...You have now lost five out of your last six games.
Bo didn't lose five games in five YEARS in the '70s,
and everyone's saying "The wheels are coming off, Bo has lost it."
And if Bo ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
So there they are in the screening room on Sunday,
going over all the bad plays, and Bo is not happy.
Bob Thornblake, the assistant coach who'd been
a player of his in the early '70s, says,
"Bo, we've got a problem on this team."
And Bo's got his reading glasses on,
and he looks up from all the bad stats very slowly,
and he says,
"Coach Thornblake, we have currently lost five of our last six intercollegiate
football contests. I appreciate your astute analysis."
[audience laughter.]
Yeah I read the paper too, pal. Things are not going well. I get it.
And Thornblake says, "No, it's worse than that."
And Bo says, "Well what do you mean?"
"We got guys on this team saying that practices are too long,
We hit too much, and the coaching staff is too tough."
And Bo says, "You're right. That really
is a problem. Who's saying this?" And that's when Thornblake gulps.
Because he knows this is not going to be good news.
He says, "Well, Cannavino for one."
[as Bo:]
BAM! "My captain?!" "Yes, your captain."
"You have FIVE MINUTES to get that man in my office!"
So Cannavino shows up.
A big swashbuckling Italian-American guy, All-Big Ten linebacker,
and he hates Bo too at this point, and he is ready for the showdown.
He's sick of the yelling, sick of the shouting,
and boom, here we're going to go,
mano a mano, and see who's got what.
So: [as Bo:] "Sit down!" Cannavino sits down.
[as Bo, shouting:]
"I understand Mr. Cannavino, we've got guys on this team,
saying that practices are too long, that we hit too much,
and the coaching staff is too tough. Is that accurate?"
Cannavino's got his elbow crooked on the chair like this,
he's glaring right back at Bo, and he says, "Yeah, it is."
[as Bo:]
"Furthermore Mr. Cannavino, I understand that you're one of the
guys saying that. Is that accurate?"
[as Cannavino:]
"Yeah, that's true too."
Last thing he said all day.
Bo puts two fists--two big old meaty fists--right on his desk.
Stands up. BAM!
[as Bo:]
"Mr. Cannavino! Let me tell you something! Your
daddy was an All-American at Ohio State,
and Woody Hayes did not so much as visit your high school.
Didn't want you! We gave you a full ride here at Michigan.
The coaching staff here has made you an All-Big Ten linebacker,
and you've got the nerve, the gall, to tell me that we hit too much,
practices are too long and the coaching
staff is too tough! Mr. Cannavino, I want you to stand up,
for all the great Michigan Men who came before you. The Dierdorfs,
the McKenzies, and tell them we hit too much. Tell
them your practices are too long. Tell them that
your coaching staff is too tough. And Andy,
do you know what they're going to tell you? They'll tell you GROW UP!
Grow up and be a man! We got one problem on this team,
Cannavino, and it's YOU! And until you change YOUR attitude,
we're going nowhere, and it's all going to be your fault!"
[audience laughter and applause]
There was great clarity to Bo's message.
No one ever walked out of Bo's office saying,
"What the hell did he mean by that exactly? Man that guy is hard to read."
Tears are coming down the tough guy's face.
Cannavino got the message. His elbow is off the table.
His hands are in his lap, shaking.
Tears are coming down the tough guy's face.
Things have changed quite a bit in the last 60 seconds.
He leaves that room shaking like a leaf.
The coaching staff hears the whole thing,
and they're sacred witless because you just called out your captain.
You're ready for a mutiny. The whole thing is about to erupt.
Bo for the first time is about to lose one of his teams.
These guys come running around to Bo's office, very concerned.
Jerry Hanlon leads the pack.
Bo is back in his chair by now, the steam is coming off,
Bo's spent himself.
And Jerry says, "Wow, Bo, that was really something."
And Bo thinks about that and he says, "Yes it was."
[audience laughter]
Hanlon says, "Well, what do you think Cannavino's going to do now?"
And Bo ponders that and he says,
"You know, Jerry, I really can't tell you that. But I can
tell you one thing: I feel a hell of a lot better."
[audience laughter]
What happens next? Bo is on fire. They expected that.
What they didn't expect is that Cannavino's worse.
Cannavino's all over his defensive guys,
making them do sit-ups and push-ups and laps,
and do it again, and finally one of
his guys--one of his friends--says,
"Man Cannavino, what got into you? You used to be cool, man."
Cannavino says, "You know, I've done a lot of thinking last night,
and it occurs to me, I am the captain of this defense.
I no longer care if you guys like me,
I no longer care if you guys think I'm popular. I only care about
one thing from now on: I am not going back to that damn office!"
[audience laughter]
What happens next?
They rattle off nine straight victories, undefeated in the Big Ten,
including Bo's first Rose Bowl victory in about six tries, 23 to 6.
More impressive, the last 24 quarters of that season,
almost half the year, no one crosses Michigan's goal line.
Not one touchdown against. Now here's the lesson.
If you've got a problem with someone,
talk to the person you have the problem with, and no one else.
And if you're not willing to do that, you have to drop it.
Once you've done that, the problem is theirs, not yours.
If they solve the problem, give them the credit, not you.
And finally, after all is said and done, you can hold no grudges.
You ask Bo, what was his best defense of all time?
He'd never say, "1980," or "my defense," he always said,
"Cannavino's defense."
You ask him, who was your best captain of all time?
And no coach will ever touch this.
But Bo will say in a heartbeat,
"Easy. Andy Cannavino. Not only was he the best captain I ever had,
he was the best coach I ever had. They were following him,
not me, by the end of that year. He was the best of all time."
And Cannavino and Bo were thick as thieves until the day Bo died.
And no one took it harder than Cannavino.