Congrats Earle Bruce

I was at the game yesterday when former Buckeyes coach Earle Bruce was allowed to dot the ‘i’ in the Ohio State Marching Band’s incomparable Script Ohio.  That’s an elite club, with only ten members in the history of the school.  Nice to see.  Mr. Bruce is one of those examples of bad timing.  A good, capable coach.  He was the last OSU football coach to win Coach of the Year.  No, he didn’t have stellar record.  Ohio State fans are a fickle lot, and even when you’re winning they can turn on you.  Failing to be National Champion contenders every year, failing to win the big games, and ending up with a 6 win season won’t keep you around long.  In 1987 he was let go on the eve of the all important Michigan game.

Bruce also had the problem of following in the footsteps of Woody Hayes.  Love him or hate him (and some were capable of doing both), Hayes cast a mighty long shadow over college football in general, and Ohio State football in particular.  One of those figures who seemed to be bigger than the job he had, Hayes was dismissed in 1978 and it was up to Bruce to take the controls and make it work.

Over the years, Bruce’s reputation improved.  Many looked back at a good to very good coach who was a victim of bad timing.  Sporting a dapper suit and fedora on the sidelines, in contrast to Hayes’ famous short sleeve shirts and Ohio state cap, Bruce tried to be a different type of coach from day one.  In retrospect, he didn’t do a bad job at all.  Perhaps the biggest legacy of Bruce is the legions of successful coaches in the game today who trace their roots back to the days of working under his tutelage.  I was glad my oldest son and I were there to see him finally get some much deserved recognition.