by Kyle Golik
I have been fortunate in my life to have visited every major sports hall of fame in North America. Each museum does a great job to curate the histories of their sport that have been littered with various personalities and characters that defined the sport. When you go to the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, they even promote it as the “Capital of College Football,” they do an excellent job displaying the various personalities and characters that made college football unique. You may find artifacts of legendary coaches like Mike Leach or Howard Schnellenberger, but when you get to the exhibit that shows inductees you won’t see either of them. Why? Due to objective requirements to be eligible for the Hall of Fame.
What are the requirements as a head coach to be eligible for the Hall of Fame?
According to the College Football Hall of Fame’s website, “A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years old. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.”
That rounds to 60%, Mike is deserving of the College HOF! His influence in football is as strong as any Coach I can think of. RIP Mike🙏 https://t.co/TPLqIWysUI
— Bob Stoops (@CoachBobStoops) June 14, 2024
The first provision is why Nick Saban was immediately eligible following his retirement in January, setting up a monster coaching class with him and Urban Meyer, who has been retired for three seasons. With Leach and Schnellenberger, they each coached 10 years, coaches 100 games, but both failed to reach the .600 winning percentage; Schnellenberger is way off at .514 winning percentage, and where the most vocal support is coming for Leach at a .596 winning percentage – 1 game under the .600 winning percentage.
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Taking to Twitter, Bob Stoops, who coached with Leach at Oklahoma in 1999 and is a Hall of Famer, said that rounds up to 60%, additionally current Southern California head coach Lincoln Riley, who Leach developed at Texas Tech between 2003-2009, “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.”
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- https://t.co/wuFi4v3kLr
— Lincoln Riley (@LincolnRiley) June 15, 2024
I understand the eligibility requirements set forth by the College Football Hall of Fame, with a sport so massive and encapsulating more than just the power conferences and all levels of college football, there needs to be a line of demarcation but in the same vein, does that line of objectivity truly measure greatness? It simply cannot and it is on full display with the cases of Schnellenberger and Leach.
This is where subjective context is needed and to understand both men’s major impact on the sport in various ways.
Leach was the purveyor of Hal Mumme’s Air Raid system, which he evolved over the years. Leach wasn’t coaching at the bluebloods of the country, he went to places like Lubbock, Pullman, Starkville and all he did was transform middle powers into something special.
Leach’s aforementioned Air Raid system has been popularized in one form or another by much of college football today, you cannot watch a game on Saturday and not see many of the concepts of that system being used across the country Leach’s principles to pressure opposing defenses not only by passing but also spreading it out, along with playing a numbers game for running the ball. In a lot of ways, Leach’s co-founder of the Air Raid, Hal Mumme should be up as well for the impact, but Mumme’s possesses a record under .500 (142-152-1 overall). Again, how can you objectify greatness?
I bring up Schnellenberger, who isn’t being mentioned and unfortunately won’t be brought up in this debate.
Schnellenberger’s greatest success was creating the foundation that became “The U,” watch the 30 for 30. A lot of people, and even Schnellenberger reflecting, feel the biggest mistake for Schnellenberger was departing Miami for the USFL. In a lot of ways it was, but Schnellenberger at his essence was a football coach with unwavering confidence to turn programs around.
When Schnellenberger returned to the college game in 1985 to coach Louisville. If you thought Miami was in a grave situation, Louisville was in even more disarray. Beside the futility on the field, they were playing in a minor league baseball stadium to spartan crowds where they couldn’t give away tickets for free. It was not a rebuild for Schnellenberger, it was a literally build from excavation, a new foundation and up.
His greatest glory at Louisville was leading them to their first New Year’s Day bowl win since 1958 when they defeated Alabama in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl.
When Florida Atlantic wanted to start a program, they sought out Schnellenberger, who fundraised and lobbied for three years to get the resources in line for them to start playing football. Schnellenberger was the program’s first ever coach, they lost their first game to Slippery Rock (PA) at the I-AA level, but within five seasons had the Owls playing in the Sun Belt Conference at the 1-A level and winning the program’s first two bowl games in 2007 and 2008.
What makes Schnellenberger and Leach great is they relished challenges very few often had the courage to take on and succeeded where many wouldn’t. Neither worried about their overall record because both knew they had plans to make their programs successful and impact college football. The fact both men have records flirting with a 60% winning percentage is a testament to how great they were. We already imagine what Schnellenberger’s career would have been if he stayed at Miami, could you imagine if Mike Leach took a premier coaching job? Leach had numerous opportunities throughout his storied career to do so, but he relished being the pirate in the outposts of college football.
Both men accomplished hall of fame feats that very few could, and it is a disgrace what is keeping both men out are objective requirements that are so beneath the greatness both men possessed. The story of college football that is immortalized in Atlanta cannot be complete without these two men, greatness cannot be quantified or objective, you know it when you witness it. Anyone would tell you Schnellenberger and Leach are hall of farmers, it’s time for the Hall of Fame to do so as well.
