Texas Tech's Legendary 'Pirate' Lands on College Football Hall of Fame Ballot

Mike Leach is finally getting his shot at the College Football Hall of Fame, and for Texas Tech fans, this one feels overdue.

Leach was named Monday to the 2027 National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame ballot, joining former Red Raiders head coaches Pete Cawthon, Jim Carlen and Tommy Tuberville.

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It’s the first time Leach has appeared on the ballot after the NFF adjusted the coaching eligibility standard from a .600 winning percentage to .595.

That small change opened a huge door.

Leach finished his career with a .596 winning percentage, going 158-107 across 21 seasons at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State.

He took teams to 17 bowl games and changed the way modern football looks. The Air Raid wasn’t just a scheme in Lubbock. It was a weekly warning siren.

At Texas Tech, Leach went 84-43 from 2000-09, making a bowl game in every season and stacking three nine-win campaigns before the 2008 Red Raiders exploded to 11 wins.

His 84 victories remain the most by any head coach in Texas Tech history.

The quarterbacks became part of the legend, too. Kliff Kingsbury, B.J. Symons, Sonny Cumbie, Cody Hodges and Graham Harrell all helped turn the Red Raiders into one of college football’s most entertaining programs.

Symons threw for 5,833 yards and 52 touchdowns in 2003, smashing the NCAA record book in true Leach fashion.

Cawthon brings his own historic case after going 76-32-6 from 1930-40 with four Border Conference titles and a 10-0 regular season in 1938 that sent Texas Tech to its first Cotton Bowl.

Carlen went 37-20-2 from 1970-74, led the Red Raiders to four bowls and finished 11-1 in 1973. Tuberville went 20-17 in Lubbock and 159-99 overall across stops at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech and Cincinnati.

Voting begins this week among more than 12,000 NFF members and current Hall of Famers, with the 2027 class set to be revealed early next year.

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Texas Tech already has a proud Hall of Fame footprint with players like E.J. Holub, Donny Anderson, Dave Parks, Gabe Rivera, Zach Thomas, Michael Crabtree and Graham Harrell enshrined.

Now, the Pirate finally has a real chance to join them.

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