Lincoln Riley still seems to root for Mike Leach, the legendary college football coach who passed away in 2022. It’s a hard pill to swallow for Riley. He stands in the defense of Leach, often regarded as a modern great. 

A difference of 0.4% comes as a hurdle on the path of the late coach’s qualification for the College Football Hall of Fame. Like many, it’s tough for Riley to be open to that the late Mississippi State football head coach will be soon out of the Hall of Famer race. That too, for a hair-splitting lacuna.  

Controversial eligibility criteria come as a blow to Leach’s accolades, upsetting Riley

Leach was a coach who strongly influenced the game of football at the college and NFL levels in the 21st century. He is credited with helping popularize the Air Raid offense backed up by an aggressive, pass-oriented strategy. But with the change in the policy of the National Football Foundation, Leach’s accolades seem insufficient. The two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year, 2008 Big 12 Coach of the Year, now appears ineligible. Obviously, it did not sit right with one of Leach’s biggest fans, Riley. The Trojans HC openly resisted this decision on X, “Mike Leach impacted the game in a way few ever will… he absolutely deserves to be in… honestly tough to imagine the College Football HOF without him.”  

It is disheartening that Leach’s ineligibility is the result of an inadequate score. According to new rules, a candidate for the Hall of Fame must have been a head coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a winning percentage of at least 60%. Here comes the twist: the late Mississippi HC missed the mark as he won 59.6% of his games. What turns out to be a snub at Leach is something very personal for Riley as it bleeds his heart to find his mentor not getting the place he deserves. 

Anything for mentor Leach

The USC coach has long credited Leach for kindling his coaching career. It might be difficult for the fans to believe that Riley, who has now coached three quarterbacks to Heisman Trophy wins, struggled to earn a place. Despite the possibility of being cut, Leach decided to take a gamble and offered the 19-year-old a position on his coaching staff. If the late coach had not trusted the newbie, an important chapter from the history of college football would have been washed off. 

Riley also learned every important aspect of Leach’s Air Raid offense, which helped him quickly rise as a promising college football coach. Living by the lessons he gathered from Leech, Riley has been one of the most successful coaches under the age of 40.

Hence, now that the man who catapulted Riley to the place that he is currently is getting disrespected, the Trojans HC is not open to any negotiation. He seems to fight till his last breath, putting his blood, sweat, and tears into bringing back the late coach’s lost honor and resurrecting him into the Hall of Fame race.