Michigan Football: My Interview With the Late Bo Schembechler

As I was sitting around the other day, doing as little as possible, a thought hit me like an anvil hitting Wile E. Coyote in the head. “Hey, what if I did an interview with Bo Schembechler?”

So, through the magic of my own warped imagination, I got on the horn to Heaven and asked to speak to Bo. The receptionist told me I had impeccable timing as he had just finished a lengthy game film session.

Next thing I know, the legendary Michigan football coach is on the phone.

Bo: This is Bo, what can I do for you?

Hey Coach. I’m a huge fan. I was wondering if you’d let me ask you a few questions about the game you love.

Bo: Of course. I’m always up for a little football talk. What would you like to know?

Well, before the football questions begin, how is it up there?

Bo: I’ll tell you what, kid. It’s all you ever heard it would be, and more! After my alarm wakes me with “Hail to the Victors,” I sit up in bed and read a couple papers, mostly the sports sections. Then I jump in the shower, which is immediately at a perfectly hot temperature.

I get out and throw on my favorite pair of coaching shorts and a t-shirt and head down to the buffet. And buffet is a major understatement. Wow. That’s the only way to describe it. Eggs served in about a hundred different ways. Bacon. Sausage. Biscuits and gravy. All of it piled a mile high.

Oh, sure, there’s also fruit and that kind of crap, but what’s the point? There’s no heart disease up here!

The rest of the day is pretty much all about hanging out with my buddies. This whole wing is full of football coaches. Bear (Bryant) is right next door. Eddie Robinson’s across the way. Rockne is down the hall. But best of all is having Woody just a few doors down. We’re actually best of friends now. Oh, sure, he gets to rambling about kids today and all that rah rah Ohio State garbage, but he couldn’t be a better friend to me and the rest of the fellas.

Yes, sir. Being able to spend all this time with my coaching friends is, pardon the pun, heaven.

I know you have a million memories from your coaching career. If you had to pick one thing as the most memorable moment, what would it be?

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Bo: Oh, geez! Only one. Well, you probably could have guessed what I would say to that one. I would have to say it was the ’69 Ohio State game. They were absolutely loaded.

He’d never admit it, but I think Woody thought they would come into that game and just roll us. I mean, they were the defending national champs. They were ranked No. 1 and had won 22 straight. And they had beaten U-M, what, 50-14 the year before?

He thought the ’69 team was his best ever. But what really motivated our guys the most was that comment Woody made after the previous year’s game. You remember that?

They went for two late in that blowout! Come on! And when they asked him why he went for two, remember what he said? “Because they wouldn’t let me go for three!!”

I have to admit it’s funny now. But that was great motivation for us. I thank him for that comment every day now. Anyway, we beat their butts, 24-12, even with all of their All-Americans! That was the one. That’s my favorite Michigan memory.

What do you think of the game of college football today?

Bo: For the most part, I still love it. When you get right down to it, it’s the same game it was 30, 40, even 50 years ago. Sure, there are guys who are constantly trying to act like they’ve reinvented the game with some fancy new passing offense or what they think is a new and better blocking scheme. But I really don’t think anything has actually been invented in football for decades.

Nov 7, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh on the sideline in the first quarter against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

All of the stuff that you see these “innovators” coming up with today has actually been around in some form forever in the game. Have they added a new wrinkle here and there? Sure. But the game of football is still not rocket science.

You can try to make it that way, and make everyone think you’re the smartest guy in the room, but it’s still the same game. Blocking and tackling will always be the key to winning football games. Everything else is just window dressing.

Football is a tough, sometimes brutal game. But if you love it like I do, it can be an absolutely beautiful thing when it’s played the right way.

Finally, Bo, how do you feel about Jim Harbaugh and what he’s doing for the U-M program?

Bo: First of all, I love Harbaugh like a son. Have since the days when he roamed the practice field and the locker room as a kid when his old man was an assistant on my staff.

I think he’s the best thing to happen to Ann Arbor, Michigan in the last 20 years. He reminds me a lot of myself back in the day. I came in to the job with an unbelievable amount of passion and energy. I think that’s what was needed at the time.

When I first got to Michigan, the program was down, some would say in disarray. Certainly they weren’t playing what most fans would call “Michigan football.”

Same goes for the program when Jimmy got there. They were down. Fans were not happy. The team seemed to be just sorta going through the motions. But Jimmy brought that fire with him. That’s what reminds me of myself the most. That fire. That passion for what U-M is and should be.

The fact that his football mind is amazing is almost beside the point. He just understands what that place represents. Believe me, Michigan football is going to be winning a lot with Jimmy there. A lot.

Thank you so much for the time, Bo. You’ve been great.

Bo: You’re welcome. Glad to do it. Oh, God, I almost forgot! It’s bacon cheeseburger hour at the buffet! Gotta run, kid!

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