Move over Massillon, Ohio ...and Miami of Ohio... The new Cradle of Coaches is The University of Iowa. And the trend may continue for some time. Not only is Iowa the place where Lou Holtz got his start as an assistant in 1960... and Dennis Green as a player, then assistant, in the 70's, it's the school where Hayden Fry developed a staggering list of assistants and former players who are some of the biggest names in the college game today: Barry Alvarez, AD/HC Wisconsin Bret Bielema, new HC Wisconsin Bobby Diaco, DC Central Michigan Bobby Elliott, DC Kansas State Kirk Ferentz, HC Iowa Tommy Hayes, DC Stanford Jim Leavitt, HC South Florida Chuck Long, OC Oklahoma Mark Mangino, HC Kansas Dan McCarney, HC Iowa State Del Miller, OC Kansas State Jay Norvell, OC Nebraska Don Patterson, HC Western Illinois Bo Pelini, DC LSU Bill Snyder, HC Kansas State Bob Stoops, HC Oklahoma Mike Stoops, HC Arizona ... pretty impressive... now, we know Bobby Bowden has a little legacy going too, but here's a question we're trying to get answered over on our forum: Does anyone know of ANY OC/DC or HC that has come out of JoePa's Penn State program? (and what does that tell ya??)
Joe Pa is past his time. I just wonder if he knows it. That's an impressive list for Iowa & will likely continue with Ferentz.
Lou is/was a character.... never cared much about his teams or whether they won or lost... but from an entertainment standpoint, he's was fun to watch... kind of in the same way I'd watch Spurrier, Bobby Knight, Valvano .... you can't (and shouldn't) discount the value of "characters" in sports.
