The Way It Used To Be
College football coaching legends share their experiences on the gridiron before laptops, charter jets and mega-million dollar facilities
©
More from this issue
If there is one
constant, it is that there are no constants. Over time, everything
changes and nothing remains quite the same. Never is this more evident
than in the profession of coaching college football.
American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s
greatest coaches for a peek inside the ever-changing world of college
football. From their first job to their last, their first championship
season to their first losing season,
AFM has captured it all –
in their words. Men like Eddie Robinson, Tom Osborne, Barry Switzer,
Spike Dykes and Gene Stallings have provided
AFM with an exclusive
journey down memory lane. Maybe you can’t walk in their shoes,
but perhaps you can at least try them on. Over the course of the
next few months,
AFM will feature several of these “firsts”
in each issue. So sit back and enjoy the game of football “the
way it used to be.”
The first job ...
Bill Mallory (Indiana head coach, 1984-1996)
“When I was at Ohio State, I worked for Woody Hayes. Woody assigned jobs
and I was the weatherman during my first year there, as was all first-year coaches
under Woody. Each morning I would have to stand and give the weather report ...
so, each morning Woody would ask what the weather was that day and I would stand
up and give him the weather report.
“I would have to call the weather bureau and the airport ... You have to
remember that this was the mid-1960s, so those weather guys didn’t know
what they were talking about half the time ... it got so bad, that I finally
started just looking out the window and began making up my own weather report.
I was hitting it at times better than they were.
“I probably felt Woody’s wrath more for the weather being bad than
anything else ... Woody thought I was wired in upstairs, even though I assured
him that I had nothing to do with Mother Nature.
“The reason he was so adamant about the weather was that he wanted his
fields covered. He once lost a really good running back on a muddy practice field,
which led to his team losing the game. So, Woody wanted his practice fields covered
if there was any thought of rain.
“My wife (Ellie) is a big weather person, but to this day I still cringe
whenever anyone talks about the weather.” More on weather and Woody from
Bill Mallory in upcoming issues of AFM
Pat Dye (Auburn head coach, 1981-92)
“The assistant coaches and I went down to the student union to get some
coffee and a doughnut while I was waiting to interview with coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.
One of the Alabama assistant coaches, Richard Williamson, who was walking behind
me, asked me how long I had my suit. I told
him that it was a new suit and he said that he thought so because all the tags
were still hanging all over it. So, I had to get my tags cut off before I went
and talked with Coach Bryant.
“Anyway, I went in and visited with him after he had finished opening his
mail. We had an interesting interview as I told him that I didn’t know
anything about coaching football and that the only thing I knew about coaching
was what I had learned while playing. So, he told me that if they hired me at
Alabama they would just let me watch the linebackers ... he didn’t say
anything about coaching them.” More on Coach Bryant from Pat Dye in upcoming
issues of AFM
The coach’s show ...
Bo Schembechler (Michigan head coach, 1969-89)
“Right after each game, I would walk through my house and wave at all the
friends, family and visitors and then keep walking right out the back door and
get into my car to drive to Detroit where we taped the show. I wouldn’t
get back until after midnight ... you talk about a long day. Remember, I had
been up since early that morning getting ready for the game.
“Now head coaches have a studio right there in the athletic department.
Things were certainly different back then. You know, I had trouble getting my
own show at first ... but that’s another story.” More on his first
coaching show from Bo Schembechler in upcoming issues of AFM
Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach
