DALLAS – As irritating as Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz’s exaggerated efforts to turn the faux Battle Line Rivalry with Arkansas into something real can be, even the most dedicated Hog fans had to set their sweet tea down and agree when the Mizzou coach called for special action to put Mike Leach on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot.
Because Leach passed away weeks before Mississippi State defeated former Arkansas coach Bret Bielema’s Illinois team to finish a 9-win season, he officially fell one victory short of qualifying for the winning percentage required to automatically make the ballot. This is unjust, and if it requires Drinkwitz sacrificing valuable time promoting his program to rectify it, then respect to him for doing so.
He made several valid points that should be echoed by other SEC coaches, including the Hogs’ Sam Pittman and coaches across the country. Even back when Leach and Hal Mumme dominated the Division II Gulf South Conference, troubling teams like North Alabama and Central Arkansas with their air raid offense, it was clear Leach would significantly impact the game.
“I understand that standards are there for people to make decisions,” Drinkwitz said. “But I also understand that Coach Leach would be a great value to the Hall of Fame because of the legacy that he has, the impact that he made, the innovator that he was, the legacy of coaches that he left, and in my opinion, not only a winner but a Hall of Famer.”
Every word of that is true. Leach was a legend both on and off the field.
Pittman will need to bring some fun and unique interest when he takes the stage Thursday, as the heavy lifting for the SEC previously done by Leach is now missing. Leach’s thirst to make the world think differently, whether answering questions about law, marriage advice, or dinosaurs, was only matched by his ability to make defensive coordinators rethink their strategies as his offense dismantled them weekly.
Leach isn’t one loss short because he wasn’t a brilliant coach. He is one loss short because he took on challenges few others were willing to face and patiently worked to make those programs matter.
No one wants to recruit players to Lubbock and then face Texas when the Longhorns were truly dominant. Yet, there he was, working diligently until, in 2008, Graham Harrell led No. 7 Texas Tech over Colt McCoy and Mack Brown’s No. 1 ranked Texas team at the last possible second.
Then he went to Pullman, Washington, an even more remote town than Lubbock, without the benefit of Texas high school football feeding into it. Washington State accounted for four of his five losing seasons over his 21-year head coaching career.
This not only ended Leach’s perfect streak of winning seasons after a decade as a head coach, but it is also why he isn’t currently eligible for the Hall of Fame. Yet, he revived one of the sport’s most broken programs.
He doubled his Big 12 Coach of the Year awards by winning two Pac-12 Coach of the Year awards. In 2018, he went 11-2 and turned Gardner Minshew and his mustache into college football legends.
A year later, he had his choice of struggling SEC programs to resurrect. In true Leach fashion, he considered the two most downtrodden schools at the time, Arkansas and Mississippi State, ultimately choosing to do the hard work of achieving winning seasons in Starkville during the NIL era.
Between the Cougars and the Bulldogs, he led teams that aren’t typically bowl regulars to postseason play in nine of his last 10 seasons. That final win, where his players and team executed his plays with his spirit clearly present at the Reliaquest Bowl, should count towards Leach’s record. He earned it.
So, while Pittman may not be too fond of Drinkwitz and his antics over the past year, this is one cause that should rise above rivalry. Arkansas should join Missouri in leading the call for Leach to get his due.
If that means Pittman must take a few minutes from his usual spotlight to advocate for this, it’s a sacrifice worth making. There are plenty of decisions Pittman has made that Arkansas fans have disagreed with, many of which were on fourth down, but this is one even the most cynical Razorbacks fan should support.
