Eli Drinkwitz praises College Football Hall of Fame for making Mike Leach eligible
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Eli Drinkwitz had a lot of things to address about his own team on Thursday at SEC Media Days in Atlanta. But the Missouri head coach had a very important thing to say about something that had nothing to do with the Tigers football team.
Before opening things up for questions from reporters, Eli Drinkwitz gave a glowing compliment to the College Football Hall of Fame for altering its stringent rules on entry to allow for the late Mike Leach to be eligible for induction. Leach was 1 of college football’s most revolutionary offensive minds, and he helped change the way college football offenses were developed during head coaching stints at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State.
Leach spent 3 seasons in Starkville and was on his way to completing the 2022 season when he passed away on Dec. 12, 2022, at age 61. His death came right before the Bulldogs’s bowl game that season, and now 3 years later Drinkwitz was calling out the College Football Hall of Fame for potentially making room for the colorful, history-making head coach.
Because of winning percentage criteria, Leach had previously fallen just short from being eligible for the Hall of Fame. But now the required winning percentage for Hall of Fame entry will drop from 60% to 59.5% in 2027, which will make Leach eligible. Leach went a combined 158-107 at his 3 head coaching stops, good for a winning percentage of 59.6 and soon good enough for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Drinkwitz is mighty thankful, too.
“I’m appreciative to the College Football Hall of Fame for expanding and amending their rules to allow for Mike Leach to be inducted in his rightful place as a Hall of Famer,” said Drinkwitz on Thursday.
Here is Drinkwitz’s thoughtful praise:
Eli Drinkwitz honored Mike Leach to open his second SEC Media Days press conference:
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) July 17, 2025
"I'm appreciative to the College Football Hall of Fame for expanding & amending their rules to allow for Mike Leach to be inducted in his rightful place as a Hall of Famer." pic.twitter.com/wUvcypkhOB
Come 2027, Leach should take that rightful place in the Hall of Fame after a legendary coaching career that ended far too soon.
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Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
