David Pollack Names Former College Football Coach Who Deserves to Be In the Hall of Fame

The National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame have announced the 2027 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Some of the game's best players were on the list, including Heisman Trophy winners Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III. As well as players like Colt McCoy, Kellen Moore, Marshawn Lynch, A.J. Hawk and Percy Harvin. There were also some of the best coaches, such as Larry Coker, Dennis Franchione, Jackie Sherrill and Mike Leach.

Leach was able to get on the ballot after a rule change following his unexpected death while coaching the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The previous rule stated that a head coach had to have a win percentage of 60% to be eligible.

Leach fell just below that at 59.6%. He passed away following an 8-4 regular season in 2022 due to complications from a heart condition.

Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach had served as a college football head coach for 21 seasons. | Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

Fans argued that Leach should be in because it should be about impact on the sport. There is an argument to be made that no one has had a greater impact on the modern-day offenses than Leach. His Air Raid style began in the 1980s, when he served as an offensive coordinator under Hal Mumme at Iowa Wesleyan. He stayed with Mumme through the 1998 season when the two were at Kentucky.

He left and spent one season as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma before spending 10 years as the head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, eight years at Washington State and three years at Mississippi State. His impact on offenses is felt across college football, as it's hard to find any teams that don't run at least some version of the Air Raid.

That kind of impact is why David Pollack revealed on "See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack" that Leach deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

"Mike Leach going into the College Football Hall of Fame, rightfully so," Pollack said. "I covered all of these guys, and you never knew what Mike Leach was going to say. It was awesome. You'd walk in there, and he'd talk about pirates, or gold, or swords. It was amazing... You think about his offenses and what he was able to accomplish. He didn't accomplish this at LSU or at major schools... Mike Leach drew a fake script, dropped it so Texas would find it. They found it and tried to attack it, and they literally go up 21 to nothing... because the script and using it against Texas."

Leach's family will find out whether he is inducted when the 2027 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class is announced in early 2027.

The class will be officially inducted during the 69th NFF Annual Awards Dinner, and members will also be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute.

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