1992 Coach Hanlon & Coach Burton Retire

Thanks - great to look back.  Man the video and hair styles and clothing make me feel so old.

Thanks Dr. Sap as always! Once again RIP Coach Burton and Go Blue! It's so awesome to see these old Michigan Replays, I refuse to call JH and JB's show by it's real name and insist on calling it Michigan Replay. These videos always reminded me why. Absolutely great show, and it also shows that there is a reason why the Michigan Replay/MGoPodcast Theme is my ringtone.

I loved Jerr's take on the game and I looked forward to his weekly opinions, especially the audio. Because he and Bo came from the same part of the U.S. their similar enunciation and overall speech patterns made it easy to simply close your eyes and it was as if you were listening to the Great Man himself. It's obvious why his players loved him and why we had so many great OLmen during his years as M's line coach. He was a great teacher, obviously. However, it takes much more than teaching to inspire the type of play we grew accustomed to seeing while he was in charge. His players were always motivated and determined to give nothing less than their very best. I am sure I am correct in stating that no other team causedJackson and Musberger to first, be aware of what they were seeing and heaping praise on the OL as a unit. It was not unusual for them to point out how the Oline would, at times, make it almost impossible for the RB to scsore. That was the cue to pay attention to the replay, and it was always good. The OL, often times as far as five yards out, simply push the DL and backers well into the end zone and doing it as easily as they would a blocking sled. I never grew tired of seeing that surge, the complete domination and realizing you were watching a demonstration of one particular unit on the football team executing at nothing less than perfection. 

Likeswise Burton coached some of the greatest runnig backs, not only of the Bo era, but all-time greats at Michigan. Together they showed what it takes from both units to produce the type of running game we are all looking for today. He coached a variety of skill sets and made them all work. He could work with power backs, sprinters, jukers or a combination of talents like both Wheatley and Lytle possessed. He simply knew how to get the most out of his AA of that particular year. He listed Jamie Morris as his favorite and its not hard to see why. Despite his natural gifts, he was truly a hard worker and produced routinely at the most critical of times. Despite his bonds with Miami, where he set many school records and was coaching for future UM coach, Bill Mallory, he says the challenges and oportunities at Michigan made it impossible to say no when Bo offered him a job. 

He was also a trail blazer of sorts. He was the first African-American coach at Miami and IIRC, he was also the first African American Associate Head Coach in the nation under Bo. Both of these men embodied the qualities that were associated with the Michigan program. Their players loved them because they were far more than mere coaches. Both took a genuine interest in the welfare of their players and taught them far more than just the game of football. Their association with the program after their coaching careers is yet another example of what Bo often refrred to as "The Privlege of Michigan."  Under Bo's watch, it became common for retired coaches to remain at UM in some capacity. He seemed to understand the need of these lifelong football men to remain, in some capacity, a part of the program and did all he could to accomodate them. And although the manner of their contributions changes, they were influential in many capacities, overseeing special projects and always, even though unofficial, lifelong ambassadors for UM football. Hell, Hanlon still today gives a number of speeches and is not reluctant to voice his opinion on the state of college football. As you would expect, he doesn't agree with too much of what's taking place, having grown up and coaching in an era where playing the game was all the reward needed. Receiving a degree for doing so is, in his opinion, an absolute gift for doing something most of them would have done for free. 

Two truly great Michigan legends, their legacies and contributions to Michigan football firmly cemented and entrenched as permanent fixtures in the history and tradition of this great university. 

about aging and coaching. A certain hockey coach would have done well to have the same self-reflection.