SEC football: Which first-year head coach will have the best 2020 season?

While Mike Leach may be thought of as a great source of entertainment and soundbites, he’s also one hell of a football coach and has managed to raise the bar at some programs where the bar was essentially sitting on the ground when he arrived.

Like Kiffin, Mike Leach is one of the best offensive minds in all of college football, but what Leach possesses that Lane Kiffin does not is the pedigree.

Leach had 12 seasons winning eight or more games at Texas Tech and Washington State — two programs where wins were at a premium prior to him taking over — and he led those programs to bowl games in 16 of the 18 total seasons he was with them.

While no one will confuse Mississippi State with Alabama or even Texas A&M for that matter, Leach is no stranger to walking in and turning things around quickly. He can turn just about any decent passer into a Top 10 quarterback and will have SEC defensive coordinators going nuts trying to figure out the best way to put a halt to the Air Raid offense he’ll employ.

Year one will be a lot of fun to watch in Starkville, as will the press conferences.