On November 1, 2008, Texas entered the Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock with an 8-0 record. On the other side was Mike Leach’s Texas Tech, themselves undefeated but touted to be an underdog. Mack Brown’s No. 1-ranked Texas couldn’t quite withstand Texas Tech’s offensive onslaught as QB Graham Harrell executed Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense to its zenith. The game ended in a thriller at the last minute with Michael Crabtree’s iconic catch resulting in the 28-yard touchdown and sealing the game. Harrell passed for 474 yards as Texas lost 33-39. From here on, Mike Leach announced his arrival, and he would go on to change the landscape of how we play football today.

In his time in college football, Mike Leach coached Texas Tech and took a program that was a doormat and led them to 10 consecutive bowl games. His 2008 season was especially notable as the team finished 11-2 and produced players like Wes Walker, who went on to light up the NFL. From there, Leach moved on to Washington State and stayed until 2019. Thus, his time at Washington State is notable not just because he achieved a 10th national ranking with a bottom-rung program in 2018. But because his spread offense would spread like wildfire in CFB and birth coaches like Lincoln Riley, the QB whisperer.

Therefore, college football, recognizing all of Mike Leach’s achievements, has decided to induct him into their hall of fame. However, in doing that, they had to lower their win percentage requirement from 60% to 59.5% to accommodate Mike Leach. “The College Football Hall of Fame will lower its win percentage from 60% to 59.5%, making Mike Leach eligible to join,” On3 Sports posted the update on their X account. But the decision to lower the requirement of wins has fans riled up.

Mike Leach’s overall record is 158-107, giving him a win percentage of 0.596. This disabled him from being accommodated in the Hall of Fame’s list since their minimum requirement is 60%. However, given the legacy and the impact the Leach had left on football, the decision looks to be justified. Moreover, if he hadn’t died tragically in 2022 due to his heart condition, we could have surely seen him surpass that 60% mark. Even then, many fans are not happy with the decision to lower the standard.

Fans not happy with Mike Leach’s Hall of Fame induction?

Mike Leach’s legacy is well beyond the stats, wins, or losses. Just look at his coaching tree and the influence that he has left, and you will know. For instance, Lincoln Riley learned his Air Raid offense under Mike Leach, Kliff Kingsbury learned under him, and Dana Holgorsen was also his assistant at Texas Tech. Not only this, Leach was also known for his jolly and unfiltered personality, with references ranging from rants about pirates and weddings. But one of the users reacting to On3’s X post pointed out the flaw with CFB’s decision to induct him into the Hall of Fame.

“Mike Leach was a decent coach and a character, but not a Hall of Famer by any stretch.” Another user commented on the fear that other mid coaches might also make it due to the criteria relaxation, “How many other mid coaches are going to get in now though because of this reduced requirement?” While the take is thought-provoking, the CFB Hall of Fame lowered their criteria in 2003 to induct Hayden Fry, who had just a 55.95% win rate. What matters here is the legacy that the coach has left, right?

Still, one of the users wasn’t buying into the CFB Hall of Fame’s decision and commented, “Nothing like lowering the standards to include the less worthy. Trophy for everyone mentality.” While another user berated people for celebrating the lowering of the standard. “Lowering standards should not be celebrated.”

Surely, a lowering of the standard may feel like a big deal. But when you look at his success at Washington State, you feel how big a feat that was. A bottom-rung school never would have imagined that it would make six bowl appearances in eight seasons. Mike Leach made it possible, even with the scarcity of resources, and produced QBs like Luke Falk and Anthony Gordon.

One of the users thus explained the move and justified it with his take but advocated not changing the criteria. “Shouldn’t change the criteria. Just put in coaches based on impact, which he surely had.” Well, the take is spot on. Mike Leach deserves to be on the list because of his lasting impact. Maybe the move could have been done without changing the criteria. Anyway, it wouldn’t have made that much of a difference in Leach’s enduring legacy, right?