"Bo's Lasting Lessons" Revisited
Over the past week during a vacation I re-read "Bo's Lasting Lessons" I hadn't read it in probably 5+ years. If you haven't read it I think I wouldn't be alone in reccomending it. If you have read it, but like me its been years I hope this will encourage you to pick it back up.
I was struck by how certain names that are very relevant today were picked out of a distinguished crowd by Bo almost a decade ago. Below are a couple short clips that stood out:
Brad Bates
"Today Brad bates is the athletic director at Miami of Ohio- and they love him, there, too. They love him! He's done a marvelous job, and I'm sure you'l be hearing his name wherever a big job opens up. I would not be surprised if he becomes Michiagan's athletic director down the road. If he doesn't, it'll be our loss."
Jim Hackett
"Years later, Jimmy told me he leared a lot from that meeting, that you can have a tremendous impact as a leader just by taking a little time. Your people have to know that their value to you and your organization is not determined just by what they do, but by who they are. I cant make it any clearer than that."
Jim Harbaugh
"Jim ended up being twice as good, in my book, as the Golden Arm- Harbaugh was the Big Ten MVP his senior year, beating the other guy by a mile- and Jim's teammates liked him. Maybe Harbaugh didn't have half the arm of the Golden Boy, but he had twice the brains and ten times the heart. Give me those specs, anyday."
Jerry Hanlon
(Jerry's words in response to a question from Jim Harbaugh "what kind of team will we have next year') "Jim, come back in twenty years, and I'll tell you. Only then will we know how you and your classmates turned out. Did you get good jobs? Are you hardworking and honest? Were you good husbands and fathers? Did you contribute to your community? Did you make the world a better place?"
I couldn't believe how well this book held up in the quick changing sports landscape. It shows how much character Bo saw in these individuals and how much they learned and valued their time at Michigan. (I know cool story bro).
January 19th, 2015 at 10:41 PM ^
Who was the Golden Boy?
January 19th, 2015 at 10:49 PM ^
That would be Vinnie Testeverde.
January 20th, 2015 at 12:10 AM ^
I kinda doubt that he was talking about a guy that won a Heisman...
January 19th, 2015 at 10:57 PM ^
I believe it was a reference to Jeff George. He fit all the knocks Bo pointed out. Pissed people off, transfered in college (Purdue to Illinois), bounced around NFL, midwest kid, etc.
Edit: George was couple years too young. Vinny sounds right.
January 19th, 2015 at 11:03 PM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 11:13 PM ^
Damn I liked that guy since he made Jim Rome his bitch on live television.
January 20th, 2015 at 5:54 AM ^
That was hilarious! Jim Rome is such a pussy.
January 19th, 2015 at 11:22 PM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 11:34 AM ^
"We were lined up in the tunnel, about to take the field for pre-game"...
I read this and started to expect a story of Everitt wailing on the marching band. Which would be even funnier.
January 19th, 2015 at 11:30 PM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 2:06 AM ^
As a Bears fan that is who I thought of even if he misses that time frame by decades.
January 20th, 2015 at 7:40 AM ^
I was wondering the same thing, it's a great story in the book, among many.
January 19th, 2015 at 10:42 PM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 10:47 PM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 10:43 PM ^
Any regular reader of this blog should just make it a belated New Year's resolution to read this book sometime this off season. I found a stack of 'em on clearance once. Bought 12 copies to give to friends. Even the Maryland alum, non-football fan I gave it to said it was a great book.
January 19th, 2015 at 10:45 PM ^
Bo's only swing and miss in the book was about Brandon - he praised him pretty extensively. One funny thing: he noted Brandon's tendency to reply to emails in the middle of the night.
January 19th, 2015 at 11:29 PM ^
Brandon proudly wore his "Bo Schembechler disciple" status on his sleeve. It wasn't until he actually started fucking up the entire program that anyone figured out he was full of shit and more the "Anti-Bo" than a "Bo Schembechler disciple."
Bo wasn't the only person who got fooled by David Brandon.
January 20th, 2015 at 11:41 AM ^
but I think you have this right. Bo wasn't perfect. He allowed both Brandon and Monahan to glom onto him and both are pretty slimey (for entirely different reasons). Brandon espoused what he wanted of Bo's "ethos" and ignored (if not trashed) the rest. That Bo said nice things about Brandon is neither surprising nor bad on Bo. He was just one of his former players who went on to do good before doing very bad (well I guess he didn't kill anyone - I've been watching The Wire - that's very bad).
January 19th, 2015 at 11:32 PM ^
Brandon may not be a terrible guy after all...he just may not understand how to communicate well, plus he is a bit full of his own ideas as being the only way to go.
January 20th, 2015 at 12:04 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 12:12 AM ^
From what I've heard from people he's a pretty big douche.
January 20th, 2015 at 12:40 AM ^
being a douche doesnt mean you are a bad guy. i still like hoke and brandon. they just werent good at their jobs.
yes, brandon said stupid things to fairly innocent people and was inprofessional, but the pressure of this job can do that t people, especially considering he wasnt doing well here. i wish him the best going forward
January 20th, 2015 at 11:45 AM ^
it's what he communicates that sucks. From what I've seen he isn't a bit full of his own ideas.... he has an entirely infallible view of himself. Dude's a jerk and made Michigan football much worse both on the field and in the stadium and for that we got to pay much, much more.
January 20th, 2015 at 7:43 AM ^
I think this is a great point. I think I first read the book maybe a year before we hired Brandon. So I knew something about him, and I never did before then. The big part in the book that stood out to me was Brandon's open door policy. That's besides the point though. I think There were things that made Brandon stand out as a great competitor and that was one thing Bo always welcomed with open arms, men and women who wouldn't stand down (think of his secretary stories).
Still a big DB, haha also his initials, who'da'thunk'it?
January 19th, 2015 at 10:52 PM ^
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January 20th, 2015 at 7:44 AM ^
It's a great read, enjoy!
January 20th, 2015 at 11:47 AM ^
4th grade reading level and was produced near the height of Mitch's self love. I would imagine he banged it out in about 3 days. Both the Falls and JUB books are far better.
January 19th, 2015 at 10:53 PM ^
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January 19th, 2015 at 10:57 PM ^
haha so we're down to Testaverde, Jeff George and Don McPherson. I'm guessing Bo wasn't very explicit about who he disdained, which I totally get.
January 19th, 2015 at 11:09 PM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 11:22 PM ^
That can't be right. Banks played in the mid-1990s.
I think Dave Yarema is the guy. He was MSU's QB at the same time as Harbaugh.
January 19th, 2015 at 11:24 PM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 1:07 AM ^
that leaves out Chuck Long—his NFL career was a disaster.
January 19th, 2015 at 11:26 PM ^
The Golden Boy was Chuck Long.
http://mitchalbom.com/d/journalism/2849/long-gets-his-wish-and-wont-loo…
January 19th, 2015 at 11:29 PM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 11:32 PM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 1:54 AM ^
They claim, with some geographic accuracy, that they are in the middle western part of the country.
January 19th, 2015 at 11:22 PM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 11:22 PM ^
Schembechler had an extraordinary gift of being able to read and understand people...people of all ages...players, coaches too...and knowing what buttons to push in them to motivate. its what made him a great recruiter and a great coach.
January 19th, 2015 at 11:31 PM ^
Who was the "Golden Arm" from 1986 that Bo pejoratively referenced?
EDIT: Whoops, so this was tardy like a mid-January comment about the Times Square crystal ball. That's what I get for opening this tab, and submitting it an hour later.
January 20th, 2015 at 5:57 AM ^
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January 20th, 2015 at 7:47 AM ^
I just googled and found this link yesterday, don't remember what i googled for. It's a great story about Jim Harbaugh and Bo's relationship.
http://mitchalbom.com/d/journalism/787/coach-and-qbschembechler-harbaugh-have-special-relationship
January 20th, 2015 at 10:12 AM ^
Do your current job to the best of your ability and the next job will come along. I think Jim followed that one to the letter - all through December.
January 20th, 2015 at 7:55 AM ^
Every time I read this book I always wonder who the Golden Arm was. Hopefully someone can pin point it.
Another great story in the book, and it's one of my favorites, is the one about how he hires Lloyd Carr. I love that one.
January 20th, 2015 at 8:34 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 11:41 AM ^
I always thought it was Jeff George. Seems to fit all the criteria.
Midwest kid (Indianapolis) who gradutaed from high school in 1986, tranferred from Purdue to Illinois, and put up some decent numbers in the NFL. Also seemed like the type that was not well liked by his teammates.
January 20th, 2015 at 8:19 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 9:41 AM ^
I was struck by how certain names that are very relevant today were picked out of a distinguished crowd by Bo almost a decade ago.Real recognize real.