How Wisky missed out on Bo

Submitted by emGeauxBleu on

I don't know who John U. Bacon is, but he has a cool last name and wrote an article on how Wisconsin lined up Bo for an interview, then epic failed to impress him.

It's kinda cool.  I don't think I knew this about Bo.

Search4Meaning

November 19th, 2010 at 6:00 PM ^

Is one of the more interesting living University of Michigan historian.  He has written "Blue Ice" which is considered to be the definitive book on Michigan Hockey, and "Bo's Lasting Lessons".

Wolfman

November 19th, 2010 at 8:51 PM ^

John U. Bacon is, like those that write our laws, the  lobbyists, tossing in a lot of pork in this particular article by his attempt to manipulate the reader into thinking that WI would have had the same degree of success as UM did under Bo.

It is, no doubt or counter-argument existing, a fact that Bo was the greatest coach in modern UM football history and if not for Yost's unparralled success when the game was in its infancy, perhaps the greatest of all time, given the additional national powers and the many programs not above bending -HELL, IGNORING COMPLETELY - NCAA rules when Bo was at the helm in A.A. Think Clemson, OU, AL as the prei-eminent masters of this practice during the period referenced, with acknowlegement to SMU for completely destroying a program for all further time. However, they never really were a perennial national power during Bo's years.  

This is not a knock against Bo. If he had done other than winning here, it would have been no one's fault but his own. The fact that he inherited the greatest number of future AAs at the time of his hiring than any other five year period in UM history is perhaps more of a testament to his genius in developing and motivating players. Although UM had a nice 8-2 record the prior year, the comparisons between he and Bump's overall records, respectively, indicate why Bo is held in such highly deserved iconic classification to the Michigan faithful .

Now back to task. Yes, UW would have won far more games with Bo at the helm and would have risen to national prominence. However, because Bo and Barry would have built the programs in similar fashion; big powerful Olmen and running backs, and in Bo's case, a qb as likely to beat you with his feet than on play-action passes, it's obvious their success would have come much quicker than it ultimately did. But at UW, Bo's first two, perhaps three years, may have put him in a situation closer to RR's than to LC's, and Mos.'  He would have virtually inherited a team of those that had been raised in a culture of losing, a situation as bad as coaching a team full of first year players.

Bacon does, and I enjoy telling the story also, points out WI's miscues here in regard to their overall sports programs, but one cannot conclude, based on Bo's record here and dismissing all the tangibles that existed in that state at the time, that the success would have been as rapid and as lasting as it was at UM.  As one who became a UM fan during Bo's first year here, I would think WI's program would have more closely resembled IA's under Hayden to get a feel for what he could have accomplished there. Such was UM's and OSU's stranglehold over the talent in the conference during that particular era. Bo, like Ara did at NW, would have been able to give any conference team credibility and success, but w/o the perfect three way marriage between Bo, Canham and the Privilege of Michigan, as Bo liked to call it, no other program in the conference could have supplanted Woody's lock on conference supremacy during the '70s.  

doughboy

November 19th, 2010 at 8:26 PM ^

I guess I'm missing something but given that this is the week of Bo's passing, I don't find a lot of relevance in others speculating where/what/who Bo could have coached for.  Just my two cents.

tUOS is OSU

November 19th, 2010 at 10:27 PM ^

I read that in Bo's book, very good read. Want to know who else almost went to Wiscy? Bobby Knight for Bball.

Speaking of the book, did you know we almost got Joe Paterno instead of BO? Joe Pa declined.