Mike Leach’s legacy, Hall of Fame debate in spotlight as WSU faces Texas Tech

Sep 6, 2024, 9:13 PM

WSU Cougars former head coach Mike Leach 2019...

The late former WSU Cougars head coach Mike Leach looks on during a 2019 game. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

(Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

BY TIM BOOTH

The Associated Press

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Sitting on the mirrored glass shelf inside the office of the head football coach at Washington State is a small reminder of what the late Mike Leach meant to the school.

Preview: A look at WSU vs. Texas Tech

Prominently displayed in the workplace of current head coach Jake Dickert is a crimson Washington State helmet, emblazoned with the famous Cougar head logo in metallic gray and a pair of swashbuckling pirate swords underneath.

“I truly believe coach Leach taught everyone around here that they can believe again and he did it in his own unique way that is Washington State,” Dickert said.

Leach’s name and his legacy will be part of the storyline when Washington State and Texas Tech — the two schools most associated with the late coach — meet on Saturday night. While it’s not a weekend on the Palouse dedicated to Leach and the 10 seasons he coached at Texas Tech followed by the eight seasons he spent with the Cougars, his history is an overarching piece to the matchup.

Leach is part of the class being inducted into the Washington State Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend, joining the honor he already had from Texas Tech. His family is back in Pullman for the celebration and was honored during the induction Friday night and again at Saturday’s game.

The weekend is also an opportunity to rekindle Leach’s overall place in the history of the game after he passed away nearly two years ago while coaching at Mississippi State, and if he’ll eventually find a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame.

“Coach Leach, in my mind, and I believe in most of the people in this room, is a no-doubt Hall of Famer,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said during SEC media days. “He impacted our game more in the last 50 years than a lot of other people, not only with his legacy, but also with his football acumen.”

Technically, Leach isn’t eligible for induction yet, according to Steve Hatchell, the President and CEO of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. Leach would need to be nominated by one of the schools where he coached — which seems a formality — and be three years removed from when he last coached to be considered.

But there is an area where Leach’s eventual candidacy will force a decision to be made by the NFF.

Leach finished his career with a 158-107 record, a winning percentage of .596. According to guidelines for Hall of Fame consideration, coaches must have a .600 winning percentage to be considered for inclusion on the voting ballot.

And it’s not as simple as just rounding up.

“It’s broader than just one person,” Hatchell said.

The situation is personal for Hatchell because he considered Leach a friend, someone who the NFF would turn to for advice about college football and someone who he would exchange book suggestions.

And he’s someone who would provide strong opinions about the state of college football in 2024.

“He was a great friend and you could ask him a lot of things. He didn’t just go with the flow. He would be very quick to tell us, which helped us a lot, it would be this doesn’t work or this works,” Hatchell said. “He could be a contrarian, but a lot of times if you’re going to push back and be sharp-elbowed to talk about the good in the game, you need people to give you some really good introspection and Mike was that way.”

Hatchell expects the Leach debate to continue, especially because he was so close to the 60% win mark. It could be that all coaches with a .595 win percentage or above are eventually looked at for possible inclusion on the ballot should they meet other requirements.

Saturday’s matchup of his two former teams is just one moment where his name and his impact will again be in the spotlight. And even if he isn’t added to the Hall of Fame down the road, his legacy is secured.

“I wouldn’t be here with all these things and this building without Mike Leach,” Dickert said. “And I never met him personally, but the impact he’s made on the game of football, I think most coaches can only dream of that.”