The Oklahoma football program knows a thing or two about housing Hall of Fame caliber head coaches. Bob Stoops, Barry Switzer, Bud Wilkinson, Bennie Owen, Biff Jones, and Jim Tatum all once patrolled the sidelines for the Oklahoma Sooners while eventually having a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame. Stoops, the last Oklahoma frontman to earn an introduction into the College Football Hall of Fame by the National Football Foundation (NFF), believes his former colleague Mike Leach should join him among the all-time greats.
Leach, a 21-year head coach at the FBS level, owns a 59.6% win record, falling just short of the 60% win rate needed for consideration in the College Football Hall of Fame. Withstanding a waiver approved by the NFF Board of Directors, Leach cannot enter the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach.
Former Oklahoma Football HC Bob Stoops: Goes to Bat for Mike Leach

On Friday, former Oklahoma football head coach and national champion Bob Stoops took to social media to voice his support for the late Mike Leach. Stoops, in response to a tweet deeming Leach ineligible for the College Football Hall of Fame, believes Leach on influence alone should have a spot among the most distinguished in his profession.
That rounds to 60%, Mike is deserving of the College HOF! His influence in football is as strong as any Coach I can think of. RIP Mike🙏 https://t.co/TPLqIWysUI
— Bob Stoops (@CoachBobStoops) June 14, 2024
“That rounds to 60%. Mike is deserving of the College HOF! His influence in football is as strong as any Coach I can think of. RIP Mike,” said Stoops in a tweet on Friday. Leach coached under Stoops during Oklahoma football’s 7-5 season in 1999. Leach passed away at 61 in 2022 after 21 years as a head coach. He led the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the Washington State Cougars, and the Mississippi State Cougars to a 158-107 record, suitable for a .596 win percentage. A .600 win percentage is mandatory for consideration for the College Football Hall of Fame, a rule since its creation in 1951. However, the NFF loosely enforced the rule until the past decade.
Despite Leach being ineligible for consideration, the College Football Hall of Fame contains 30 coaches who retired short of winning 60% of their games. Tuss McLaughry (49%), Doug Porter (58%), and Willie Jefferies (59%) are all members of the College Football Hall of Fame, with Porter and Jefferies each earning the recognition in the last 20 years. However, NFF president and CEO Steve Hatchell, who held the position during the induction of Porter and Jefferies, told CBS Sports that Leach won’t enter the HOF without a waiver.
Hatchell said, “There hasn’t been any wriggling of that [.600 number]. I was told by George Steinbrenner and many other guys who had been on the board for a long time, ‘Hatchell, these are the rules. You stay with the rules come hell or high water.'”
Mike Leach: Legendary Football Career

Tcl Mike Leach Memorial
Syndication The Clarion-Ledger
Mike Leach will not make the College Football Hall of Fame outside of a waiver. Nicknamed “The Pirate,” Leach helped develop and institute the air raid offense into college football in the early 2000s. Leach won numerous awards during his distinguished career, including Conference Coach of the Year three times and the Woody Hayes National Coach of the Year Award circa 2008. He won double-digit games twice, including leading the Texas Tech Red Raiders to an 11-2 record and a trip to the Cotton Bowl in the same year he won COY. Under Leach, quarterback Graham Harrell threw for 134 touchdowns in four seasons, the third most in FBS history.
Alongside Oklahoma football legend Bob Stoops, Leach also coached with USC head coach Lincoln Riley, former Baylor bench boss Art Briles, and longtime football coach Sonny Dykes. Leach can still enter the College Football Hall of Fame as its Distinguished American Award for his contributions to the evolution of the sport.
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