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

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.