Nashville Coaches Convention

BY: Jimmie McDowell

NASHVILLE---I attended my first American Football Coaches Convention in 1952 in Cincinnati and have attended every one but one since. I am proud to be an Honorary Member of the AFCA for 17 years,chosen after a quarter of a century with the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.

This year's convention was held at the spacious Opryland Hotel in this wonderful Southern city which I have visited quite a few times over the years. My Father was born in Tullahaoma and when Granny Mac was l6 a 40-plus old single gentleman, attracted by her beauty, came by her house and told her he would like to call on her. She politely declined and said she was betroved to Hiram McDowell.

She married Hirman McDowell and the single gentleman never got married. He died a short time later as a result of kicking the iron safe in his office. His treasurer Lem Motlow was in church and had the only key to the safe. The 40-year plus old gentleman suffered a blood clot and died. His name was Jack Daniel. He was in the whisky business.

Now if Granny Mac had married Ole Man Jack instead she could have still married Hiram McDowell after Jack had passed away and I could be running the Jack Daniel Distillery today.
Even so I became a fairly good customer before deciding a few years ago to cut out partaking of the hard spirits which hopefully will add about 20 more years to my life.
So being in Nashville always brings back good memories. It was also the home of my great pal Fred Russell, who was Chairman of the NFFHF Honors Court for over a quarter of a century. I was the Secretary of the Honors Court for over 20 years, succeeding the late Coach Harvey Harman, one of four Executive Directors of the NFFHF. Today's Foundation leadership does not list these men who all contributed to the growth of the NFF, starting with Arthur Evans, George Little, Harman, and McDowell.
My successor was the old Princeton coach Bob Casciola, whose title was changed to President after the All-American Football Foundation was launched in 1994. Every one and his brother is listed in the NFFHF' s splendid 2008 Dinner program except the Executive Directors.
The All-American Football Foundation incidentally will have its 99th Banquet of Champions in Jackson, Ms. Feb 16 followed by the Centennial Banquet in Princeton March 9.
This year's AFDA banquet celebrated the 15th anniversary of Executive Director Grant Teaff,the Hall of Fame Baylor coach taking over the reins from Charlie McClendon, the gifted LSU grid boss. Ty Willingham of Washington, Stanford, and Notre Dame, was the outgoing coach of the AFCA. He did a fine job in this capacity and hopefully will get another shot at a head coach after being terminated by Washington. Dick Tomey of San Jose State succeeded Willingham as AFCA president for 2009.
Joe Paterno and Tom Osborne, the Hall of Fame coaches from Penn State and Nebraska, highlighted the Masters' program. Paterno, 82, has just been awarded a new three year contract and is looking fine, thank you. Osborne returned to Nebraska as Athletic Director. Paterno confessed that as an assistant coach he proposed to the 21 year old head cheerleader. He told her he was 33. When they applied for a marriage license he had to put his true age 35, on the document. No wonder he has been such a successful head coach. He and Sue have now been married 47 years.
Utah's Coch Kyle Willingham was chosen the AFCA's Division One Coach of the Year following his perfect record season, winning the honor over Florida's Urban Meyer, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, Texas' Mack Brown and USC's Pete Carroll. Meyer, Brown, and Carroll lost one game. Stoops lost a pair, including the showdown with Florida.
Texas Tech's Mike Leach had lost only one game before bowing to Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl. The Ole Miss Coach Houston Nutt was chosen the South Regional Coach of the Year. Besides beating Leach he also decisioned Urban Meyer. He is a future National Coach of the Year in my opinion.
Had a good visit with Houston in Nashville. He was pleased that his star end Greg Hardy was coming back for his senior year and like all coaches hopes that the youngsters who have early committed to Ole Miss will stay on board.
You never know until signing date. When I was working at Southern Mississippi we thought we had Eagle Day, but something happened between midnight and daylight and Day switched to Ole Miss. Until the day he died the Eagle never told me what happened.
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