OT: Joe Tiller Passed

Submitted by Sinsoftheschafer on

Purdue is reporting the passing of Joe Tiller, one of their all time greats.  It made me think, who has had the greatest impact in B1G football over the past 50 years?  Tiller has to be near the top of that list.

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Sinsoftheschafer

September 30th, 2017 at 12:32 PM ^

Hayden Fry is a good one.  I was thinking in terms of scheme and forcing others to adjust, but coaching tree is another, equally valid, way of measuring impact.

My inspiration was Brian calling Mike McCray "a throwback" -- I feel like it was Joe Tiller and a few others that have caused us to feel this way.  If basketball on grass hadn't come along, would we be so excited about a 5'10 210lb middle linebacker?

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Zoltanrules

September 30th, 2017 at 12:55 PM ^

but before him Fry, hired by Bump Elliott, took the big 10 from the winged T and I formation " three yards and cloud of dust" to a wide open passing game, including using the tight ends. He also used trick plays and special teams very well to be a constant thorn in UM's side.

The coaching jobs by both these greats was incredible when you consider how bad their teams were originally, changing the culture, changing tactics, and the development of college All americans... and they were both entertaining as hell on and off the field.

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goblue16

September 30th, 2017 at 12:57 PM ^

Tiller was the coach when I first started watching college football. I used to love watching Purdue play except against Michigan off course

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Perkis-Size Me

September 30th, 2017 at 1:05 PM ^

Damn. For as much as we rip on Purdue, he was a great coach there. Really was a thorn in the conference’s side for a long time and was the start of bringing Big Ten offenses into the modern age.

Would’ve been interesting to see what he could’ve accomplished had he gone to a place like OSU or Michigan, where he would’ve had access to the best talent.

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M-Dog

September 30th, 2017 at 1:07 PM ^

A true innovator.

He showed that you could indeed bring a passing game to northern teams.

It's obvious now, but at the time the narrative was that you could pass the ball at southern and western teams, but not at northern teams.  Too much bad weather.  You coukd only focus on running the ball.

He turned that on its head.

 

 

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Avant's Hands

September 30th, 2017 at 3:14 PM ^

Obviously a great coach and one of the all time greats at Purdue. Sad day for them and the Big Ten as a whole. However. Over 50 comments on this thread and only one post in appreciation of his mustache? We appreciate everything else around here. That mustache was a national treasure.

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markusr2007

September 30th, 2017 at 3:19 PM ^

Assistant coach at Purdue under the Leon Burtnett years 1982-1986

Returned to Purdue in 1998 and started winning instantly.

Best coach Purdue football ever had. Only two seasons below .500.

Former Michigan assistant Jim Young is a distant second best.

RIP Coach Tiller!

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