Photograph courtesy Miami University
In Oxford, Ohio, there’s something in the water, says athletic director David Sayler. For nearly 100 years, Miami University has been quietly shaping the future of football. Not just local high school sports or college athletics: Some of the National Football League’s legends once coached at Miami University. Bob Kurz, Class of 1958 and Miami sports information director, gave the phenomenon a name, which he used in the title of his 1983 book, Miami of Ohio… The Cradle of Coaches. Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, Ara Parseghian, and more recently, Super Bowl champions John Harbaugh and Sean McVay are all a part of the Cradle of Coaches.
Photograph courtesy Miami University
It isn’t a coincidence that some of the greats started their careers at Miami. In fact, Miami was one of the first universities to offer a four-year course in coaching. “The legends taught at Miami,” says Sayler. “That fed the Cradle [and] it kept producing young people, allowing the Cradle to grow and blossom in its early days.” Weeb Ewbank, who led the then Baltimore Colts to consecutive NFL Championships in 1958 and 1959, was in the first class of students to be enrolled in the four-year course in athletic coaching and physical education.
That investment in coaching education didn’t just start careers. It laid the groundwork for a standard of coaching excellence that still defines the Cradle today and exemplifies Miami’s motto of love and honor. Over time, Miami began formally recognizing the most accomplished coaches through a selective process with a rigorous criteria. In order to be recognized as an official member of the Cradle of Coaches, you must have a Miami University connection either as a graduate, athlete, or coach and then prove coaching excellence by achieving multiple significant accomplishments: winning championships, coaching professionally for 15 or more years, or earning major honors. It’s also possible to earn membership by demonstrating long-term dedication by coaching for at least 20 years with 10 or more years as a head coach. Even with strict parameters, the list of legends is long.
Photograph courtesy Miami University
More than 100 Miami graduates have been active in coaching or administrative work in the professional and collegiate levels and more than 30 of the men and women in the collegiate ranks are currently head coaches. Archivist Jacky Johnson says one of the more surprising items Miami has in its archive of the Cradle are playbooks from former Miami head coach Sid Gillman and the legendary Paul Brown. “I think they are meaningful because most coaches tend to not share their plays,” adds Johnson.
Miami is celebrating the legendary group with a soon-to-be-released documentary, Cradle of Coaches. Watch the trailer.
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