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- Thread starter 3yardsandacloud
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What horrible news. What a Great man, Great Coach, Great Buckeye. Truly a legend here. That man probably loved Ohio State football more than anyone who ever walked this planet. Years after his Bullshit dismissal, he still spoke of his Buckeyes with unequaled passion. And his "Lets get fired up" rants were a thing of beauty. RIP Coach. You made my 1979 a never forgettable one as a 17 year old High School kid who had a Season Ticket. And taking your first Buckeye team to within a point of winning a National Championship against a team that on paper should have beaten you by 2 touchdowns if not more. You will never be forgotten. And you will always be Loved by the nation.
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Coach will be missed. RIP. My brother is great friends with one of his grandsons and their family was grateful that Earle was able to hold their daughter and be around his great granddaughter for at least a year. As fiery as he was on the field, he was an amazingly gentle soul around family and friends. The world lost a great one, but Woody got back one of his assistants to help govern accordingly.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Earle Bruce was given an impossible task of filling the void left by Woody Hayes—but he succeeded
Yeah, he had a handful of 9-3 seasons, but the Buckeyes coach was better than what the results made him out to be.
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When a legend leaves his post, whomever has to fill his shoes is faced with steep challenges, crushing expectations and the looming shadow of success. That’s the situation Earle Bruce faced when he took over the Ohio State program after Woody Hayes was dismissed as head coach of the Buckeyes after the 1978 season.
Bruce was thrust into a role that was previously held by a five-time national championship-winning coach—and one who created an aura of success that still lingers in Columbus today. The expectations for the Pittsburgh-born coach were gigantic. And even though he never won a national title, Bruce guided the Buckeyes to four Big Ten championships, and had the program on the doorstep of a national championship in 1979. Michigan holds Bo Schembechler in near God-like status, and he never won a title either. Additionally, Bo had a losing record (4-5) against Bruce’s OSU teams.
Full disclosure, though, on my part: I was born in the John Cooper years. I didn’t live through the Bruce era of OSU football. However, I think that gives me a little more of an unbiased opinion when looking back at Bruce’s career in Columbus. Over the course of his nine-year tenure, eight of those years ended with the Buckeyes in a bowl game; of those eight trips, five of them would be considered major bowls. (A major bowl game is defined as either the Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta or Cotton Bowl.)
If we want to compare Bruce to Schembechler, then, well, they had similar ending stats when it came to winning the big bowl games. Both, however, pale in comparison to Woody Hayes’ record in those big postseason matchups.
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Bruce was a Buckeye through a through. He graduated from OSU, and was part of Hayes’ coaching staff prior to becoming a head coach in the college ranks. He knew the expectations were sky-high if you were the football coach in Ohio’s capital city. And yet, he took over the reigns—and stayed for as long as he could.
If I were in the same situation as Bruce, I would’ve been on the first flight to Tucson, Arizona, after the 1986 season ended. With a Cotton Bowl victory added to the resumé, it would’ve seemed like as good a time as any to leave. Arizona was on the rise; Larry Smith departed the Wildcats for greener pastures at the University of Southern California. So, the program wasn’t necessarily on the rocks. 9-3 seasons at Arizona would’ve gotten Bruce bottomless contract extensions; a 10-2 season here and there may have gotten him a statue outside the stadium. At Ohio State, a 9-3 or 10-2 season keeps your head slightly above water—and that’s only if one of those wins includes Michigan.
Looking back, it’s now very evident: Bruce was the right guy to fill the void left by Woody—and he did as good of a job as any could have. No matter what the haters say.
Entire article: https://www.landgrantholyland.com/2...hayes-bo-schembechler-michigan-usc-john-mckay
Yeah, he had a handful of 9-3 seasons, but the Buckeyes coach was better than what the results made him out to be.
When a legend leaves his post, whomever has to fill his shoes is faced with steep challenges, crushing expectations and the looming shadow of success. That’s the situation Earle Bruce faced when he took over the Ohio State program after Woody Hayes was dismissed as head coach of the Buckeyes after the 1978 season.
Bruce was thrust into a role that was previously held by a five-time national championship-winning coach—and one who created an aura of success that still lingers in Columbus today. The expectations for the Pittsburgh-born coach were gigantic. And even though he never won a national title, Bruce guided the Buckeyes to four Big Ten championships, and had the program on the doorstep of a national championship in 1979. Michigan holds Bo Schembechler in near God-like status, and he never won a title either. Additionally, Bo had a losing record (4-5) against Bruce’s OSU teams.
Full disclosure, though, on my part: I was born in the John Cooper years. I didn’t live through the Bruce era of OSU football. However, I think that gives me a little more of an unbiased opinion when looking back at Bruce’s career in Columbus. Over the course of his nine-year tenure, eight of those years ended with the Buckeyes in a bowl game; of those eight trips, five of them would be considered major bowls. (A major bowl game is defined as either the Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta or Cotton Bowl.)
If we want to compare Bruce to Schembechler, then, well, they had similar ending stats when it came to winning the big bowl games. Both, however, pale in comparison to Woody Hayes’ record in those big postseason matchups.
.
.
continued
.
.
Bruce was a Buckeye through a through. He graduated from OSU, and was part of Hayes’ coaching staff prior to becoming a head coach in the college ranks. He knew the expectations were sky-high if you were the football coach in Ohio’s capital city. And yet, he took over the reigns—and stayed for as long as he could.
If I were in the same situation as Bruce, I would’ve been on the first flight to Tucson, Arizona, after the 1986 season ended. With a Cotton Bowl victory added to the resumé, it would’ve seemed like as good a time as any to leave. Arizona was on the rise; Larry Smith departed the Wildcats for greener pastures at the University of Southern California. So, the program wasn’t necessarily on the rocks. 9-3 seasons at Arizona would’ve gotten Bruce bottomless contract extensions; a 10-2 season here and there may have gotten him a statue outside the stadium. At Ohio State, a 9-3 or 10-2 season keeps your head slightly above water—and that’s only if one of those wins includes Michigan.
Looking back, it’s now very evident: Bruce was the right guy to fill the void left by Woody—and he did as good of a job as any could have. No matter what the haters say.
Entire article: https://www.landgrantholyland.com/2...hayes-bo-schembechler-michigan-usc-john-mckay
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I think that Earle Bruce had another problem...the decline of Woody Hayes. Today, Woody is a legend, but Columbus had had just about enough of him in his final years, if you listened to the Oakland Park Avenue Barber Shop talk I heard as a child.
So, after nearly winning the national championship before losing the Rose Bowl, Buckeye fans dialed up their unrealistic expectations for a return to Woody's glory years. When Bruce never did better or worse than three losses after that and lost his bowl game the second year, he could never win the battle against a perfect image of a Woody Hayes that never was.
I was part of a generation that loved Woody Hayes. I also thought the world of Earle Bruce. There is a reason why 11 of the last 16 national championships have been won by former Bruce assistant coaches. He was a Buckeye through and through and it was great to see him finally getting recognition in later years for all that he did for Ohio State.
- Woody won only 1 of his last 5 bowl games.
- He won only two bowl games his last ten years.
- It wasn't the collapse of 1959, when he won just 3 games after a preseason #7 ranking, but it was clear that the Buckeyes were in a tailspin
- 1975: 11-1-0
- 1976: 9-2-1
- 1977: 9-3-0
- 1978: 7-4-1
- Three straight losses to TSUN, the first time Buckeye teams had consecutive losses during his career at Ohio State
So, after nearly winning the national championship before losing the Rose Bowl, Buckeye fans dialed up their unrealistic expectations for a return to Woody's glory years. When Bruce never did better or worse than three losses after that and lost his bowl game the second year, he could never win the battle against a perfect image of a Woody Hayes that never was.
I was part of a generation that loved Woody Hayes. I also thought the world of Earle Bruce. There is a reason why 11 of the last 16 national championships have been won by former Bruce assistant coaches. He was a Buckeye through and through and it was great to see him finally getting recognition in later years for all that he did for Ohio State.
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Jagdaddy
Head Coach
AP obituary: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/...h_180426&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=394688440426
I had no idea that he coached John Matuszak and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff at Tampa.
I had no idea that he coached John Matuszak and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff at Tampa.
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