HailToMichigan
Maize and Blue Wahoo
Keep in mind that Bo never actually made it a goal to win the NC, or even the Rose Bowl. He said time and time again that a successful season at Michigan is getting to the Rose Bowl by way of beating Ohio State. That was always borne out in his preparations. Once the OSU game was over, everything else was gravy and Bo would insist his players focus on their academics after that.
Bo was the greatest coach at the winningest program in all of college football. That has to count for something. He won 200 games in less time than any coach but two: Tom Osborne and Joe Paterno. He never had a losing season. Not at Miami and not at Michigan. Paterno can't say that. Bowden can't say that. Bear Bryant can't say that. Bo failed to reach 8 wins just once in his tenure at Michigan. Were it not for a bad ticker, it's not a stretch to suggest Bo might still be coaching - he was younger, after all, than Paterno and the same age as Bowden. Had he coached 10 more years (and who's to say he couldn't have, with a healthy heart), and continued to win at the same pace he had in the past, it wouldn't be Bear Bryant's record that Bowden and Paterno have broken. It would have been Bo Schembechler's.
I don't care about the national championships, not in the context of this debate. When you're 9th all time in wins in Div. I-A, and retired as #7, you're in the pantheon of the greatest.
Bo was the greatest coach at the winningest program in all of college football. That has to count for something. He won 200 games in less time than any coach but two: Tom Osborne and Joe Paterno. He never had a losing season. Not at Miami and not at Michigan. Paterno can't say that. Bowden can't say that. Bear Bryant can't say that. Bo failed to reach 8 wins just once in his tenure at Michigan. Were it not for a bad ticker, it's not a stretch to suggest Bo might still be coaching - he was younger, after all, than Paterno and the same age as Bowden. Had he coached 10 more years (and who's to say he couldn't have, with a healthy heart), and continued to win at the same pace he had in the past, it wouldn't be Bear Bryant's record that Bowden and Paterno have broken. It would have been Bo Schembechler's.
I don't care about the national championships, not in the context of this debate. When you're 9th all time in wins in Div. I-A, and retired as #7, you're in the pantheon of the greatest.
Last edited:
Upvote
0