The offense owes a lot to the influence of BYU head coach LaVell Edwards who used the splits and several key passing concepts during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s while coaching players such as Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, and Ty Detmer.
The offense first made its appearance when Mumme & Leach took over at Iowa Wesleyan College and Valdosta State University and had success there during the late 1980s and early 1990s.