THE FOOTBALL FIVE

One didn’t need to say much to get his point across. One would talk to anyone within earshot. Another had his own version of the English language. You were constantly shaking your head trying to figure out what the fourth member of this group really had to say. And then, there was the calculating, efficient approach that still characterizes individual number five to this day.

Five head football coaches at Oklahoma State. Five unique personalities. Five different ways to communicate. Yet, Jim Stanley, Jimmy Johnson , Pat Jones , Bob Simmons and Les Miles all share a common bond. They all had a huge hand in paving the way for the gridiron success that OSU has enjoyed over the last several seasons. And, to steal a line from an old song — they did it their way.

I had the pleasure of working with five of OSU’s last six head football coaches — four on a daily basis while a member of the Oklahoma State athletic department and as color analyst on the Cowboy Radio Network. When you throw in the six years I covered the Cowboys under Stanley’s watch, I probably spent as much time with these men over a 32-year span as I did with some members of my own family.

When I take time to consider that I worked for six different athletic directors and with the five head football coaches mentioned here, I now realize — and appreciate — how hard so many people worked over the last four-plus decades to get this program to where it is right now. That old saying about embracing the past before you can enjoy the future, in my opinion, certainly applies.