Kinda OT: Bo's coaching philosophy
Sorry I couldn't think of a better title for this section. I am doing a presentation in my philosophy of coaching class and Bo is my subject. I have 2 books already "Bo's Lasting Lessons" and "I Remember Bo", does anyone know any other good sources to get information on Bo and his coaching philosophies? Any help would be great. Thanks and GO BLUE!!!
October 9th, 2009 at 2:14 PM ^
Hut hut up the gut.
I will give you the obligatory, anything about Bo cannot be off topic
October 9th, 2009 at 2:20 PM ^
Your presentation could be a good opportunity to sprinkle in some of the political philosophies that Bo purported publicly. Maybe you can research how they played into his relationship with his players and his coaching philosophy as a whole? Just a suggestion ...
There's a book on this topic by an author who cannot be named on this blog without being negged heavily.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:14 PM ^
His name is Michael Rosenberg.
His name is Michael Rosenberg!
His name!
October 9th, 2009 at 3:12 PM ^
This might help:
October 9th, 2009 at 3:16 PM ^
on Bo's coaching philosophies should include his famous "The Team..The Team..The Team.." speech on Youtube.
October 9th, 2009 at 3:57 PM ^
Nothing about Michigan football is OT.
October 9th, 2009 at 4:54 PM ^
from Jim Brandstatter's books, might prove useful.
Interesting topic; while some of Bo's tactics changed, his guiding Philosophy did not. Bo was always willing to ackowledge the debt the program owed to all the coaches who preceded him Yost, Crisler and Elliot, in particular.
October 9th, 2009 at 6:08 PM ^
I think Bo's oft-cited media rep as "three yards and a cloud of dust" is incorrect. Bo was never on "the cutting edge" of the sport, but he did evolve significantly from 69 to 89. He was never going to make radical changes a al Lloyd-to-RR, but he always got his best guys in position to produce. With Rick Leach he ran lots of option, with AC he threw a lot and with Jim Harbaugh he let his QB play gunslinger.
The John U Bacon book sheds a lot of light on an underrated aspect of Bo - his intense intellectual nature. As an executive, he understood the need to be seen as a decision-maker who wouldn't waffle or waste time thinking things over, but he was always gathering information and opinions and keeping his mind sharp. I've interviewed members of his staff and they raved about Bo's ability to manage both sides of an argument amongst the staff and to listen to everybody. (Try to get in touch with former assistant Jerry Hanlon, who lives in AA. Call the Wolverine magazine if it still exists since he wrote for them.)
One big aspect of Bo you might want to touch on is that he believed that the buck stopped at the top - hence he took the blame for Ernie Harwell even though he gave Harwell a fat contract and some Tigers flunkie decided to fire EH. Hence also why you never heard him blame the players or take any undue individual credit for his program.