There are few college coaching trees as impressive as the one stemming from Mike Leach.
We may have lost "The Pirate" Mike Leach late last year, but he has so many proteges and disciples who will always proudly swing their sword in honor of him.
Leach may have cut through all the noise by being different, 100 percent authentically himself. He may have had a quirky personality and gave the most interesting interviews of all time. However, he was cutting edge as an offensive mind and play caller. Along with mentor Hal Mumme, they devised the highly-influential Air Raid attack to put players in space to help offset inefficiencies.
For as long as there is college football, we will always see the impact Leach left on the field of play.
Mike Leach coaching tree: Ranking every head coach who ever served under him
Zach Arnett has the impossible task of replacing Mike Leach at Mississippi State
The newest branch to sprout from Leach's coaching tree is perhaps the one that makes us feel the worst about the fact he is no longer with us. Of course, I am taking about Zach Arnett taking over from within for Leach at Mississippi State. Arnett was an innovative defensive coordinator under Leach the last three seasons. He was the only person who could carry the burden of replacing him.
Although the Bulldogs beat Illinois in their first bowl game without Leach, I do expect for Mississippi State to pull back this year under Arnett for obvious reasons. Eventually, he will learn what it takes to be a Power Five head coach. I'm not saying Mississippi State isn't going bowling this season, but it also wouldn't shock me if they were one of three SEC teams to be missing out.
I wish nothing but the best for Arnett and the rest of the program, but this is so incredibly tough…
Kevin Wilson can only really go up from here after a bad first season at Nevada
Kevin Wilson may have been incredibly familiar with the Nevada Wolf Pack when taking it over last season, but he went an absolutely dreadful 2-10 during his first year back in Reno. Wilson famously learned under the iconic Chris Ault prior to joining Leach's staff as a linebackers coach at Washington State in 2013. Rather than follow him to Mississippi State, he opted to go to Oregon.
Once Mario Cristobal took over his alma mater in 2022, Wilson decided to stay out west once again. Despite being a North Central alum, pretty much his entire coaching career has been in the two western-most time zones. Wilson stems from several excellent coaching trees, but it remains to be seen if he has what it takes to be a Group of Five head coach. His first season was so rough…
The Nevada job is not the easiest job west of the Mississippi, but you can't be going 2-10 in Reno.
Sonny Cumbie may have shown why he didn't get the job leading his alma mater
Although Sonny Cumbie only briefly served as a graduate assistant under Leach at Texas Tech before scandal ensued, he did play quarterback for him from 2001 to 2004. Cumbie stayed on in Lubbock under Tommy Tuberville before going to work for Gary Patterson at TCU. In Fort Worth was where Cumbie really started to develop his identity as a play caller and a future head coach.
He returned to his alma mater in 2021 to work for Matt Wells. When Wells was canned mid-season, it was Cumbie who served as the interim head coach. Texas Tech opted to hire former Baylor assistant Joey McGuire over him. Cumbie then took over at Louisiana Tech last season where he went a miserable 3-9. LA Tech isn't an easy job, but Texas Tech made the right call here.
Cumbie might need to achieve bowl eligibility by the end of Year 3 in Ruston to keep his job.
Greg McMackin is no longer with us but did sustain success while leading Hawaii
While Greg McMackin is best known as the former Hawaii Rainbow Warriors head coach, taking over for June Jones once he left for SMU in 2008, he did briefly serve as Leach's defensive coordinator at Texas Tech from 2000 to 2002. After a stint as the San Francisco 49ers' linebackers coach, he returned to Hawaii to then work for Jones, taking over for him in the season to follow.
In four years as the Rainbow Warriors head coach, Hawaii went 29-25 overall and 18-3 in the old WAC. While they were bowl eligible all four years he was in charge, they only had one winning season. That came in 2010 when the Rainbow Warriors went 10-4, won the WAC, but lost the Hawaii Bowl. McMackin resigned from his post in early December 2011. He passed away in 2023.
In the decade-plus since he last coached, Hawaii can only hope for the stability McMackin showed.
Seth Littrell looks to reinvent himself at his alma mater after North Texas ending
While Seth Littrell is serving as an offensive analyst at his alma mater for Brent Venables this season, the former Oklahoma running back is coming off a so-so, seven-year run as the head coach of the North Texas Mean Green. He went 44-44 overall, but 32-23 in conference play. Littrell never won a division title in his seven years in Denton, ultimately leading to his dismissal.
Although he has the respect of his peers and will probably get another chance to lead a Group of Five team, we are at a critical point in Littrell's coaching career. He could stay on in Norman for a few years to help Venables get this right, but the former running backs coach under Leach at Texas Tech from 2005 to 2008 only has one more chip to cash in as a serious college head coach again.
The right job will have to open up in the region he knows best, but Littrell's story is not yet written.
Jeff Choate left a good thing at Montana State to go work for Steve Sarkisian
Montana State has emerged as one of the better programs at the FCS level in recent years, but former Bobcats head coach Jeff Choate saw bigger things for him than Big Sky football. After a four-year run in Bozeman, Choate left for Big 12 country by coming on Steve Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns staff as the co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach. Was this smart?
Well, I mean, the former Washington State linebackers coach only went 28-22 overall and 18-14 in conference play in four seasons at the FCS level. Montana State may be trending up, but it makes sense for a coach like Choate to go to a high-profile program like Texas at this point of his career. Many FCS head coaches do this, and even some Group of Five coaches are doing this now.
With Choate in his early 50s, he probably has at least one more shot at being a college head coach.
Eric Morris replaced Seth Littrell at North Texas days after Mike Leach passed
Although Eric Morris briefly served as a wide receivers coach for Leach at Washington State, he played for him at Texas Tech from 2004 to 2008. Thus, Morris was in Lubbock during the peak years when Leach was running the Red Raiders program. He served as fellow Leach disciple Kliff Kingsbury's offensive coordinator at Texas Tech before getting to lead Incarnate Word in 2018.
Morris went 24-18 overall and 20-11 in conference play leading the Cardinals from 2018 to 2021. He left UIW for Washington State in 2022 to be Jake Dickert's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Cam Ward was the star quarterback at UIW who followed Morris to Pullman. Fate would have it, Morris got hired at North Texas days after Leach passed replacing Seth Littrell.
Morris' hiring by North Texas signifies that the branches of the Leach tree are only getting started.
Ruffin McNeil had a pretty decent run as the head coach of East Carolina football
Although he has become more of an assistant head coach at this point of his career, Ruffin McNeil did have a pretty strong six-year run at East Carolina after leaving Texas Tech. He was a huge part of the Leach era in Lubbock, having served on the defensive side of things for the entire decade. McNeil look over in Greenville in 2010, where he went 42-34 in six seasons leading the Pirates.
While he didn't have staggering success at ECU, McNeil did have three winning seasons and went to four bowl games. Keep in mind he was at the helm of the operation when East Carolina leveled up to some degree from Conference USA to The American. He was fired after the 2015 season and has since worked at places like Virginia, Oklahoma and NC State, where he has been since 2020.
McNeil's coaching peak was not elite, but he has proven to be an invaluable part of many staffs.
Neal Brown was outstanding at Troy, but mediocre at best now at West Virginia
One could argue that no Power Five head coach's seat is hotter entering 2023 than Neal Brown's at West Virginia. When former athletic director Shane Lyons was ousted, we thought Brown was a goner. Well, he was retained for one more season. So far at WVU, Brown has gone 22-25 over four seasons, having never won more than six games. His best year came in 2020 when he went 6-4.
The shame in it all is the former Kentucky wide receiver who played for Leach on Mumme's staff was outstanding in his first stop as a head coach at Troy. He had them winning 10 games pretty much annually. Brown went 35-16 overall and 23-9 in Sun Belt play during his four years at Troy. Admittedly, Troy is a fantastic Group of Five program, which may be the level Brown works well at.
Achieving bowl eligibility will help Brown keep his WVU job, but will he even get that opportunity?
Kliff Kingsbury is honestly the hardest Leach coaching tree branch to dissect
And here we are. We have arrived at Kliff Kingsbury, the former Red Raiders quarterback, Texas Tech head coach, Arizona Cardinals head coach and current USC quarterbacks coach. His resume on Wikipedia is the epitome of all over the place. Kingsbury may be a savvy offensive mind, but his teams' inability to play defense and demonstrate any level of mental toughness hurt his viability.
Because he is so dashingly handsome and charming, he will get another opportunity to be a college head coach, possibly an NFL coordinator if he wants to go in that direction. However, he is a sub-.500 head coach at both levels. He went 35-39 at his alma mater over six season. Patrick Mahomes played for him… Kingsbury went 28-37-1 in four years at Arizona with … Kyler Murray.
Quarterback play usually thrives under Kingsbury, but it is often at the expense of winning games.
Dana Holgorsen knew Mike Leach longer than any of his noted coaching proteges
Although he has not had the same level of success as other Leach disciples, Dana Holgorsen knew him the longest. He played on the Iowa Wesleyan team were Leach and Hal Mumme conceived of the Air Raid offense. Holgorsen then served on Mumme's Valdosta State staff in the mid-1990s before reuniting with Leach at Texas Texas in 2000, serving as the receivers coach and coordinator.
Since 2011, Holgorsen has been the face of a major college program. He initially served as the head coach of West Virginia from 2011 to 2018 before strangely leaving for Group of Five power Houston, where he has been since 2019. In 12 seasons as a head coach, Holgorsen is 88-61 overall and 56-44 in conference play with three 10-win seasons and a Big East title back in 2011.
In his very early 50s, Holgorsen has a long runway ahead of him to turn the Cougars into a beast.
"The Samurai" Dave Aranda is still green in his head-coaching career at Baylor
It hasn't been the smoothest of sailing for "The Samurai" Dave Aranda at Baylor, but he has also given the Bears, quite arguably, their greatest season ever only two years ago. Aranda was a former graduate assistant under Leach at Texas Tech from 2000 to 2002 before serving under the likes of Greg McMackin, Gary Andersen, and most notably, Ed Orgeron. Aranda left LSU in 2020.
While the former Bayou Bengals defensive coordinator is only 20-16 overall and 13-14 in conference play in three seasons at Baylor, he led the Bears to a staggering 12-2 record in 2021. They won the Big 12, kept Oklahoma State out of the College Football Playoff and then beat Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl to finish the season ranked inside of the top five. Aranda is here to stay.
Back-to-back bowl appearances at a program like Baylor isn't easy, but Aranda seems to have "it".
Josh Heupel is on the verge of doing something extraordinary over at Tennessee
Although Josh Heupel never served under Leach, he did play for him at Oklahoma. The former Heisman Trophy runner-up and BCS national champion has become quite the head coach. He took over for Scott Frost at UCF before Tennessee came calling in 2021. Heupel has the Vols in a place we have not regularly seen them since the glory days of one Phillip Fulmer. He is well on his way.
In five years as a college head coach, Heupel is 46-16 overall and 29-11 in conference play. He has had three 10-win seasons between UCF and Tennessee, as well as three top-25 finishes. His best season to date may have been last year, as the Vols went 11-2 (6-2) and beat Clemson in the Orange Bowl. The expanded College Football Playoff is going to do wonders for Heupel's legacy.
I don't know if Heupel is going to win a national title at Tennessee, but the Vols have a good one.
Art Briles was an immensely successful head coach before a scandalous ending
Art Briles is an incredibly polarizing figure in the coaching profession. He was a noted high school coach in Texas before linking up with Leach in Lubbock on his 2000-02 Red Raiders staffs as the running backs coach. He then had about a decade-long coaching career in state at the college level at Houston (2003-07) before making Baylor nationally relevant. Then, well … a scandal occurred…
Briles was ousted at Baylor after the 2015 season in the university's highly-publicized sexual assault scandal. No program would touch him with a 10-foot pole. Briles has gone back to coaching high school ball the last few years, but his tainted legacy in college football is a black mark on the sport. He did win three conference championships and nearly 100 games in college.
Although his reputation will never recover, Briles at his peak was still an outstanding head coach.
Sonny Dykes is the closest any Mike Leach disciple has come to winning it all
All hail The Hypnotoad! Sonny Dykes is coming off one of the greatest first seasons any coach in the history of the sport has had at a new place. Despite losing the Big 12 to Kansas State, TCU won the Fiesta Bowl, only to become Dawg Food vs. Georgia in the national title bout. This former Texas Tech wide receivers coach served at his alma mater where his late father Spike is an icon.
Like Leach, Sonny Dykes never played college football. He played first base for the Red Raiders. However, that didn't matter because he was born to be a coach. Since becoming a college head coach at Louisiana Tech in 2010, Dykes is 84-65 overall and 51-46 overall in his four combined stops. So much of his success is built off the 2022 TCU team, but he has had success elsewhere.
With Oklahoma and Texas leaving the conference, Dykes could have TCU remaining a Big 12 beast.
Lincoln Riley went from failed Texas Tech walk-on to major college coaching star
It is not particularly close. The strongest branch stemming from the Mike Leach coaching tree is irrefutably Lincoln Riley. For him to go from a failed walk-on quarterback in 2002 to one of the shining stars of the college coaching profession in two decades is nothing short of incredible. Riley worked for Leach as a student assistant, a graduate assistant and a receivers coach through 2009.
Once Leach was ousted in Lubbock, he joined fellow disciple Ruffin McNeil's staff at East Carolina. Once things started to get weird in Greenville, Riley landed with none other than former Leach mentor Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. He would replace Stoops full-time in 2017, winning four Big 12 titles and making the College Football Playoff thrice. In year one at USC, the Trojans went 11-3.
In six seasons as a college head coach, Riley has gone 66-13 overall and 45-9 in conference play.
