Mike Leach coaching tree: Ranking every head coach to serve under The Pirate

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.