Worst Big Ten Coach Ever

Submitted by Robbie Moore on

OK folks, here is a topic filled with well qualified individuals. I mean, who can forget Fred Akers? Or Smokey Joe Salem? Or John Gutekunst. Bobby Williams, Muddy Waters. But the winner in this book is one Lou Tepper. Illinois head coach in the early to mid 1990's. Took a pretty good program built by Jon Mackovic and ran it into the ground.

MWW6T7

September 22nd, 2009 at 8:34 AM ^

Not only where his halftime and post game presser rants classic but what he did to get to the Big 10 was just cruel. I live in Louisville (Blueisville!) and he was coaching the Cardinals and he broke the news to the players at halftime of their bowl game. The players came out the second half and had this look on their faces like somebody just told them they all lost their scholarships. Everybody in this town wanted his head. Of course I always have Michigan stickers and flags on my truck and I was even catching grief for it!

Sommy

September 22nd, 2009 at 1:33 AM ^

I never really understood why people say Earle Bruce was such a "bad" coach. Granted, I don't know much about his recruiting while he was there, but he had 9+ wins every year except one, and beat Michigan fairly often. Wasn't it really just the letdown from the Hayes years?

naberiusx

September 21st, 2009 at 10:19 PM ^

I can agree with that, especially in recent times. He was terribad when the program quite wasnt. John Cooper still won, just not against us (so maybe hes the best!)

Corso - who knows. he didnt do well, but when you're handed poop and asked to make into steak, tough gig.

BlueinLansing

September 21st, 2009 at 10:20 PM ^

deserves to be in this conversation...but then he was cleaning up Fred Akers' mess. Won just 11 Big Ten games in 6 seasons only two vs a team with a winning record (Michigan in 1996, ironic, Illinois in 94)

But I always thought is in game decision making was horrendous.

Muddy definitely gets a nod in his general direction. But he inherited MSU's post probation years, back when probation actually hurt a program.

Tater

September 22nd, 2009 at 11:45 AM ^

..because I have decided to count his performance as Lions OC as part of his criteria.

I will still never figure out how being a terrible Big Ten coach qualifies one to be an OC in the NFL. Colletto was the worst OC in the history of the NFL. AFAIC, it applies retroactively to his performance at Purdue.

BlueinLansing

September 21st, 2009 at 10:31 PM ^

preceded Barry Alvarez, went 3-8, 1-10, 2-9 going 1-7 in all 3 Big 10 campaigns.

His 6 wins at Madison included Hawaii, Ball State, the worst OSU team of the last 50 years, Minnesota (2-7-2), Toledo and 0-11 Northwestern

and this little gem........"Nearing the end of his failed stint at Wisconsin, Morton, on his coaches' show, infamously emerged out of a coffin to declare that he wasn't dead yet."

befuggled

September 22nd, 2009 at 8:27 PM ^

This is not to imply that Morton was a good coach, but he went into a bad situation. Dave McClain, who'd had some minor success in the eighties, died suddenly of a heart attack before the 1986 season. Wisconsin had to use Jim Hilles as interim coach, but after he finished 3-9 they let him go and hired Don Morton instead. That amounts to three head coaches in as many years, and between attrition and the damage to recruiting he didn't have any talent to work with. Between that and the fact that he wasn't much of a recruiter doomed him from the start.

In my opinion, the worst coach in Big Ten history would have to be somebody who started with a program in reasonably good shape and proceeded to tank it.

By the way, Morton beat the second worst Ohio State in the last 50 years--they finished 6-4-1 in Bruce's last year (1987), losing 26-24 to Wisconsin. The next year Ohio State finished 4-6-1 but beat Wisconsin.

ShockFX

September 21st, 2009 at 10:33 PM ^

It could quite possibly be Bielama. We'll find out soon enough, but he's running that program into the ground quite nicely.

funkywolve

September 22nd, 2009 at 1:26 AM ^

'I don't see him doing any worse then Alvarez' - Wow. I don't think that poster understands that Alavarez won 3 Rose Bowls - I believe Woody Hayes is the only other coach who can say that. I know Alvarez is the only big ten coach to win back to back Rose Bowls. At this point, I see Beilma (sp?) doing a lot worse then that.

jmblue

September 22nd, 2009 at 8:08 AM ^

I know Alvarez's history. In no way am I suggesting he was a bad coach. What I am suggesting is that Bielema is essentially continuing the rate of success Alvarez had. Here's his season-by-season record, with conference standing in parentheses:

1990 - 1-10 (10th)
1991 - 5-6 (8th)
1992 - 5-6 (6th)
1993 - 10-1-1 (T-1st B10)
1994 - 7-4-1 (4th)
1995 - 4-5-2 (7th)
1996 - 8-5 (7th)
1997 - 8-5 (7th)
1998 - 11-1 (T-1st)
1999 - 10-2 (1st)
2000 - 9-4 (5th)
2001 - 5-7 (8th)
2002 - 8-6 (8th)
2003 - 7-6 (7th)
2004 - 9-3 (3rd)
2005 - 10-3 (3rd)

And here's Bielema's record:

2006 - 12-1 (3rd)
2007 - 9-4 (4th)
2008 - 8-5 (6th)
2009 - 3-0

I fail to see how this is profoundly different from what Alvarez was doing. As you can see, Wisconsin had plenty of highs and lows under Alvarez: three conference titles, but also nine second-division finishes in conference play. Over the past two decades, Wisconsin's been a program that has generally been middle-of-the-pack, with the occasional temporary rise into the conference elite. Bielema to date has maintained that level.

Nothsa

September 21st, 2009 at 10:51 PM ^

He got Indiana to a bowl game, after all. He was a snake oil salesman then and now, but he found ways to winning seasons at IU ...

Purdue's Jim Colletto, there was a crappy coach. MSU coaches Bobby Williams & JL Smith. How about Ron Turner at Illinois? In eight years he had two winless seasons, 6 losing seasons, and incredibly one 10-2 season with a trip to the Sugar Bowl. The Zooker may go down as the worst, given the talent he brought in and the general underachievement. Wisconsin... Don Morton, who you don't remember, went 6-25 there in three years in the late 80's. Barry Alvarez replaced him. Jim Wacker was awful at Minnesota. He only won 3 B10 games in his last three seasons.

Lots of bad coaches out there. I think the crazy ones might be the worst - it's hard to get past J.L. if that's the criterion. Doing the least with the most talent... Zook has to be in the running, along maybe with Cooper. And Bobby Williams. He had a lot of talent to waste after Saban left.

Njia

September 22nd, 2009 at 7:57 AM ^

Tepper took over for Mike White. Bo hated White, and with good reason: Illinois had questionable recruiting (and player retention) methods and the hint of scandal was always present. NCAA investigations were a possibility.

I remember the 1986 game. Illinois came to the Big House. Only time I EVAH remember Bo running up the score on another team. The final score was 69-13. A few friends and I commented how Bo was making a statement, "See? I can win big and do it with actual student athletes!"

In the student section, were chanting "Seventy-six! Seventy-six!" And we could have scored that many, too, but with about five minutes left in the game, Bo finally started substituting backups. The carnage ended.

Brodie

September 21st, 2009 at 11:14 PM ^

Earle Bruce was the definition of mediocrity in many aspects, but he was anything but a bad coach. He managed a Big Ten title virtually every other season at Ohio State and had previously turned moribund programs like Tampa and Iowa State into bowl teams. He later laid the foundation for Colorado State's rise to mid-major glory.

Bruce also has one of the most impressive coaching trees in college football, sporting Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll, Nick Saban and Jim Tressel as proteges.