A Bo home-visit recruiting story

Submitted by Michigan House '75 on
Not sure if this should be a forum topic, but thought some might enjoy. If not, or if the content is not appreciated please delete. I was having dinner with my brother-in-law, who played at Michigan from '69 to '73. He's an Irishman from the south-side of Chicago who can tell stories for hours - most of which I've heard hundreds of times. Tonight it was recounting stories about Bo. I loved hearing them, but one in particular about a recruiting visit to Tommy Coyle's south-side Chicago home in 1969 was classic. Tom's dad, "Old Man Coyle", was a house painter and what a character - think Quint in Jaws, but a little more light-hearted. He and Tommy had just gotten back from a job and were covered in paint. This and twelve other kids running around when Bo and Malony arrive. Old Man Coyle proceeds to pass beers around to everyone including Tommy. Bo is shocked, turns to Mrs. Coyle and says, "Excuse me Mrs. Coyle," and then turns to Tommy - "If you drink that beer, I'm going to kick your ass!" Tommy then picks up the beer and guzzles it down. Coyle's dad is having a good laugh and turns to Bo - "Sorry Coach, you're in our house now and need to follow our rules." Seems he met his match. Tommy Coyle went on to have a great career at Michigan and was co-captain of the '73 team. Sadly, Tommy Coyle died in 2012 at 62. Other stories like Ara Parseghian recruiting Tom were pretty amusing too. Again, please delete if this post does not belong here. I just never know.
MGoBoard

HelloHeisman91

February 15th, 2015 at 10:37 PM ^

I had lunch with a colleague last week that played for Bo in the early 80's and he shared some great stories. He played both basketball and football for a year or two in Ann Arbor before transferring. Between the end of the football season and their bowl game he went to Arkansas with the bball team and was told he wouldn't play. More importantly, Bo was told my colleague wouldn't play. A few early fouls and and sure enough he sees the court. When Freider arrived back in AA with his team he and Bo had to be physically removed from one another. Bo was pissed!

He ended up transferring to CMU because he was eventually told by Bo that he couldn't play basketball anymore. The most interesting thing about this to me on the heals of the Weber ordeal is the fact that at first Bo wouldn't sign the papers. My colleague sat in a dorm room at CMU for a month not attending classes or participating with his soon to be team. After pressure from the high school coaches in Detroit to sign the papers Bo folded in order to keep recruiting doors open. He played at Detroit Western.

Go to work Mgo detectives.

Joined: 08/05/2009

MGoPoints: 46190

Zoltanrules

February 15th, 2015 at 11:48 PM ^

"heals of Weber"?

Anyway you can ask Greg the best story out of visiting Fayetteville that day we got crushed was John Antonides getting accidently kicked in the nuts ( by future Piston Scott Hastings?).Anyway he suffered a hemotosis of the scrotum meaning his privates swelled up to the size of grapefruits. It was so bad he couldn't fly home with the team. He apparently was very popular with the attending nurses.

Joined: 08/23/2009

MGoPoints: 20883

Zoltanrules

February 16th, 2015 at 12:11 AM ^

Does anyone know the full Tommy Maddox (?) recruiting story?

It goes something like Bo sitting in the living room of the Maddox family watching Monday Night Football" on television. Schembechler was there to recruit Tommy, to play quarterback for Michigan. Then Schembechler heard Dan Dierdorf, whom he had once coached, say on TV: No UM QB has ever thrown a TD pass in the NFL  and smirks that Jim Harbaugh (assuming a rookie then) is from that great quarterback factory, Michigan.  Bo then says to the recruit without missing a beat "and I want you to be the first one to throw an NFL TD pass from UM". He then walks out with the coach and says "I gonna kill that SOB Deirdorf".

I may be mixing up players but I think I have the jist of it...

Joined: 08/23/2009

MGoPoints: 20883

Yostbound and Down

February 16th, 2015 at 12:20 AM ^

Great Bo story. That is pretty amazing to think that Harbaugh was pretty much the first good pro quarterback Michigan ever had, especially considering it seems like every QB in the 90s and all through Carr's coaching era was in the pros for at least a little bit. Leach was obviously a real talent here, Dennis Franklin was a good dual threat, and Wangler and Smith could throw pretty well, despite Bo's style of offense.

If it wasn't for World War 2, Forest Evashevski might have gotten a shot if he'd wanted one...Fritz Crisler said he was the greatest QB he'd ever coached. But that was definitely the nascent days of pro football.

Joined: 07/27/2011

MGoPoints: -86513

Zoltanrules

February 16th, 2015 at 10:38 AM ^

The former Michigan coach was recruiting Mirer at the quarterback's Indiana home on a Monday in 1988 -- the same night former Wolverines quarterback Jim Harbaugh was making his first NFL start. What better way for Schembechler to show Mirer that Ann Arbor was the place for him. "As Bo was sitting in Mirer's living room, Dan Dierdorf, a Michigan man, points out on the air that no Michigan quarterback has thrown an NFL touchdown pass," Jim Harbaugh's father, Jack, recalled.

Joined: 08/23/2009

MGoPoints: 20883

CoachBP6

February 16th, 2015 at 12:21 AM ^

My cool story bro regarding Bo was really special. My second trip to the big house was for the ball state game in 2006. Michigan was unbeaten and ranked 2 or 3 in the country. The game was surprisingly a game. Henne threw a pick six, defense allowed a WR to have a ridiculous number of catches, but in the end a goal line stand earned the wolverines a 34-26 victory. After the game my friends and I walked down to grab some booze. On our return to catch the bus back to the hotel we see a golf cart driving in the 3/4th empty parking lot. That golf cart was carrying Bo, his wife, Gary Moeller, and his wife. I was the only one with the balls to approach the legend and let him know I was a die hard Michigan fan since I was 6, and that it would make my year for a picture or autograph. Bo's wife said he wasn't feeling great, and I understood. Gary happily struck up a conversation with us and asked where we were from. I told gary of our ten hour drive from NY, the dedication for Michigan football must have struck a chord with Bo because he waved us over to his SUV and autographed my shirt and took a picture with us. Little did I know, the legend himself would pass away just two weeks later. I will never forget my interaction with him. I am forever grateful for that day. RIP Bo

Joined: 12/18/2013

MGoPoints: 7967

Danwillhor

February 16th, 2015 at 12:40 AM ^

but that was good. Supposedly, Leach was committed or leaning heavily to UM when he decides to take a trip out to Arizona. I don't recall if it was UA or ASU (I think ASU) but he takes a visit and comes back raving! He tells his dad that about the weather, girls, etc before looking his dad in the eyes and tells him he's going there. The father can't get Rick to even reason or call down but Rick is firm about going there instead of Michigan even when his father just advises he think about it. Well, "somehow" (lol) Bo hears about this. Rick is laying on his bed in his bedroom just minding his own business - relaxing, napping, etc when Bo almost literally breaks his door off he fling it open so fast! Leach is rightfully shocked and Bo is furious. He hadn't been told by Leach personally (he was afraid to tell him lol). Bo then calms down & asks if this is true about going to this Arizona school. Leach confirms he went and wanted to go there now but was bumbling his words & kind of backing off his solid decision on these very few moments. This is all going down in seconds, remember! Bo just barged in unannounced & unexpected. So, a now calm Bo looks Rick on the eyes & says "go ahead, go out to Arizona. Have a great time". Rick is kind of shocked as he claims Bo was saying this calmly but in Bo's version of calm, lol. Bo then gets that look in his eye, leans in and raises his voice to that voice we all know and says "you go there but we both know they're not very good & we play them pretty soon. Heck, I'll schedule them again if I have to but know this: You'll start early out there so we'll see ya on the field & I promise you that I'll leave my 1st team defense in the entire game or until you get taken out of it. I'll tell them to knock the sense out of ya. I'll tell them about what you did and they'll get ya and I won't call them off even if we're up 50 points. You go there, have fun & we'll see ya". He then turned around, slammed his door shut & left. We all know where Rick Leach went to school LMAO. It was just a different time back then. Fathers allowed coaches to be tough, etc. A CFB coach was larger than life & outside of hitting a player in public they could do anything! Imagine a coach (even a Saban, Meyer, Harbaugh, etc) trying that today. No way. Charges would be filed but Rick's father orchestrated it! Haha.

Joined: 12/02/2008

MGoPoints: 8609

Danwillhor

February 16th, 2015 at 1:43 AM ^

and missed autocorrects. I'm on the droid app. Can't space, edit, etc. There is an entire book full of great Bo recruiting stories but another that stands out is the Anthony Carter visit. I guess his Grandmother (it was the grandmother, IIRC) feel in love with Bo because she said he was the only coach that was real. Every other coach promised the world, promised he'd be treated like a special price, etc & she was also old school. Bo was respectful, offered a top flight education and most importantly was the only coach to say that he'll wish he was never born if he disrespected his family's name by doing something stupid. He basically said he'd be a genuine Father figure before his coach. She loved that, apparently. That was also back when a kid went where their guardians said to if they insisted. It's a different recruiting world these days, for sure.

Joined: 12/02/2008

MGoPoints: 8609

Wolfman

February 16th, 2015 at 2:07 AM ^

When Messner visited CA, UCLA I believe, he was determined to go there. He no more than got back to Michigan, not realizing Bo had already learned of his "transgression" and that's what he thought of Michigan kids leaving state.  He told Mark, "You are not going to California. You are staying here, you are playing for Michigan and that is the end of this discussion."  We all know where Mark ended up.  These kids simply had a very, very difficult time looking him in the eye and saying NO when push came to shove.  Yet they all were so thankful that Bo convinced them to make the correct decision in the end. 

Joined: 07/23/2008

MGoPoints: 8259

Alumnus93

February 16th, 2015 at 1:02 PM ^

I rememeber it being Messner went on the UCLA visit, and while out there, told his parents thats where hes going.. Bo gets word of it, and him and Moeller stay up at 1 am in front of his house awaiting his arrival from the airport... and once he gets out of car, Bo and Mo approach him, give him a Michigan football vhs video and say to the likes.. "youre a michigan man and you belong at michigan"  and left...

Joined: 09/10/2009

MGoPoints: 9684

Year of Revenge II

February 16th, 2015 at 5:18 AM ^

Kind of ridiculous when a poster has to wonder whether this is "off-topic." Hyper-critical a little bit, are we?  

On the other hand, even posing the question is a bit like asking, "here is a story about how Moses got to be a leader of slaves, if that is off-topic for a religion post, truly sorry."

(See???) :)

Er......, you can fairly rest assured poster, that any personal account of what Bo did or said is NOT going to be off-topic in any Michigan blog.

Great story, besides.

Joined: 11/12/2013

MGoPoints: 9188

Yooper

February 16th, 2015 at 11:19 AM ^

A 17- year old kid downs a beer in front of Bo and no reaction?  I would love to know the rest of the story-did Bo ever bring up that incicent to Coyle again? 

Joined: 09/01/2009

MGoPoints: 11260

Michigan House '75

February 16th, 2015 at 7:51 PM ^

Said nothing, just went on with his recruiting spiel. What could he say? He was out Bo'd and probably respected it. I like to think that Bo was chuckling to himself and thinking, "These two are bad ass. I want this kid on my team." Coyle went on to show nothing but the utmost respect for Bo and "HIS rules" while playing for him. Character was a priority with Bo and it seems that Harbaugh is bringing back that tradition.

Joined: 01/09/2015

MGoPoints: 185