We’ve all heard it a million times: “You don’t want to be the guy who follows a legend; you want to be the guy who follows the guy who follows the legend.”
It makes intuitive sense, and it certainly would seem true. Urban Meyer is the guy who followed the guy who followed the legend at Florida, and things have worked out quite well for him so far. Then again, Bill Callahan was the same at Nebraska, and the fans were ready to run him out of town two years before he finally got the axe.
To see how true this adage is, I’ve looked at some coaching legends and the guys who followed them. They are as follows, in chronological order from when the legend was hired:
OKLAHOMA
Legend: Bud Wilkinson, 1947-63, 145-29-4 (.826); three national and 14 conference titles
Follower: Gomer Jones, 1964-65, 9-11-1 (.452); 0 national or conference titles
Next: Jim Mackenzie, 1966, 6-4 (.600); 0 national or conference titles
This is somewhat of a bad example to start off with, since Mackenzie sadly passed away due to a heart attack after his first season.
Jones definitely had a difficult time following Wilkinson though, having not been able to break even (.500) in his two years. Wilkinson is the coach who led Oklahoma to its famed 47-game winning streak, and he failed to win the Big 8 title in only three of his 17 years.
AUBURN
Legend: Shug Jordan, 1951-75, 175-83-7 (.674), one national and one conference title
Follower: Doug Barfield, 1976-80, 29-25-1 (.536), 0 national or conference titles
Next: Pat Dye, 1981-92, 99-39-4 (.711), 0 national and four conference titles
Jordan held the job for 25 years and the stadium is named after him, but his .674 winning percentage is lower than any of the other legends on this list. Barfield followed him up with five forgettable seasons, with 8-3 being the best record he posted.
Dye had the most success in his tenure out of these three, though he was forced out of his coaching and AD position when it was revealed that assistant coaches and boosters had been paying a player. He still is fondly remembered, though, as the field at Jordan-Hare stadium was named after him in 2005.
OHIO STATE
Legend: Woody Hayes, 1951-78, 205-61-10 (.761), five national and 13 conference titles
Follower: Earle Bruce, 1979-87, 81-26-1 (.755), 0 national and four conference titles
Next: John Cooper, 1988-2000, 111-43-4 (.715), 0 national and 4 conference titles
Earle Bruce did an admirable job in following Woody Hayes after Hayes’ unexpected meltdown and firing. He did not see the same level of success however, though he nearly won the national title in his first year.
2 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Nunna Yobiz about 1 year ago
You fail to mention that Nebraska had two Legends in a row starting with Bob Devaney.
Bob Devaney, 1962 - 1972, 101-20-2 (.829), 2 National and eight conference titles.
Edit Comment Cancel
David Wunderlich about 1 year ago
Thanks for pointing that out. My knowledge of college football history drops off exponentially before 1990.
Edit Comment Cancel
Leave a Comment
You must register to post a comment.