Ranking Bohl (prematurely of course)

[344Johnson]

Craig has been here since 2003. Which makes him a long tenured coach by our standards. Today, we saw Ron Erhardt die. I have heard my relatives talk about him for years. In 7 years, he had a great record, and 2 national titles. We had Mudra, who built the foundation of NDSU. We had Morton(, we had Solomonson(sp?) for a short time, Hager(my grandmother babysat him, has only nice things to say about him as a kid), and we've had Bohl.

Some great coaches. I, as someone who appreciates football, tradition, and the value that tradition has in bringing a football team to our fine school, wonders how we can try(very, very hard) to rank the men who have coached throughout the history of our school.

I'd rank Mudra and Erhardt as #1 and #2 considering they built the program. But I am also very young and I have only been to games lead by 3 coaches(1 hager, several babich, and a ton of Bohl), I'd like to hear what everyone has to say about the coaches we have been fortunate to have throughout our time as a football power.

[CaBisonFan]

Erhardt was the best pure football mind...or coach. He was brilliant...and very, very tough. Motivation was 'not' a problem on his teams. His players were tough as nails...something like our defense was this past year. The whole team was that way. They simply kicked ass on anyone.

Mudra was the guy who bashed the walls of mediocrity down in the football program...but Erhardt was there coaching also. The teaming of these two guys was very unique...and that's where the 'we can play anybody' attitude came from. Mudra...#1 motivator...and perhaps a little reckless about how the program was built. Almost every dynasty has had one of these guys.

Solomonson...an outstanding 'football' coach as I hear from former players. He took over for Don Morton when the cupboard was absolutely loaded with talent. It was a very, very tough transition...but he was tough-minded and brought a couple of titles. Went on to Montana State and found out that building a program like NDSU's is not an easy thing. Don Morton found the same thing out...whoa...did he. Wisconsin chewed him up and spit him out...but I think that Barry Alvarez benefitted some from the table that Don set.

Craig Bohl...a CEO with the ability to put the right pieces together, leading to a great transition period and the eventual championship. Seemingly allows his assistants to make a lot of decisions...which has its ups and downs. With Hazelton around...that was a good idea.

Rocky Hager...the most emotional coach that I've ever seen in a major college program. This was both his strength and his weakness. He needed to have an outstanding AD around to support him when the chips were down. That wasn't the case...to put it mildly. Rocky completely understood Bison Football and the tradition. He still does. I'll never forget how badly the Bison put it to (team???) in the 1990 championship game. And 1988...what a team. And a lot of people forget that Rocky coached the great 1986 defense.

Don Morton...a politician on a mission. He gets a lot of credit for the 80s from me...but he was also surrounded by outstanding coaches and players. It was a perfect storm. The Bison have never been 'more' talented than when Don was in charge. Our 2011 team was loaded in some respects...but the 1986 and 1988 teams were completely dominant on offense and defense. There were absolutely 'no' weaknesses. Those teams played against many FCS-caliber teams. It was a different era in DII.

I'd put a definite #1 on Ron Erhardt...easily. As for the rest...they all did something unique...and all had their strengths & weaknesses. I won't rank them.

I don't think that ranking coaches by the numbers is accurate at all.

Coach Bohl belongs in the top tier along with these guys. He has proven to be very special. If he brings another championship or two, then I'll talk about putting him up there with Erhardt.

All of these guys...and many of their assistants...are pure hall of famers. We have been blessed with an unbelievable string of coaches.

Thanks Ron.

[Herd]

I am always thinking about who would be the next great hire to lead the bison after Bohl, although I believe Bohl as a long career ahead of him. The guy that always comes to mnid for me is Gus Bradley. He could be another special leader for the bison when Bohl is ready to move on.

[WYOBISONMAN]

Solomonson was a total disaster. He won for 2 years with Don Morton's teams, then went to Montana State and destroyed their program. It took MSU a decade to recover from Solomonson. Solomonson was not a good coach......ask the MSU fans that experienced his handiwork.

[344Johnson]

Solomonson was a total disaster. He won for 2 years with Don Morton's teams, then went to Montana State and destroyed their program. It took MSU a decade to recover from Solomonson. Solomonson was not a good coach......ask the MSU fans that experienced his handiwork.

Well, didn't Morton go suck a big one at Wisconsin?

[Larz]

NO, their recruits won championships following their dismissal ..... political.

[Bison03]

I'll never forget how badly the Bison put it to (team???) in the 1990 championship game.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania. I remember that game well. That was the game that made me a Bison fan for life. I still have that game on VHS and pop it in and watch it from time to time. Total domination by the Bison that day. For those for don't know or don't remember; here are some amazing stats. NDSU won by a score of 51-11. Put up 627 yards of offense, with 456 yards rushing (gotta love that veer). Tony Satter had 174 yards rushing on only 12 carries. Not hard to become a Bison fan after watching a game like that. I am a little biased, since I say him coach the most, and got to put Rocky up there near the top. He still has the most wins of any NDSU head coach. He bled green and gold. Having him show up to watch the Bison in Frisco tells you all you need to know about his love for this program. Bohl should move past Rocky in the win total in a few years, and if he can get some more NC banners hung in the dome, his stock will certainly rise.

[Bison Dan]

Well, didn't Morton go suck a big one at Wisconsin?
Sometime talk to Pat Simmers about WI. Donna E. Shalala came in and fired Morton and hired Barry Alvarez but before he would sign off Shalala had to create a curriculum for fb players and they had to lower their standards. Puff - WI got good players and the rest is history.

[344Johnson]

Sometime talk to Pat Simmers about WI. Donna E. Shalala came in and fired Morton and hired Barry Alvarez but before he would sign off Shalala had to create a curriculum for fb players and they had to lower their standards. Puff - WI got good players and the rest is history.

Ahh...Morton got hammered on the "Notre Dame/Stanford Effect?" Got it.

[southcliffbison]

Solomonson was a total disaster. He won for 2 years with Don Morton's teams, then went to Montana State and destroyed their program. It took MSU a decade to recover from Solomonson. Solomonson was not a good coach......ask the MSU fans that experienced his handiwork.


And the same would be said of Coach Bohl in Lincoln; I attended the Ohio State/Husker game last fall in Lincoln; I sat beside an elderly gentlemen, husker alum and season ticket holder since 1969; I asked him what were his thoughts/memories of Craig Bohl............let's just say he was not very kind.

[EndZoneQB]

And the same would be said of Coach Bohl in Lincoln; I attended the Ohio State/Husker game last fall in Lincoln; I sat beside an elderly gentlemen, husker alum and season ticket holder since 1969; I asked him what were his thoughts/memories of Craig Bohl............let's just say he was not very kind.

It's because he was stubborn. He refused to change up his philosophy against the Miami Hurricanes of the NFL in the 2001 championship game. Not to mention the Colorado loss the next season that ultimately sealed his fate. How did Solich do post-Bohl? How has Pelini done post-Solich? Exactly. Bohl was a part of the last dominant Husker group...people need to step away from the ledge. But, as I've said before, I asked a ton of fans at the UT game 2 years ago and they all said we could keep him.

[HerdBot]

Close between Bohl and Ehrhart. Ill say Bohl is narrowly the top head coach. He is D1 which is harder than D2
But if he wants to solidify it lets see how the next 2 years turn out.

Erheart was a great D2 coaxh obviously and made NFL as a coach without success but proved his strength was as a great coordinator. Nobody is even close in that capacity. Arguably coordinator is a tougher job than head coach

Honestly dont know much about Mudra but obviously hes good

Morton had bigger fish to fry in the business world

Earle. Took advantage of program that was already successful

[OrygunBison]

Indiana University of Pennsylvania. I remember that game well. That was the game that made me a Bison fan for life. I still have that game on VHS and pop it in and watch it from time to time. Total domination by the Bison that day. For those for don't know or don't remember; here are some amazing stats. NDSU won by a score of 51-11. Put up 627 yards of offense, with 456 yards rushing (gotta love that veer). Tony Satter had 174 yards rushing on only 12 carries. Not hard to become a Bison fan after watching a game like that. I am a little biased, since I say him coach the most, and got to put Rocky up there near the top. He still has the most wins of any NDSU head coach. He bled green and gold. Having him show up to watch the Bison in Frisco tells you all you need to know about his love for this program. Bohl should move past Rocky in the win total in a few years, and if he can get some more NC banners hung in the dome, his stock will certainly rise.

I don't know what the exact stats are but I believe we actually had 5 passing touchdowns in that game. Might have only had 5 passes total. I just remember that they could not stop the run, no matter what they did. Every once in awhile, Simmy would do that fake run, two steps backward and a dump pass to Dan who was wide open in the middle of the field. When I got back to Fargo, I watched the replay of the game and I think Todd Blackledge was one of the guys that on air before the game was going on and on and on about how little the Bison would throw the ball.

We had played IUP earlier in the season so we knew everything we needed to know about them. It showed in Florence.

[roadwarrior]

Close between Bohl and Ehrhart..... Erheart ....

His name is spelled Erhardt!

[OrygunBison]

My primary familiarity is with Rocky, Babich and Bohl. Rocky will always be special to me but if I look critically, he led by emotion. He wasn't really a student of the game. He didn't seem to evolve much as the game (and D2) changed around him. That's something that I've found special about Bohl. He's a much different coach than when he arrived in Fargo. He's learned from mistakes and truly understands what it takes to build a program. I like the CEO analogy. Spot on for his leadership style. I also think it is perfect for this level of football.

If I'm wrong on Rocky, let me know. That's just my observation but I'm not as familiar as some of you are.

[SDbison]

And the same would be said of Coach Bohl in Lincoln; I attended the Ohio State/Husker game last fall in Lincoln; I sat beside an elderly gentlemen, husker alum and season ticket holder since 1969; I asked him what were his thoughts/memories of Craig Bohl............let's just say he was not very kind. I was at that game last year.......regarding Bohl, you have to understand the high standards of a Nebraska football program that was missing some of the exceptional team talent that it had in previous years. Nebraska was sliding in the wrong direction and there had to be scapegoats. Bohl was the first to get the axe and then the following year when the slide continued the head coach got it too. Maybe Bohl could have done a few things different on the field, but I doubt it would have made a difference. Still don't know if the off field rumors are just that since there was so much venom about that letdown in Nebraska success that people felt the need to make bad stuff up about Bohl. Obviously, Bohl is better than what some Nebraska fans want to admit. The media in Lincoln has given Bohl some credit with several complimentary articles in the Lincoln newspaper talking about Bison football successes.

[tony]

Guess I'd judge Coach Bohl for what he's done at NDSU rather than what he did (or was supposed to have done) in the 2001 Rose Bowl at Nebraska.

Heh, that said, I don't really care too much for ranking coaches against other Bison coaches or players vs other Bison players.

[SDbison]

No love for Bob Babich? Most of you just skipped over his name like he didn't exist. I don't think he was good at being a head coach. Assistant or position coach is apparently the best he can be. He would be at the bottom of the list of head coaches since the mid 1960's and ahead of most prior to that.

[tony]

The problem with ranking Bison players or coaches is that people can't make their case without ripping the shit out of other Bison players and coaches.

That's why I don't like ranking Bison coaches or players.

[KSBisonFan]

Guess I'd judge Coach Bohl for what he's done at NDSU rather than what he did (or was supposed to have done) in the 2001 Rose Bowl at Nebraska.

Heh, that said, I don't really care too much for ranking coaches against other Bison coaches or players vs other Bison players.

I agree! Who cares about Bohl and Nebraska? That's ancient history and really doesn't matter at this point. He's our coach. He presents himself, the program, the university and the state well. He has an opportunity to build an amazing legacy here. Oh yeah, he also coached us to a NC.

[HerdBot]

His name is spelled Erhardt!

I know that but my auto complete on my phone doesn't. Same deal with Dacotah Field

[CaBisonFan]

I meant to mention Jim Wacker. He brought the veer to town, and a new kind of enthusiasm. He came after Kjelbertson had struggled (post Erhardt). Kjelbertson actually won a conference title or two...but things had dropped off.

Wacker...to me...was a very good coach...and he set up the program for the 80s run.

[CaBisonFan]

Solomonson was a total disaster. He won for 2 years with Don Morton's teams, then went to Montana State and destroyed their program. It took MSU a decade to recover from Solomonson. Solomonson was not a good coach......ask the MSU fans that experienced his handiwork.

One of our members who played for Earle called him an excellent coach. He won two titles...and yes...with Morton's players. That, in itself, is not an easy thing to do.

I don't think that Montana State was a good fit. It wasn't just Earle...imo

[56BISON73]

Well, didn't Morton go suck a big one at Wisconsin?

Morton was on the edge of turning the badgers around. Wisconsins pres donna shalayla wanted mort to fire one of his staff. Mort said no so they left. Ade sponsberg was the ad there as well. When shit came down ade turned in his keys and left also.

One should have knowledge of the situation before making dispairaging statements.

[tcbison]

To me, if a coach wins a National Championship at NDSU that makes them very good in my book. I show the tally being:

Mudra - 1
Erhardt - 2
Morton - 1
Solomonson - 2
Hager - 2
Bohl - 1

[Twentysix]

Morton was on the edge of turning the badgers around. Wisconsins pres donna shalayla wanted mort to fire one of his staff. Mort said no so they left. Ade sponsberg was the ad there as well. When shit came down ade turned in his keys and left also.

One should have knowledge of the situation before making dispairaging statements.

If that were a requirement no one would ever say a thing.

[CaBisonFan]

Morton was on the edge of turning the badgers around. Wisconsins pres donna shalayla wanted mort to fire one of his staff. Mort said no so they left. Ade sponsberg was the ad there as well. When shit came down ade turned in his keys and left also.

One should have knowledge of the situation before making dispairaging statements.

That's why I've had trouble being 'for' Wisconsin in anything. Alvarez was handed a beautifully put together program. He became the savior. Morton & Sponberg did the dirty salvage work.