I know most of you guys have no clue who Bo Rein was -- but you need to. There was a new special last night on the SEC network about Coach Rein and even though I didn't see it, I am going to encourage each of you to spend 30 minutes checking it out. I am sure you will be captivated by this guy. A friend called me this morning and said he watched it and it was great.
In 1980 Bo Rein was the newly hired football coach at LSU who was killed in a plane crash. He had just left NC State to take the LSU job and was truly one of the great young coaches in college football.
In the spring of 1978 I was Bob Bradley's assistant in the sports information office at Clemson and we went to Grandfather Mountain for an ACC golf outing (Mr. Bradley fished for three days!!). Back in those days they would put us up in cabins and Mr. Bradley and I were in one with Coach Rein and Bob Quincy, the sports editor for the Charlotte Observer. As soon as Coach Rein found out we were from Clemson, he began a three day needle job about the game coming up in October in Raleigh. Clemson had beaten NC State the year before 7-3 on a touchdown with about five minutes to go. The two teams had battled all day and Willie Jordan had returned a punt from the goal line to the NC State 25 and then Steve Fuller hit Jerry Butler for the only touchdown we got that day to provide the win. Coach Rein was still steamed about that punt return. He told us over and over those three days that they were going to get us when we came to Raleigh.
Well, that trip came around and we drove to Raleigh on Friday afternoon. We got up early the next morning and got to the stadium in time to go down on the field. I saw Coach Rein and made my way over to him. My first question was whether they were ready. Strangely enough, he looked at me and said he didn't think they were. It seems that NC State had had a big win the week before in Chapel Hill and they had been celebrating all week. He said he didn't think his team was ready. We chatted for another minute or so and then I went up tot he press box for the game. It was never close -- Clemson won 33-10 and NC State's only touchdown came in the final minutes of the game. Afterwards, I went by the NC State interview area and when I walked in, Coach Rein just threw up his hand at me and waved a kind of surrender.
After the 1979 season he left Raleigh for the challenge of LSU and following Charlie McLendon. He was truly an amazing coach and would have done wonders in Baton Rouge. He had such energy and enthusiasm. His death was a real tragedy. The flight was supposed to be just a short one back to Baton Rouge after a recruiting trip in Louisiana and actually flew all the way out into the Atlantic Ocean and crashed.
Check out this special and realize this guy was a real treasure -- he would have been a star at LSU.
In 1980 Bo Rein was the newly hired football coach at LSU who was killed in a plane crash. He had just left NC State to take the LSU job and was truly one of the great young coaches in college football.
In the spring of 1978 I was Bob Bradley's assistant in the sports information office at Clemson and we went to Grandfather Mountain for an ACC golf outing (Mr. Bradley fished for three days!!). Back in those days they would put us up in cabins and Mr. Bradley and I were in one with Coach Rein and Bob Quincy, the sports editor for the Charlotte Observer. As soon as Coach Rein found out we were from Clemson, he began a three day needle job about the game coming up in October in Raleigh. Clemson had beaten NC State the year before 7-3 on a touchdown with about five minutes to go. The two teams had battled all day and Willie Jordan had returned a punt from the goal line to the NC State 25 and then Steve Fuller hit Jerry Butler for the only touchdown we got that day to provide the win. Coach Rein was still steamed about that punt return. He told us over and over those three days that they were going to get us when we came to Raleigh.
Well, that trip came around and we drove to Raleigh on Friday afternoon. We got up early the next morning and got to the stadium in time to go down on the field. I saw Coach Rein and made my way over to him. My first question was whether they were ready. Strangely enough, he looked at me and said he didn't think they were. It seems that NC State had had a big win the week before in Chapel Hill and they had been celebrating all week. He said he didn't think his team was ready. We chatted for another minute or so and then I went up tot he press box for the game. It was never close -- Clemson won 33-10 and NC State's only touchdown came in the final minutes of the game. Afterwards, I went by the NC State interview area and when I walked in, Coach Rein just threw up his hand at me and waved a kind of surrender.
After the 1979 season he left Raleigh for the challenge of LSU and following Charlie McLendon. He was truly an amazing coach and would have done wonders in Baton Rouge. He had such energy and enthusiasm. His death was a real tragedy. The flight was supposed to be just a short one back to Baton Rouge after a recruiting trip in Louisiana and actually flew all the way out into the Atlantic Ocean and crashed.
Check out this special and realize this guy was a real treasure -- he would have been a star at LSU.
