Legend
Legend
adkindo (03-28-2021)
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”― Marcus Aurelius
He was a legend in his own mind maybe. Schnellenberger coached at 5 places (4 college and 1 professional) and had a winning record at exactly one of them. His overall record at the 5 stops combined was below .500. The standard for being a legend has slipped a bit it would appear. People should demand more out of legends.
Kingspoint (04-01-2021)
He had a losing record at Louisville, and that may have been the best coaching job anyone has ever done anywhere.
cumberlandreds (03-29-2021),dabvu2498 (03-28-2021),Revering4Blue (03-28-2021)
You are missing a ton on context in your analysis. He took over a Miami program that had been a dumpster fire for years, and turned them into national champions in 5 years. In hindsight, he made a poor decision to leave the U, and getting involved with the USFL team that was supposed to be in Miami and did not happen. It was a financial decision in an era where college football coaches were not getting paid large sums. The odds are high that the success of Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson, Butch Davis and Larry Coker never happen without Schnellenberger laying the foundation. Is Miami "The U" or even in a P5 conference without Schnellenberger?
He then arrives at U of L, which once again is a program that had two winning seasons over the previous decade with a record of 41-66 during that period....and turned the program into a 10-1-1 team in his 6th year. If not for the early years of rebuilding the program, he easily has a winning record @ the U of L. I would say his one year in Oklahoma was his only unsuccessful stop as a college coach where he went 5-5.....but it should be pointed out Oklahoma was 6-6 the year before he arrived and 3-8 the year after he left. Oklahoma actually had 3 consecutive losing seasons after Schnellenberger left and did not have a winning season until Stoops arrived.
Finally, there was no football team at FAU before he arrived. He built it from nothing into a competitive team while transitioning from D1-AA to D1. He was there for 11 years (3 D1-AA & 8 D1) and took them to 2 bowl games. He had the program in the D1-AA playoffs in their 3rd season. FAU has had a program for 20 years now, and been to a total of 5 Bowls.....with the other 3 coming in the last 4 seasons. Nobody expects the coach that starts a college program from nothing and quickly transitions. Go take a look at FAU's facilities and stadium....they hold their own with almost any non P5 Program and they were built on Schnellenberger time coaching the program.
He never walked into a winning program, yet won a National Championship and National Coach of the Year award. As a college coach, Schnellenberger is a legend.
Last edited by adkindo; 03-28-2021 at 10:39 AM.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”― Marcus Aurelius
Boston Red (03-28-2021),Chip R (03-31-2021),dabvu2498 (03-28-2021),Revering4Blue (03-28-2021)
Here is some additional context. After his 10-1 in his 6th!!! year at Louisville, he went on to coach 5 more years there, compiling a 22-32 record. Legendary. He went 9-3 in his first year at Florida Atlantic. After that he legendarily accumulated a 32-53 record. He built that program so well that he went 1-11 in his final year. Once again, legendary.
Yes, Louisville struggled to a 2-9 record the year AFTER beating Alabama in the Fiesta Bowl. Note that the year before Schnellenberger arrived Louisville lost to Murray State, and it wasn't an upset. The 1993 Louisville team two years later was probably better than the 1990 Fiesta Bowl team but faced a tougher schedule. Louisville slaughtered Texas 41-10 that year. Smoked a really good Arizona State team the week prior. Lost a heavyweight fight at Morgantown 36-34 to a WV team that finsished the regular season undefeated and went to the Sugar Bowl. Beat Michigan State in the Liberty Bowl.
Zero chance Louisville is playing in their new (well, not that new anymore) stadium or in the ACC if not for Howard Schnellenberger. It's more likely they'd be in the OVC than the ACC and maybe still playing the in the minor league baseball stadium where they slaughtered Texas.
Howard is in Kentucky's ring of honor for his playing days, coached under Bear Bryant and was on the coaching staff for the 1972 Miami Dolphins.
Legend.
cumberlandreds (03-29-2021)
Schnellenberger was a really good coach for his time. He just couldn't quite sustain success at one place for whatever reason. It was always a rumor he would come to his almamater to coach.Kentucky. But it never happened. I always wondered how differently UK's football program would have been with him at the helm?
Reds Fan Since 1971
Paying players to play College sports. Was he not in the middle of all of this? Did he not set the bar for it?
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
Seems like you really have an issue with Schnellenberger....and I am ok with that because I am sure I have my biases. Let me ask you this.....is Lou Holtz a legend in college football? The same Lou Holtz that had a losing record @ Minnesota and South Carolina? The same coach that went 0-11 his first season at South Carolina? Hayden Fry? 11 Years at SMU and had 3 winning seasons. Maybe you only consider guys like Tom Osborne, Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler to be worthy of legendary status and that is fine but these are coaches that had a little movement early in their career then remained at a program for 90% of their career.....and Oklahoma, Ohio State and Michigan were all winning programs when they arrived. I pointed out I thought a big mistake was Schnellenberger leaving Miami after he had built them into a national champion. He took a small private school in Coral Gables, Florida and took them from being a joke to National Champions. As great as they were, Tom Osborne, Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler never did that.
Last edited by adkindo; 04-02-2021 at 12:45 AM.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”― Marcus Aurelius
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