I saw a list recently on Twitter of the 100 best coaches in college football history. Bob Zuppke was rightfully on the list but his career is really the tale of two halves.
1913-1928
7 B1G titles
4 Nattys
90-29-8 overall
56-24-7 B1G
1929-1941
finished 2nd once
41-52-4 overall
20-42-1 B1G
Had he retired after the 1928 season he'd have been more successful than Knute Rockne and Fritz Crisler. Shoot, he would've had just as many Nattys and B1G titles as AA Stagg! Like the old adage goes, "coaches don't forget how to coach." What was it in his career - 1929 - that caused such a precipitous decline in his teams? The only things I could think of was the Great Depression but that was a national phenomenon, not something only to affect Illinois. I'm curious if this was the beginning of Illinois keeping coaches too long that continues to haunt us to this day. Was 1929 the birth of modern "recruiting?" and he failed to adjust with the times?
1913-1928
7 B1G titles
4 Nattys
90-29-8 overall
56-24-7 B1G
1929-1941
finished 2nd once
41-52-4 overall
20-42-1 B1G
Had he retired after the 1928 season he'd have been more successful than Knute Rockne and Fritz Crisler. Shoot, he would've had just as many Nattys and B1G titles as AA Stagg! Like the old adage goes, "coaches don't forget how to coach." What was it in his career - 1929 - that caused such a precipitous decline in his teams? The only things I could think of was the Great Depression but that was a national phenomenon, not something only to affect Illinois. I'm curious if this was the beginning of Illinois keeping coaches too long that continues to haunt us to this day. Was 1929 the birth of modern "recruiting?" and he failed to adjust with the times?
