Bo and why he was/is important
October 13th, 2014 at 10:07 AM ^
Maybe and maybe not. Depends on what caused said feud. If, as rumors persist, Les had his way with the wife of another Michigan coach, I sincerely doubt there would have been much mending of fences. As it was, Bo had years to try to make it happen and didn't. That says a lot.
October 12th, 2014 at 7:38 PM ^
Bo would not have allowed the sabotage of the Rich Rod regime to happen. With no sabotage, Michigan would have won a National Championship with Rich Rod by now and Mark Dantoino would be just another failed Sparty coach who couldn't quite recruit enough players to beat Michigan on a regular basis.
October 12th, 2014 at 7:39 PM ^
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October 12th, 2014 at 8:30 PM ^
This is such bullcrap. Dantonio is a great coach and while he may have benefited somewhat from Michigan being down for the most part he has built MSU into what it is because of how good he is.
Comments like this are just idiotic and make the fanbase look stupid.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:56 PM ^
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October 12th, 2014 at 9:31 PM ^
You forget something?
Perhaps this: /s
October 12th, 2014 at 7:39 PM ^
October 12th, 2014 at 7:47 PM ^
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October 12th, 2014 at 8:19 PM ^
October 12th, 2014 at 8:27 PM ^
previously at OSU. Meyer also coached previously at OSU.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:29 PM ^
Depends on what you consider Michigan Man. Dantonio coached at MSU under Saban. I'm sure that factored into offering him the job. Tressel was also a position coach at OSU under Bruce.
October 13th, 2014 at 9:35 AM ^
but I think Dantonio is absolutely an MSU man. He believes in that place.
...and again, it has nothing to do with whether or not you have a history there.
October 12th, 2014 at 7:45 PM ^
October 12th, 2014 at 7:49 PM ^
Thought this post was going to be about Dr. Bo Wallace, but I might just be spending too much time reading @edsbs and @jasonkirksbn on twitter...
October 12th, 2014 at 7:50 PM ^
We all know what a huge shadow Bo cast over the entire program but it is even more evident now that he's gone. Agree with RichRod's statement; the factions that exist now would never have been tolerated by Bo and everyone would have fallen in line whether they liked it or not.
Those days are gone and there is a huge leadership vacuum. We desperately need a new direction with a new AD/coach and get back to being a national program.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:00 PM ^
the football team was governed by the cult of personality. The term "michigan man" is laughable to begin with. People who call themselves "Michigan Men" should more appropriately be called "Bo disciples". Which is fine. Because it worked. But Canham got rid of Bump Elliott (A real Michigan man) for the head coach from Miami of Ohio.
You are spot on about the leadership vacuum. No one has any idea how to fill the character void of Bo which dominated for 37 years.
It's happened in history, in business, and in football. Who could forget that Alabama languished all those years after the passing of Bear Bryant. Even OSU suffered when Woody left.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:02 PM ^
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October 12th, 2014 at 8:46 PM ^
brotha
October 12th, 2014 at 7:59 PM ^
Imagine the hero worship we would have if Bo actually won a NC.
Great coach, but he benefitted from being in the weak B1G as demonstrated by his terrible record in bowl games.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:01 PM ^
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October 12th, 2014 at 8:25 PM ^
You couldn't peak another time 40 days later? Its wasn't a week turnaround.
The Big 10 was know as the Big 2 little 8 for a reason. The competition week in week out was weak. Reading people's posts here you would think Bo had Nick Saban or Bear Bryant levels success while curing cancer.
Great coach, great guy, but let it go.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:48 PM ^
What conferences were good during that time? The SEC then wasn't the SEC today. Alabama's team was all white in 1970.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:33 PM ^
Which was the wrong way to go about it.
Didn't some recruit once say ''I chose Miami because they play for national championships while Michigan plays for Rose Bowls.''?
October 12th, 2014 at 8:41 PM ^
Did a recruit say that? Probably not.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:58 PM ^
From 1970 to 1990 UCLA or USC was in the game 15 times. That's a home game for them. I'm pretty sure Michigan didn't care that much and just wanted to enjoy some good weather knowing there wasn't that much media attention and they accomplished their goal of a Big 10 championship already.
October 12th, 2014 at 10:04 PM ^
Not much media attention? Are you insane?
More people watched the Rose Bowl back then than Michigan and Ohio State. It was a nationally televised game.
And if that was their attitude it was the wrong way to go about it.
October 12th, 2014 at 11:12 PM ^
No ESPN, no internet. I doubt there was as much attention day in and day out. Look how much coverage Shane's concussion got on ESPN that week. It's always a disadvantage for a Big 10 team to play a California team in the Rose Bowl since USC isn't excited to just see the sun and go to the beach.
October 13th, 2014 at 8:23 AM ^
Don't confuse ESPN's coverage of the Shane incident with them caring about Michigan. It's more about their narrative of all things SEC (unless you can slam the other conferences).
October 12th, 2014 at 8:06 PM ^
Not to mention not having scholarship limitations like there are today. I will probably get downvoted for questioning the almighty Bo.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:25 PM ^
Both of you are hypocrites. You bash the person whilst enjoying the fruits of his labor. That the program has fallen in disrepair is owed to the fact that the successors are not nearly as good as he was.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:35 PM ^
Not me. I wasn't alive for Bo. Bo was a great coach but the truth is he didn't win a national championship when he had the talent and resources to do so. That's just a fact.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:42 PM ^
They were adherents to his philosophy. So yes for you.
The lack of national titles is indeed a blemish a reason why Bo isn't ranked ahead of Yost or Crisler. But he did establish a consistency of success rarely matched at this level of college football.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:34 PM ^
Or you could always say Bo revived the program that Yost and Crisler built. But I am sure you will use whatever fits your narative.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:39 PM ^
It's not like he took over a program with a strong foundation. The largely empty Big House was testament to that.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:38 PM ^
Or scholarship limitations and TV money have greatly leveled the playing field, among other reasons.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:49 PM ^
or Alabama. The scholarship argument is a bit overstated as the teams that have been dminate in the past still are among the dominate teams now. Certainly, there is more diversity because of the limitations, but look at the national champions of the past decade or so:
FSU, Bama(3), LSU(2), Texas, USC, Auburn, Oklahoma, Miami, Florida...not one is a small school. All have been powers for decades stretching back into the pre-limitation days.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:55 PM ^
Alabama went through some pretty tough years. And no sane person would still label Miami as a powerhouse. That program is more dead than we are.
October 12th, 2014 at 9:06 PM ^
Yes, all historically good teams.
None of those schools have had the consistancy over the last 20 years that Bo had. That's were the parity comes into play more. All of those schools have missed a bowl game in the last 20 years excluding FSU.
Its much harder to win consistantly now than it was in the 70's.
OSU and MICH outscored the B1G 297-27 and 225-45 respectively in 1973. Thats probably the most extreme year, but your going to have hard time arguing that Bo faced good competition weekly until the early 80's.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:57 PM ^
October 12th, 2014 at 7:56 PM ^
More Bo talk..............SHOCKED
October 12th, 2014 at 8:04 PM ^
October 12th, 2014 at 8:31 PM ^
October 12th, 2014 at 8:44 PM ^
Well Bo choked on the national scene but he was a better humanitarian than Paterno. I respect Bo for his integrity more than anything.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:04 PM ^
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October 12th, 2014 at 8:39 PM ^
And a new AD that doesn't alienate the fanbase and turn the gameday experience into little more than a side-show from a cheap carnival.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:18 PM ^
bring up bear bryant on a weekly basis these days.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:29 PM ^
Only a couple of months left to be 53, and I know where you're coming from OP. A lot of people here will not. A Michigan undergrad then, I remember being at Crisler for the memorial service for Bob Ufer, and Bo spoke about why Bob loved football. My HS age sister attended with me and we both stood there and cried. Fast forward some years later and on a chillingly cold fall day, my daughter, just a toddler seeing the Big House for the first time, and I were at the memorial service for Bo. It was one of the most stirring and haunting events of my life. When a legend passes, there really isn't anyone who can take their place. I don't get worked up over what phrases people use to describe things, for example how "Michigan Man" gets people on this board practially bipolar. People who look for the negative side of things will always find it, and I prefer to focus on the possibilities. The best course of action is to realize the legacy of what it means to be Michigan men and women, build on that legacy, and to consider that as the enduring foundation for the future. The structure can and will change, but the foundation is solid.
edit: to double check the years
October 12th, 2014 at 8:52 PM ^
actually downvoted me for that comment? You are a no balls coward. Hell I've got more balls than you jerk.