Former Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach is among the nominees for the 2027 College Football Hall of Fame class. The National Football Foundation released the ballot Monday, which includes 80 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 99 players and 39 coaches from lower levels.
Leach, who died in 2022 at age 61, became eligible for induction under revised criteria that account for his coaching record. He posted a 158-107 record at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State, with a winning percentage of .596, just above the new minimum of .595 for coaches beginning in 2027, according to the NFF.
The coach was known for his innovative, wide-open offenses and his ability to pull off upsets. He won 18 games against Top 25 opponents when his teams were unranked, according to the NFF.
The ballot also features other notable coaches, including Larry Coker, who led Miami to a national championship in 2001; Dennis Franchione, who coached at TCU, Alabama and Texas A&M; Ralph Friedgen, who guided Maryland to bowl games in seven of his 10 seasons; Darryl Rogers, the 1977 Big Ten coach of the year at Michigan State; Jackie Sherrill, Mississippi State’s all-time wins leader; and Tommy Tuberville, who coached at Ole Miss before leading Auburn in the 2000s.
Among the players and other nominees are Heisman winners Cam Newton of Auburn (2010) and Robert Griffin III of Baylor (2011), as well as first-time nominees Tavon Austin of West Virginia, Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin, A.J. Hawk of Ohio State and Barrett Jones of Alabama. All candidates undergo a screening process before voting by the NFF and Football Writers Association of America members. Final selections are made by the NFF Honors Court.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
