opportunity to urge the National Football Foundation (NFF) to nominate Leach for the College Football Hall of Fame even though he technically does not meet the requirements.
Leach died at 61, well before anyone expected him to, with a career record of 158-107 – a win rate of 59.7% – putting the Hall in a predicament as it has long held a 60% threshold for eligibility.
“Next summer, we will be moving media days to Atlanta,” Drinkwitz noted, pointing out that Atlanta is the home of the College Football Hall of Fame. “And so, it reminded me to call on CEO Steve Hatchell to do the right thing and to nominate Mike Leach for the College Football Hall of Fame. We need to put him on the ballot.”
“He won 158 career games, was the 2008 Big 12 Coach of the Year, two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year, and in 2018, was the AFCA Coach of the Year. [He] won 11 games at Texas Tech and 11 games at Washington State. And I understand his career winning percentage is .596, one win short of the 60% threshold. And I understand that standards are there for people to make decisions. But I also understand that Coach Leach would be a great value to the Hall of Fame because of the legacy that he has, because of the impact that he made, because of the innovator that he was because of the legacy of coaches that he left.”
“The Hall of Fame is incomplete without Coach Mike Leach in it.”@CoachDrinkwitz makes the case to put Mike Leach into the College Football Hall of Fame ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ZTxJ3TQ4xK
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) July 16, 2024
Drinkwitz, who never coached under Leach but allowed his own offense to be impacted by Leach’s Air Raid, is not the only coach to publicly come out in favor of Leach being nominated for the College Football Hall of Fame. Former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops and current Washington State head coach Jake Dickert have also put their full support behind the movement.
While officials with the NFF indicated days after Leach’s passing that it would consider his nomination, three ballots later and the legendary coach has not yet been included. SEC Media Days continue through Thursday in Dallas, Texas.
