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I know that you haven't heard much about Jim Tressel since he stopped being our QB coach in 1982. Just to get you up to speed, Tressel did some pretty good things at Youngstown State and then parlayed that into success at something called Ohio State University. I know, state schools, who cares? But seriously, he did really well.
Of course, he also did so while looking the other way on more NCAA violations than you can count. But hey, as long as you don't get caught right?
And so, Tressel is now out of a job and something tells me he won't be welcome back at Syracuse to take his old position anytime soon. But, it is worth remembering Tressel for his efforts while with the Orangemen when he helped turned a 5-6 team into a 4-6-1 and eventually 2-9 powerhouse.
Dave Curtis shared one anecdote about Tressel's time with SU in his article Monday.
The story goes that Jim Tressel, as Syracuse’s play-caller in the early 1980s, called the same run 10 straight plays, gaining yards each time. Orange head coach Dick MacPherson called up to his quarterbacks coach, wondering if his offense had any more than one play.
"Yes, we do, Coach," Tressel told his boss. "As soon as they stop this one, I’ll call it."
That demeanor, equal parts confidence and stubbornness, defined Tressel’s illustrious and now tainted coaching career. His successes as Ohio State’s head coach affirmed his philosophies, so much so that he wrote a book, The Winner’s Manual, to share his game plan with others.
Obviously, when you hear Dick MacPherson tell the same story, it's 1000x better and blasphemous.
"We played Illinois when we had [tailback] Joe Morris," Dick MacPherson, the former Syracuse coach who hired Tressel, said from his winter home in Florida. "Jimmy runs a sprint draw nine times to get into the end zone. The next series, he starts with a sprint draw. I get on the phone, and excuse my language, I said, 'Jesus Christ, Jimmy, don't we have another damn play?'
"He said, 'Yes we do, Coach. As soon as they stop this one, I'll call it.'
"That's Jimmy Tressel to me."
Wherever he is right now, I'm sure Dick MacPherson is asking himself, "Jesus Christ, Jimmy, didn't you think sooner or later everyone would find one?"