Posted on 12/10/2019 5:05:15 PM PST by Rummyfan
The lifespan of a game is measured in hours. A team comes and goes in a season. A player lasts no more than four years; these days, if he's good and stays healthy, three.
But a coach? A coach is different. Coaches define eras. In a sport in which we root for laundry, a coach humanizes those colors, becomes as much a symbol as the mascot.
The first four men selected among the 150 Greatest Coaches, as selected by our blue-ribbon panel of 150 media members, administrators and former players and coaches, span more than a century of the sport. No. 3 Knute Rockne debuted in 1918. No. 2 Nick Saban just concluded the 2019 regular season. Between those two, No. 1 Paul "Bear" Bryant and No. 4 Tom Osborne together coached from the end of World War II to nearly the end of the 20th century. The only decade not covered by these four coaches is the 1930s.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.com ...
Without a doubt.
Walsh revolutionized the game. The pro game.
“Was” kind of implies that he is no longer with us.
I’m fine with Osborne at #4.
Hayden Fry came up from SMU to each the Hawkeyes how to play football.
Fry infected much of Iowa with “Texas-isms.”
So Ohio State vs. Michigan is all that matters?????
Yep....lived in Iowa when he was coaching.....consistently winning teams.
My choice....Ara Parsegian.....last great coach Notre Dame had.
Maybe Harbaugh and Kaepernick need to team up again and dominate the XFL. :)
Could be.
Well, since Colin K. is probably done forever with the NFL, if he wants to play football, this new XFL could be where he lands. It would give the XFL some great publicity to have a famous player, even if he’s more infamous than famous, if you see what I mean. If all publicity is good publicity, the XFL and Colin K. could be a match made in heaven.
That’s hysterical.
You beat me to it,
But I thought it was North Texas State....
This is not a serious list at all.
Lou Holtz?!
In basketball, it is John Wooden.
+++++
Yes by a mile.
I met John Wooden. He was giving his standard “Pyramid of Success” pitch and the word apparently did not get out. So it was Wooden, me and one other guy. Great memory.
Also met Bill Walton at a trade show. Great ball player.
Unfortunately, the only coach to make the list (#14) from any of my colleges departed in 1932 (Alonzo Stagg).
I saw the Grambling Tigers in action in 1968 when they destroyed Sacramento State in the Pasadena Bowl, played in the Rose Bowl in early December. Their marching band wore flashy uniforms, played jazzy tunes and marched onto the field with a “drive-it” style like that used today by the USC Trojan Marching Band.
A lot wrong with that list
But not surprising given it’s ESPN a lot of their top 10 top 150 top 25 lists I’ve had some real head scratchers
The “ jury” on The Greatest Could have been a lot better selected with more experience and knowledge of the history of the game, rather than the silly political correctness
Were your talks with Bobby Bowden on the same golf course his home was on?
Woody Hayes was certainly a hit with Clemson. He went down swinging.
I’ve met famous musicians, actors athletes and even our favorite vice presidential candidate from Alaska but the two people I am proudest of meeting and shaking their hands are Tom Osborne and Bob Devaney. I’ve actually met T.O. a few times and had a couple of brief conversations with him.
Here in Nebraska, Bob Delaney is known simply as the Bobfather. In this state T.O. is referred to as less than a god but more than a man. Nebraska won 44 more games than any other program between 1962 and 2001. That is the legacy of those two coaches. Sad that it has slipped away like it has.
Go Big Red!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.