WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.740 You know, we talk a lot about winning in sports. 00:00:02.100 --> 00:00:04.440 It's a word that gets thrown around so casually 00:00:04.440 --> 00:00:07.120 that it almost loses its meaning. Oh, absolutely. 00:00:07.459 --> 00:00:10.039 It's completely deleted. We call a coach a winner 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:12.699 if they have, what, two good seasons in a row? 00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:15.179 Or if he managed to scrape together a bowl victory? 00:00:15.500 --> 00:00:18.120 Right, or they hit a .600 zero winning percentage 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:20.519 and we're ready to build them a statue. We lower 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:25.100 the bar because, frankly, winning is hard. Sustaining 00:00:25.100 --> 00:00:27.660 it is nearly impossible. It is the hardest thing 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:30.440 in sports. Entropy comes for everyone eventually. 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:32.560 You see it with dynasties all the time. They 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:35.119 rise, they peak, and then the inevitable decline 00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:38.579 sets in. Gravity takes over. Exactly. But today, 00:00:38.780 --> 00:00:41.420 we are looking at a figure who seems to have 00:00:41.420 --> 00:00:44.320 defied gravity. We are talking about a man who 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:47.520 didn't just win. He dominated so thoroughly and 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:50.240 for so long that his record looks like a statistical 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:52.920 anomaly. It looks like a typo, is what it looks 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:54.979 like. It really does. We're talking about John 00:00:54.979 --> 00:00:57.859 Merritt. Big John. Big John is the only name 00:00:57.859 --> 00:01:00.140 that fits. The footprint he left on college football 00:01:00.140 --> 00:01:02.799 is massive, even if the mainstream history books 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:05.480 sometimes unjustly gloss over it. Well, let's 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:07.060 just drop the number right at the top, because 00:01:07.060 --> 00:01:09.000 I think if we bury this, people won't understand 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:11.060 the scale of what we're discussing. Let's do 00:01:11.060 --> 00:01:13.780 it. During his tenure at Tennessee State, John 00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:17.219 Merritt had a career -winning percentage of .828. 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:22.540 .828. Let's sit with that for a second. That 00:01:22.540 --> 00:01:24.780 is winning more than four out of every five games. 00:01:24.939 --> 00:01:27.079 It's winning eight out of every ten, basically. 00:01:27.099 --> 00:01:30.099 Every single year for two decades. In modern 00:01:30.099 --> 00:01:32.599 football, if a coach wins 60 % of their games, 00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:35.900 they get a statue. If they win 70%, they are 00:01:35.900 --> 00:01:39.019 a legend. Merritt was operating in the 80s. It 00:01:39.019 --> 00:01:41.180 is rare air. You are talking about a percentage 00:01:41.180 --> 00:01:43.260 that rivals the absolute greatest to ever do 00:01:43.260 --> 00:01:46.219 it at any level. Newt Rockne, Frank Leahy. Those 00:01:46.219 --> 00:01:48.060 are the kinds of names you have to invoke. Right. 00:01:48.349 --> 00:01:50.530 But what makes Merritt's .828 so compelling to 00:01:50.530 --> 00:01:53.689 me isn't just the math. It's the context. He 00:01:53.689 --> 00:01:56.489 wasn't inheriting a fully oiled machine at Alabama 00:01:56.489 --> 00:02:04.569 or Notre Dame. He was doing it during one of 00:02:04.569 --> 00:02:06.810 the most tumultuous eras in American history. 00:02:07.129 --> 00:02:09.270 That is the key, isn't it? He wasn't just an 00:02:09.270 --> 00:02:12.620 X's and O's guy. He was a figurehead. A pillar. 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:15.699 When you look at his total career record, 235 00:02:15.699 --> 00:02:19.860 wins, 70 losses, 12 ties, that represents a level 00:02:19.860 --> 00:02:22.419 of consistency that is almost humanly impossible. 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:25.740 It is. He turned programs into powerhouses, but 00:02:25.740 --> 00:02:28.159 he also built a legacy that literally reshapes 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:31.039 the cities he lived in. Quite literally. We are 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:33.460 talking about a man who has bridges and boulevards 00:02:33.460 --> 00:02:36.139 named after him. You don't get municipal infrastructure 00:02:36.139 --> 00:02:38.419 named after you just because you called a good 00:02:38.419 --> 00:02:40.719 play on third and long. Not usually, no. You 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:42.340 get it because you meant something to the soul 00:02:42.340 --> 00:02:44.879 of the community. So that is our mission today. 00:02:44.979 --> 00:02:48.419 We are going to unpack the life of one of college 00:02:48.419 --> 00:02:50.580 football's greatest winners. We're going to look 00:02:50.580 --> 00:02:52.759 at how he did it, obviously. But I also want 00:02:52.759 --> 00:02:55.080 to look at the who. Who was Big John? The man 00:02:55.080 --> 00:02:57.699 behind the numbers. Yes. We need to talk about 00:02:57.699 --> 00:03:00.379 the NFL legends he molded, and I mean absolute 00:03:00.379 --> 00:03:02.860 titans of the game. And we have to discuss a 00:03:02.860 --> 00:03:07.199 specific moment in 1973, a what -if moment that 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:09.300 could have changed the entire trajectory of college 00:03:09.300 --> 00:03:12.840 football history. That 1973 moment is the pivot 00:03:12.840 --> 00:03:15.900 point of his entire biography. It tells you everything 00:03:15.900 --> 00:03:17.879 you need to know about his character. But before 00:03:17.879 --> 00:03:20.219 we get to the dynasty and the difficult decisions, 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:23.479 we have to go back to the start. To understand 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:25.500 the coach, I think we have to understand the 00:03:25.500 --> 00:03:28.180 player. Absolutely. You cannot separate the two. 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:32.400 It all starts there. Okay, so John Ayers Merritt, 00:03:32.500 --> 00:03:38.060 born January 26, 1926. Falmouth, Kentucky. Now 00:03:38.060 --> 00:03:41.300 think about that time and place. 1926 in Kentucky. 00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:44.020 He is growing up in the Depression, coming of 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:46.099 age during World War II. It's a different world. 00:03:46.199 --> 00:03:48.259 A completely different world. That breeds a certain 00:03:48.259 --> 00:03:50.460 type of toughness, a certain type of pragmatism. 00:03:50.520 --> 00:03:52.500 You don't have the luxury of being frivolous. 00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:55.340 Life is about survival and hard work. And... 00:03:55.550 --> 00:03:57.669 He stays in state for his education. He goes 00:03:57.669 --> 00:04:00.090 to Kentucky State University, graduates in 1950. 00:04:00.389 --> 00:04:02.610 Right, an alumnus. But his playing days were 00:04:02.610 --> 00:04:06.210 from 1947 to 1949. And this, to me, is where 00:04:06.210 --> 00:04:08.629 the first breadcrumb of his coaching genius lies. 00:04:09.090 --> 00:04:11.849 He wasn't the star quarterback. No, and he wasn't 00:04:11.849 --> 00:04:13.150 the flash -in -the -pan running back either. 00:04:13.189 --> 00:04:14.849 Not the guy getting his name in the headlines 00:04:14.849 --> 00:04:17.470 every week. He was a guard. An interior lineman. 00:04:17.670 --> 00:04:19.930 Now, I have a theory about this, and I want to 00:04:19.930 --> 00:04:22.180 see if you agree. I feel like some of the best 00:04:22.180 --> 00:04:24.939 coaches in history come from positions where 00:04:24.939 --> 00:04:27.980 they had to understand the entire game, not just 00:04:27.980 --> 00:04:30.100 their own route or their own throwing lane. Yeah. 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:34.600 But a guard, that feels specific. I think you 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:36.300 are onto something, but I would take it a step 00:04:36.300 --> 00:04:39.279 further. Think about what a guard does. You're 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:41.259 in a phone booth. You are in a phone booth fight 00:04:41.259 --> 00:04:44.899 on every single snap. It is physical, brutal, 00:04:45.100 --> 00:04:48.360 unglamorous work. It's all leverage and pain. 00:04:48.540 --> 00:04:51.000 And no one ever chants your name. Never. But 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:53.839 it is also highly technical. As a guard, you 00:04:53.839 --> 00:04:55.660 have to know leverage. You have to know angles. 00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:57.079 You have to know how to use your hands, your 00:04:57.079 --> 00:05:01.079 feet, your hips in perfect concert. And maybe 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:03.819 most importantly, you have to be unselfish. Absolutely. 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:06.720 Your entire job is to clear a path for someone 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:09.160 else to get the glory. Your success is measured 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:11.339 by someone else's touchdown. That is a great 00:05:11.339 --> 00:05:13.980 point. You are literally the shield, the unsung 00:05:13.980 --> 00:05:16.889 hero of every single successful play. Exactly. 00:05:16.910 --> 00:05:19.990 So if you are a coach who played guard, you understand 00:05:19.990 --> 00:05:22.829 the foundational elements of the game. You understand 00:05:22.829 --> 00:05:25.389 that the game isn't won by the guy spiking the 00:05:25.389 --> 00:05:27.649 ball in the end zone. It is won by the guy who 00:05:27.649 --> 00:05:29.889 made the block three seconds earlier. Yeah. That 00:05:29.889 --> 00:05:33.220 mindset that. In the Trenches mentality permeates 00:05:33.220 --> 00:05:36.100 Merritt's entire career. He built his teams from 00:05:36.100 --> 00:05:38.339 the inside out. He always started with the line 00:05:38.339 --> 00:05:41.079 of scrimmage. And it suggests a level of toughness 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:43.639 that you can't fake. If you're standing in front 00:05:43.639 --> 00:05:46.019 of a team of young men and you are telling them 00:05:46.019 --> 00:05:48.620 to get tough, to get their nose dirty. It helps 00:05:48.620 --> 00:05:50.639 if you've been there. It helps if you have the 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:52.899 scars to prove you've done it yourself. Credibility 00:05:52.899 --> 00:05:56.240 is currency in coaching. And Big John had that 00:05:56.240 --> 00:05:59.360 currency in spades. But here is the contradiction 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:02.639 or maybe the compliment to that brute force background. 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:05.980 He wasn't just a football guy. Right. This surprised 00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:10.019 me. He graduates in 1950 and almost immediately 00:06:10.019 --> 00:06:12.939 pivots to higher education. He earns a master's 00:06:12.939 --> 00:06:15.279 degree from the University of Kentucky in 1952. 00:06:15.399 --> 00:06:17.399 That is a very distinct choice. It's not the 00:06:17.399 --> 00:06:19.579 path of least resistance. Not at all. I mean, 00:06:19.579 --> 00:06:21.620 plenty of guys finish playing and just go get 00:06:21.620 --> 00:06:24.240 a job. Or they jump right into coaching as a 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:26.779 graduate assistant, a grunt. But to go get a 00:06:26.779 --> 00:06:30.040 master's degree in the early 50s. It signals 00:06:30.040 --> 00:06:33.509 ambition, but it also signals intellect. It shows 00:06:33.509 --> 00:06:36.089 he saw a bigger picture. It signals that he viewed 00:06:36.089 --> 00:06:39.170 coaching as a profession, as a discipline that 00:06:39.170 --> 00:06:41.490 required study. He wasn't just going to rely 00:06:41.490 --> 00:06:43.930 on his gut or yell louder than the next guy. 00:06:44.069 --> 00:06:46.509 No, he was bringing an academic rigor to his 00:06:46.509 --> 00:06:48.850 approach. He was a student of the game, yes, 00:06:48.970 --> 00:06:51.449 but he was also just a student, period. He valued 00:06:51.449 --> 00:06:53.829 education, not just for his players, but for 00:06:53.829 --> 00:06:56.509 himself. It sets the stage for the nickname Big 00:06:56.509 --> 00:06:59.449 John to mean something more than just physical 00:06:59.449 --> 00:07:02.180 size. It was a... Bigness of personality, sure, 00:07:02.300 --> 00:07:04.740 but also a bigness of mind. That's it. He was 00:07:04.740 --> 00:07:07.160 an intellectual approach to a violent game. And 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:10.060 that combination, the guard's toughness and the 00:07:10.060 --> 00:07:12.740 scholar's mind, is a terrifying combination for 00:07:12.740 --> 00:07:14.839 an opponent. You can't outthink him and you can't 00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:17.279 out -tough him. So he has the degree. He has 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:19.660 the playing experience. Now he needs a team. 00:07:19.980 --> 00:07:23.300 And he lands his first head coaching gig at Jackson 00:07:23.300 --> 00:07:25.660 State. Well, back then it was Jackson College. 00:07:25.860 --> 00:07:29.120 Right. This is the early 1950s, his first shot 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:31.399 at running the whole show. He takes over around 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:35.560 1952 or 53, and his tenure there runs until 1962. 00:07:36.180 --> 00:07:38.680 Now, looking at the back end of his career, we 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:40.860 see all these undefeated seasons and championships. 00:07:41.100 --> 00:07:43.500 So it is easy to assume he just walked into Jackson 00:07:43.500 --> 00:07:45.240 State and started winning immediately. But that 00:07:45.240 --> 00:07:47.439 is not what happened. And I think this is crucial 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:50.220 for the listeners to understand. Merritt wasn't 00:07:50.220 --> 00:07:53.120 a magician. He was a builder. And building takes 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:56.529 time. I'm looking at the record here. 1952, his 00:07:56.529 --> 00:07:59.069 first year. Three wins, five losses, one tie. 00:07:59.230 --> 00:08:01.649 Not great. A losing season right out of the gate. 00:08:01.750 --> 00:08:04.910 1953, slightly better at 5 -4. A winning record, 00:08:05.050 --> 00:08:07.110 but just barely. Okay, some progress. Moving 00:08:07.110 --> 00:08:10.430 in the right direction. But then, 1954. This 00:08:10.430 --> 00:08:12.430 is the nadir. This is the moment where most careers 00:08:12.430 --> 00:08:15.170 would end. Oh, this is the test. One win, seven 00:08:15.170 --> 00:08:17.689 losses. One or one tie. A one -win season. If 00:08:17.689 --> 00:08:20.129 that happens today. If a coach is in his third 00:08:20.129 --> 00:08:23.000 year and he puts up a 1 -7 record. He is cleaning 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:25.040 out his office the next morning. The moving trucks 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:28.000 are already there. Almost certainly. The patience 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:30.480 for building has evaporated in modern sports. 00:08:30.860 --> 00:08:33.200 But think about what that season must have felt 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:36.759 like. You are a young coach. You have this master's 00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:39.200 degree. You have these big ideas. And you are 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:43.120 getting beaten every single week. Humiliating. 00:08:43.159 --> 00:08:45.879 It has to be. That tests your resolve. It tests 00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:49.059 your philosophy. Do you panic? Do you change 00:08:49.059 --> 00:08:51.639 everything? Do you start pointing fingers? That 00:08:51.639 --> 00:08:54.240 is the question. Did he change? He didn't. From 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:56.220 everything we can gather, he doubled down on 00:08:56.220 --> 00:08:58.620 his culture. He weeded out the players who weren't 00:08:58.620 --> 00:09:01.299 buying in. He established the standard. He made 00:09:01.299 --> 00:09:03.440 it clear that mediocrity wasn't an option, even 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:04.860 when the scoreboard said they were worse than 00:09:04.860 --> 00:09:07.360 mediocre. He trusted the process, as they say 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:09.700 now. He did. And usually right after the darkest 00:09:09.700 --> 00:09:11.720 moment is when the breakthrough happens, if you 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:13.409 survive it. And the breakthrough was dramatic. 00:09:13.710 --> 00:09:17.590 Two years later, 1956, they go 6 -2 -2. That 00:09:17.590 --> 00:09:19.830 is the pivot. That's the moment the ship turns 00:09:19.830 --> 00:09:22.429 around. From one win to six wins in two years. 00:09:22.629 --> 00:09:25.269 And from there, the rocket ship takes off. The 00:09:25.269 --> 00:09:29.070 foundation is set. By 1961, they are 9 -2. He 00:09:29.070 --> 00:09:31.129 took a program that was literally at the bottom 00:09:31.129 --> 00:09:33.730 winning one game and within a few years turned 00:09:33.730 --> 00:09:36.289 them into a nine -win juggernaut. That is the 00:09:36.289 --> 00:09:38.769 definition of coaching. Right. Anybody can drive 00:09:38.769 --> 00:09:41.429 a Ferrari across the finish line. Merritt took 00:09:41.429 --> 00:09:43.889 a beat -up sedan, rebuilt the engine piece by 00:09:43.889 --> 00:09:46.450 piece, and won the race. And they didn't just 00:09:46.450 --> 00:09:49.549 win games, they won titles. SWAC champions in 00:09:49.549 --> 00:09:53.549 1961 and 1962. And the SWAC, we need to contextualize 00:09:53.549 --> 00:09:56.169 this. The Southwestern Athletic Conference, this 00:09:56.169 --> 00:09:58.710 is historic territory. We're talking about grambling 00:09:58.710 --> 00:10:01.909 under Eddie Robinson, Southern, Jackson State, 00:10:02.110 --> 00:10:04.960 Alcorn State. It's a murderer's row. Winning 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:07.500 the SWAC in the early 60s is like winning the 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:10.980 SEC today. It was a gauntlet of legendary coaches 00:10:10.980 --> 00:10:12.980 and incredible talent. And winning that conference 00:10:12.980 --> 00:10:16.039 led them to the Orange Blossom Classic. The biggest 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:18.639 stage there was. The granddaddy of them all for 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:21.200 HBCUs. For listeners who might not know, explain 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:23.159 the significance of the Orange Blossom Classic 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:25.450 in that era. You have to remember this is before 00:10:25.450 --> 00:10:29.029 full integration of the NCAA bowl system. For 00:10:29.029 --> 00:10:32.129 decades, black college teams were excluded from 00:10:32.129 --> 00:10:34.669 the major bowls like the Rose Bowl or Sugar Bowl. 00:10:34.850 --> 00:10:37.659 So they created their own championship. Their 00:10:37.659 --> 00:10:40.139 own pinnacle. Exactly. The Orange Blossom Classic, 00:10:40.379 --> 00:10:43.120 usually played in Miami, was effectively the 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:45.620 Super Bowl of black college football. It was 00:10:45.620 --> 00:10:48.720 the event. The national media covered it. It 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:51.279 was where the champion was crowned. If you were 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:53.399 playing in the Orange Blossom, you were the elite 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:55.460 of the elite. And Merritt took Jackson State 00:10:55.460 --> 00:10:57.980 there back to back. Which is incredible consistency. 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:00.740 It's one thing to have a great season. It's another 00:11:00.740 --> 00:11:02.779 to do it two years in a row and establish yourself 00:11:02.779 --> 00:11:05.519 as the dominant force. 1961, they go and they 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:07.690 lose. A taste of the big time, but they fall 00:11:07.690 --> 00:11:11.649 short. But 1962, they go back and they win. The 00:11:11.649 --> 00:11:14.529 team goes 10 -1. Think about that arc. 1954, 00:11:15.169 --> 00:11:18.210 1 -7, losing nearly every game. The program is 00:11:18.210 --> 00:11:21.929 an afterthought. Eight years later, 1962, 10 00:11:21.929 --> 00:11:25.009 -1 and Orange Blossom champions. They are the 00:11:25.009 --> 00:11:27.669 best in the nation. That decade at Jackson State 00:11:27.669 --> 00:11:30.490 was his proof of concept. He proved that his 00:11:30.490 --> 00:11:32.970 system worked. He proved that he could take nothing 00:11:32.970 --> 00:11:35.509 and turn it into everything. His final record 00:11:35.509 --> 00:11:40.049 there, 63 -37 -5. He left the program in a completely 00:11:40.049 --> 00:11:41.850 different universe than where he found it. And 00:11:41.850 --> 00:11:43.529 that's when other people start to notice. When 00:11:43.529 --> 00:11:45.529 you build a champion like that, the phone starts 00:11:45.529 --> 00:11:49.769 ringing. So by 1963, he has nothing left to prove 00:11:49.769 --> 00:11:52.990 at Jackson State. He is a champion. And Tennessee 00:11:52.990 --> 00:11:55.149 A &I, which eventually becomes Tennessee State 00:11:55.149 --> 00:11:56.870 University, comes calling. And this is where 00:11:56.870 --> 00:11:59.409 the story shifts from a great coach to a legend. 00:11:59.730 --> 00:12:03.100 He moves to Nashville in 1963. And unlike Jackson 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:04.840 State, where he had to dig them out of a hole 00:12:04.840 --> 00:12:07.179 at Tennessee State, he hit the ground running. 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:09.379 Immediate impact. There was no learning curve 00:12:09.379 --> 00:12:12.639 this time. 1963, his first year. Yeah. 6 -3. 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:16.460 1964, 8 -2. He established the culture much faster 00:12:16.460 --> 00:12:18.320 this time, probably because he was bringing that 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:20.399 confidence, that championship pedigree with him. 00:12:20.460 --> 00:12:22.480 He knew exactly what the blueprint was now. And 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:26.840 then the explosion. 1965 and 1966. The golden 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:29.720 years. This is where the dynasty is truly born. 00:12:30.019 --> 00:12:37.019 1965. 9 -0 -1, 1966, 10 -arrow. Undefeated, back 00:12:37.019 --> 00:12:39.340 -to -back, just utter dominance. This is where 00:12:39.340 --> 00:12:42.039 that .828 percentage really starts to bake in. 00:12:42.179 --> 00:12:44.620 He wasn't just winning, he was unbeatable. You 00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:46.860 just did not beat a John Merritt team in the 00:12:46.860 --> 00:12:49.080 mid -60s. And it wasn't a fluke. It wasn't one 00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:51.080 great recruiting class. When you look at his 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:53.740 entire tenure at Tennessee State, he had four 00:12:53.740 --> 00:12:57.080 undefeated seasons. Four. That's absurd. Most 00:12:57.080 --> 00:12:59.620 coaches pray for one undefeated season in a 30 00:12:59.620 --> 00:13:02.600 -year career. Merritt had four. And these weren't 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:04.379 cupcake schedules. He was playing against the 00:13:04.379 --> 00:13:06.720 best of the best. And the championships kept 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:08.899 stacking up. I have the list here. It's just 00:13:08.899 --> 00:13:10.460 relentless. Read it out. It's worth hearing. 00:13:10.620 --> 00:13:13.320 Black College National Championships in 65, 66, 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:17.179 70, 71, 73, 79, 82. It's relentless. That spans 00:13:17.179 --> 00:13:19.419 three different decades. It does. The game changed 00:13:19.419 --> 00:13:23.100 so much between 1965 and 1982. The rules changed. 00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:25.960 The style of play changed. The recruiting landscape 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:28.720 changed dramatically with integration. That's 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:31.279 a great point. A coach who wins in the 60s off. 00:13:31.340 --> 00:13:33.779 and struggles in the 80s because they become 00:13:33.779 --> 00:13:36.299 a dinosaur. They refuse to adapt. They're still 00:13:36.299 --> 00:13:38.320 trying to run the wishbone when everyone else 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:39.899 is throwing the ball. Right, the game passes 00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:43.379 them by. But Merritt was winning titles 20 years 00:13:43.379 --> 00:13:45.519 apart. That shows he was a constant innovator. 00:13:45.659 --> 00:13:47.879 But it also speaks to his adaptability, and you 00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:51.509 mentioned it before, his eye for talent. He wasn't 00:13:51.509 --> 00:13:53.289 just winning with scheme. He was winning with 00:13:53.289 --> 00:13:55.470 players. Oh, he was winning with absolute dogs. 00:13:55.750 --> 00:13:57.490 And this is where we have to talk about the pipeline. 00:13:57.710 --> 00:14:00.009 The talent factory. Tennessee State under Merritt 00:14:00.009 --> 00:14:02.250 became an absolute conveyor belt to the NFL. 00:14:02.889 --> 00:14:05.490 He was identifying and developing talent at a 00:14:05.490 --> 00:14:07.549 level that rivaled any school in the country. 00:14:07.730 --> 00:14:10.129 We are not talking about fringe roster guys here. 00:14:10.149 --> 00:14:11.929 We are not talking about guys who made a practice 00:14:11.929 --> 00:14:14.070 squad for a year. No, no. We are talking about 00:14:14.070 --> 00:14:17.730 household names. Legends. Let's run down the 00:14:17.730 --> 00:14:20.149 list because it's incredible. Ed Tutal Jones. 00:14:20.889 --> 00:14:23.889 Maybe the most famous defensive end of his era. 00:14:24.190 --> 00:14:27.830 A cultural icon. The first overall pick in the 00:14:27.830 --> 00:14:32.049 1974 NFL draft. The first pick from Tennessee 00:14:32.049 --> 00:14:34.970 State. Think about that. The Dallas Cowboys, 00:14:35.129 --> 00:14:37.649 America's team, had the number one pick in the 00:14:37.649 --> 00:14:40.389 entire draft. And they went to Nashville, Tennessee 00:14:40.389 --> 00:14:43.370 to John Merritt's program to find their cornerstone 00:14:43.370 --> 00:14:46.129 player. That tells you everything about the respect 00:14:46.129 --> 00:14:50.409 he commanded. Okay, next name, Joe Gilliam. Jefferson 00:14:50.409 --> 00:14:53.330 Street Joe. A trailblazing quarterback. One of 00:14:53.330 --> 00:14:55.429 the first black quarterbacks to start in the 00:14:55.429 --> 00:14:58.649 modern NFL for the Steelers. He had an absolute 00:14:58.649 --> 00:15:01.590 cannon for an arm. Claude Humphrey. Hall of Famer, 00:15:01.710 --> 00:15:04.529 six -time Pro Bowler, Defensive Rookie of the 00:15:04.529 --> 00:15:06.990 Year, an absolute terror off the edge for the 00:15:06.990 --> 00:15:10.190 Falcons. Mike Hegman, a linebacker for the Cowboys, 00:15:10.230 --> 00:15:13.049 won a Super Bowl. And the big one. Richard Dent. 00:15:13.230 --> 00:15:17.149 Richard Dent, the MVP of Super Bowl XX, a Chicago 00:15:17.149 --> 00:15:20.070 Bears icon, Hall of Famer. One of the greatest 00:15:20.070 --> 00:15:22.110 pass rushers of all time. He was the engine of 00:15:22.110 --> 00:15:24.649 that legendary 85 Bears defense. Now, I want 00:15:24.649 --> 00:15:26.190 to go back to your theory about Merritt playing 00:15:26.190 --> 00:15:28.330 guard. Sure. Look at those names again. Two tall 00:15:28.330 --> 00:15:31.809 Jones, Claude Humphrey, Richard Dent, Mike Hagman. 00:15:31.970 --> 00:15:34.350 What do they have in common? They're all defensive 00:15:34.350 --> 00:15:36.990 front seven players. They are the guys whose 00:15:36.990 --> 00:15:40.169 job it is to beat the offensive line. They live 00:15:40.169 --> 00:15:41.850 on the other side of the line of scrimmage from 00:15:41.850 --> 00:15:44.909 where Merritt lived. Exactly. Is it a coincidence 00:15:44.909 --> 00:15:48.509 that a former guard, a guy who spent his entire 00:15:48.509 --> 00:15:51.429 career battling defensive linemen, became the 00:15:51.429 --> 00:15:53.649 world's greatest recruiter and developer of defensive 00:15:53.649 --> 00:15:56.250 ends and linebackers? I don't think it is a coincidence 00:15:56.250 --> 00:15:59.259 at all. I think it is genius. Merritt knew exactly 00:15:59.259 --> 00:16:01.899 what gave him nightmares as a player. He knew 00:16:01.899 --> 00:16:04.480 what moves worked against a guard. He knew what 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:06.519 kind of leverage, what kind of hand placement 00:16:06.519 --> 00:16:09.179 made an offensive lineman uncomfortable. We knew 00:16:09.179 --> 00:16:11.759 all their secrets. All of them. So when he was 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:13.860 coaching these young defensive giants, these 00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:16.279 incredible athletes like Too Tall or Richard 00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:19.360 Dent, he wasn't just teaching them generic defense. 00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:22.059 He was giving them the cheat codes to beat the 00:16:22.059 --> 00:16:24.120 offense. He was reverse engineering his own position. 00:16:24.649 --> 00:16:26.929 Precisely. He could look at Ed Too Tall Jones 00:16:26.929 --> 00:16:29.509 and say, look, you're six foot nine. If you get 00:16:29.509 --> 00:16:31.850 your hands here and you use a long arm technique 00:16:31.850 --> 00:16:35.110 like this, the guard physically cannot stop you. 00:16:35.230 --> 00:16:37.590 I know because I was that guard and that's what 00:16:37.590 --> 00:16:39.590 beat me. He's teaching them from the enemy's 00:16:39.590 --> 00:16:42.350 perspective. And the result was a defensive legacy 00:16:42.350 --> 00:16:45.129 that stands up against any program in the country, 00:16:45.330 --> 00:16:49.289 Alabama, USC, whoever. In the 70s and 80s, Tennessee 00:16:49.289 --> 00:16:53.519 State was D -line U. And that success? That ability 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:57.179 to produce NFL stars raised Merritt's profile 00:16:57.179 --> 00:16:59.899 significantly. By the early 70s, he wasn't just 00:16:59.899 --> 00:17:02.259 a great HBCU coach. He was just a great coach, 00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:04.819 period. Everyone knew it. The NFL scouts knew 00:17:04.819 --> 00:17:07.700 it. The other college coaches knew it. His name 00:17:07.700 --> 00:17:10.339 was being whispered in circles that just a decade 00:17:10.339 --> 00:17:12.759 earlier would have been completely closed off. 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:16.519 Which brings us to 1973, the moment of truth. 00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:19.460 The fork in the road. Merritt is coming off back 00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:22.160 -to -back -to -back dominant seasons. He's won 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:24.799 national championships in 70 and 71. He's about 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:27.519 to win another in 73. His stock is at an all 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:30.240 -time high. He's arguably one of the top five 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:32.819 coaches in all of college football at that moment, 00:17:32.859 --> 00:17:35.019 regardless of division. And he gets a phone call 00:17:35.019 --> 00:17:37.740 from Wichita State. Now, we need to set the scene. 00:17:38.180 --> 00:17:42.039 1973. This is still the very early days of integration 00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:44.549 and coaching. You had black assistant coaches, 00:17:44.730 --> 00:17:47.410 sure. But the head coaching ranks at the major 00:17:47.410 --> 00:17:49.769 college level, what we would call the FBS or 00:17:49.769 --> 00:17:53.029 Division IA today, were still exclusively white 00:17:53.029 --> 00:17:55.210 at the top. Completely. A total glass ceiling. 00:17:55.450 --> 00:17:57.890 Wichita State offers John Merritt their head 00:17:57.890 --> 00:18:01.609 coaching job, a major Division IA program. If 00:18:01.609 --> 00:18:03.690 he takes that job. He becomes the first black 00:18:03.690 --> 00:18:06.029 head coach of a major college football team in 00:18:06.029 --> 00:18:08.390 history. It's a Jackie Robinson moment waiting 00:18:08.390 --> 00:18:10.450 to happen. It is historic. It is groundbreaking. 00:18:11.889 --> 00:18:14.269 Frankly, it is lucrative. The resources, the 00:18:14.269 --> 00:18:16.990 pay, the national exposure on television every 00:18:16.990 --> 00:18:18.869 week. Everything would have leveled up. The contract 00:18:18.869 --> 00:18:20.970 was likely sitting right there. The pen was probably 00:18:20.970 --> 00:18:23.470 in his hand. The history books were open, waiting 00:18:23.470 --> 00:18:25.470 for him to write his name in a new chapter. A 00:18:25.470 --> 00:18:27.650 chapter that would have changed everything for 00:18:27.650 --> 00:18:29.250 the coaches who came after him. He would have 00:18:29.250 --> 00:18:31.450 been the pioneer. And he didn't sign. He turned 00:18:31.450 --> 00:18:33.930 it down. He said no. He stayed at Tennessee State. 00:18:34.170 --> 00:18:37.900 Why? I mean, really, why? We see coaches jump 00:18:37.900 --> 00:18:40.160 ship today for a slightly nicer locker room or 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:42.279 a few extra dollars. He had the chance to make 00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:44.660 history and get paid. It is the question that 00:18:44.660 --> 00:18:47.799 defines him. And the answer is just as defining. 00:18:48.019 --> 00:18:51.200 The source quotes him directly on this. He said 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:54.599 he chose to remain out of loyalty to his players 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:58.279 and assistants. It sounds almost quaint today, 00:18:58.380 --> 00:19:00.819 doesn't it? In the era of the transfer portal 00:19:00.819 --> 00:19:02.740 and coaches leaving in the middle of the night. 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:05.059 But think about what that means. It means everything. 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:07.700 He looked at the young men he had recruited to 00:19:07.700 --> 00:19:10.059 Tennessee State guys he sat in living rooms with 00:19:10.059 --> 00:19:12.319 and promised their mothers he would take care 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:15.279 of. He looked at his assistant coaches, guys 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:17.579 who had been grinding with him since the Jackson 00:19:17.579 --> 00:19:20.619 State days, who depended on him for their livelihood. 00:19:20.940 --> 00:19:23.220 And he felt he couldn't leave them. He realized 00:19:23.220 --> 00:19:25.880 that if he left for his own personal glory, he 00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:28.799 might be leaving them behind. He couldn't guarantee 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:31.099 that Wichita State would hire his whole staff. 00:19:31.460 --> 00:19:33.900 He couldn't guarantee that the players he recruited 00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:35.859 would be treated the same way by a new coach. 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:38.920 He chose his community over his own personal 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:41.839 glory. And I think there is a deeper layer, too. 00:19:42.539 --> 00:19:45.380 I think he knew. that what he had at Tennessee 00:19:45.380 --> 00:19:48.160 State was special. He had autonomy. He had respect. 00:19:48.380 --> 00:19:50.759 He was the king of his castle. Right. He was 00:19:50.759 --> 00:19:54.559 building young black men into leaders in an environment 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:56.859 that was designed for them, that celebrated them 00:19:56.859 --> 00:19:59.559 going to Wichita State. That would have been 00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:01.400 a battle. He would have been fighting not just 00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:04.180 opponents on the field, but likely racism and 00:20:04.180 --> 00:20:06.900 skepticism off the field every single day. That's 00:20:06.900 --> 00:20:08.660 a fair assessment. He was king in Nashville. 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:10.740 In Wichita, he would have been an experiment. 00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:13.980 Exactly. And by staying, he made a powerful statement. 00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:17.039 He essentially said, I don't need a PWI, a predominantly 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:20.480 white institution, to validate me. My championships 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:23.710 are real. My players are real. I am a champion 00:20:23.710 --> 00:20:26.369 right here. And honestly, that decision probably 00:20:26.369 --> 00:20:29.589 cemented his legend in Nashville more than any 00:20:29.589 --> 00:20:31.970 win ever could. Oh, absolutely. It proved he 00:20:31.970 --> 00:20:35.029 was Big John, the man, not just the coach. He 00:20:35.029 --> 00:20:37.470 was loyal to the soil. The players would run 00:20:37.470 --> 00:20:39.569 through a brick wall for a coach who turned down 00:20:39.569 --> 00:20:42.089 history for them. And he proved he made the right 00:20:42.089 --> 00:20:44.250 call by just keeping on winning. Yeah. It wasn't 00:20:44.250 --> 00:20:46.089 like he stayed and got complacent. He didn't 00:20:46.089 --> 00:20:48.670 rest on his laurels. No. Machine kept humming. 00:20:48.789 --> 00:20:51.220 If anything, it got stronger. We look at the 00:20:51.220 --> 00:20:55.619 late career stats. 1979, 8 -3, black college 00:20:55.619 --> 00:20:59.240 national champs again. But 1982 stands out to 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:02.539 me. 1982 is a crucial year for context. They 00:21:02.539 --> 00:21:05.519 go 10 -1 -1, another national championship. But 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:08.319 this was also the era where the NCAA started 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:11.740 the Division IAA playoffs. The structure of the 00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:14.990 sport. Right. This is the beginning of the modern 00:21:14.990 --> 00:21:17.130 era. It wasn't just about bowl games and polvos 00:21:17.130 --> 00:21:19.690 anymore. There was a formal playoff bracket to 00:21:19.690 --> 00:21:21.829 determine a national champion. And Merritt led 00:21:21.829 --> 00:21:25.259 Tennessee State. to their first ever NCAA Division 00:21:25.259 --> 00:21:27.660 IAA playoff victory that year. They made it all 00:21:27.660 --> 00:21:29.680 the way to the semifinals. That is significant 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:31.500 because it answers the critics who might have 00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:33.299 said, oh, he could only win in the old system. 00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:35.819 No, he stepped into the modern playoff era and 00:21:35.819 --> 00:21:38.240 won immediately. He proved his brand of football 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:40.960 worked no matter what the format was. So here 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:43.619 he is. It's the early 80s. He's nearly 60 years 00:21:43.619 --> 00:21:46.559 old. He's conquered the old era. He is conquering 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:48.920 the new era. He is still on top of the mountain. 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:51.380 He's an institution and an icon. And then it 00:21:51.380 --> 00:21:54.759 just... So abruptly. The timeline is jarring. 00:21:54.900 --> 00:21:58.819 He coaches the 1983 season. They go 8 -1, still 00:21:58.819 --> 00:22:01.039 winning, another great year. Still dominant, 00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:03.240 still a championship caliber team. And then a 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:04.900 couple weeks after the season ends, December 00:22:04.900 --> 00:22:09.339 15, 1983, he dies. Heart disease. Vanderbilt 00:22:09.339 --> 00:22:12.019 University Hospital. He was 57 years old. 57, 00:22:12.180 --> 00:22:15.039 that is shockingly young, especially for a football 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:17.500 coach who seems so larger than life. We see guys 00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:20.079 coaching into their 70s now. Saban, Snyder, Joe 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:22.859 Paterno. 57 is usually when a coach is entering 00:22:22.859 --> 00:22:25.799 their absolute prime wisdom years. They've seen 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:28.000 it all. He was cut down right at the peak of 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:30.359 his powers. He had just navigated the transition 00:22:30.359 --> 00:22:33.279 to Division IAA. He had another powerhouse team. 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:36.200 He was still recruiting future NFL legends. And 00:22:36.200 --> 00:22:39.029 then he was gone. It really is a tragedy. But 00:22:39.029 --> 00:22:41.589 despite leaving us so early, the mark he left 00:22:41.589 --> 00:22:44.029 is permanent. We alluded to it earlier, the infrastructure. 00:22:44.369 --> 00:22:46.730 It is hard to miss him if you are in Nashville. 00:22:46.829 --> 00:22:49.829 You literally drive on his legacy. John Merritt 00:22:49.829 --> 00:22:52.470 Boulevard. A major artery in the city right there 00:22:52.470 --> 00:22:55.069 by the university. It's a daily reminder of his 00:22:55.069 --> 00:22:57.349 impact. You're back in his hometown of Falmouth, 00:22:57.390 --> 00:23:00.670 Kentucky. The John Ayers Merritt Memorial Bridge. 00:23:00.950 --> 00:23:03.789 I love the symbolism of the bridge. He bridged 00:23:03.789 --> 00:23:06.410 the gap for so many players from a life of limited 00:23:06.410 --> 00:23:09.009 opportunity to a future in the NFL or as community 00:23:09.009 --> 00:23:11.089 leaders. He bridged the gap between the segregated 00:23:11.089 --> 00:23:13.769 era and the modern era. And then there is the 00:23:13.769 --> 00:23:16.849 living tribute, the game itself. The John Merritt 00:23:16.849 --> 00:23:20.269 classic. Tennessee State opens every home season 00:23:20.269 --> 00:23:22.640 with this game at Nissan Stadium. The home of 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:24.900 the Tennessee Titans. It is a massive event. 00:23:25.140 --> 00:23:27.339 It's a celebration. It's not just a football 00:23:27.339 --> 00:23:30.119 game. It's a reunion, a festival. It ensures 00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:32.779 that every single player who puts on a Tennessee 00:23:32.779 --> 00:23:35.720 State uniform knows whose shoulders they are 00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:37.920 standing on. You can't play your first game without 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:40.460 saying his name. And eventually, the broader 00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:43.000 football world caught up to what everyone in 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:45.559 Nashville and in the HBCU community already knew. 00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:48.200 The Hall of Fame. Inducted into the College Football 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:52.269 Hall of Fame in 1994. Long overdue, but well 00:23:52.269 --> 00:23:55.890 -deserved. A no -brainer. And in 1995, he received 00:23:55.890 --> 00:23:58.329 the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award. Now, can you give 00:23:58.329 --> 00:23:59.990 us some context on that? Because I know that 00:23:59.990 --> 00:24:02.329 it's a big deal. The Stagg Award is one of the 00:24:02.329 --> 00:24:05.710 highest honors in coaching. It recognizes outstanding 00:24:05.710 --> 00:24:08.069 service in the advancement of the best interests 00:24:08.069 --> 00:24:10.569 of football. It's not just about wins and losses. 00:24:10.849 --> 00:24:12.730 It's about your contribution to the game. Exactly. 00:24:12.789 --> 00:24:14.910 And if you look at the list of recipients, it 00:24:14.910 --> 00:24:17.710 is the Mount Rushmore of football, Bear Bryant, 00:24:18.069 --> 00:24:22.349 Woody Hayes, Bosham Beffler, Joe Paterno. And 00:24:22.349 --> 00:24:24.690 John Merritt. And John Merritt. He is right there 00:24:24.690 --> 00:24:27.049 next to them where he belongs. His name is on 00:24:27.049 --> 00:24:29.190 that list forever. When you put his resume up 00:24:29.190 --> 00:24:34.269 against those guys, 235 wins. 70 losses, 12 ties. 00:24:34.470 --> 00:24:37.769 A .764 career winning percentage over 30 years. 00:24:37.990 --> 00:24:41.430 5 -2 in bowls. 8 black college national championships. 00:24:41.789 --> 00:24:44.369 5 conference titles. It stands toe -to -toe with 00:24:44.369 --> 00:24:46.269 any of them. In fact, his winning percentage 00:24:46.269 --> 00:24:48.410 is higher than most of them. Higher than Bear 00:24:48.410 --> 00:24:51.450 Bryant's. Higher than Woody Hayes'. So, we have 00:24:51.450 --> 00:24:54.829 unpacked the stats. We have unpacked the loyalty. 00:24:54.970 --> 00:24:58.170 We have unpacked the legacy. When you step back 00:24:58.170 --> 00:25:00.390 and look at the whole picture of Big John Merritt, 00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:03.759 What is the takeaway for you? I think the takeaway 00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:06.880 is that excellence is transferable. He had excellence 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:10.519 as a player in the trenches doing the hard, unnoticed 00:25:10.519 --> 00:25:13.220 work. He transferred that to his studies and 00:25:13.220 --> 00:25:15.900 got his master's. He transferred that to a losing 00:25:15.900 --> 00:25:18.380 program at Jackson State and built a champion. 00:25:18.910 --> 00:25:21.130 He transferred that to a dynasty at Tennessee 00:25:21.130 --> 00:25:23.289 State. And he transferred to his players. And 00:25:23.289 --> 00:25:25.609 he transferred that excellence into the hundreds 00:25:25.609 --> 00:25:27.890 of young men who went on to be professionals 00:25:27.890 --> 00:25:29.930 and leaders. He was a conductor of excellence. 00:25:30.289 --> 00:25:32.769 I love that. He didn't just hoard the success. 00:25:32.829 --> 00:25:35.390 He distributed it. Exactly. His legacy isn't 00:25:35.390 --> 00:25:37.529 just the trophies. It's the men he built. It's 00:25:37.529 --> 00:25:40.410 Richard Dent holding up the Super Bowl MVP trophy. 00:25:40.690 --> 00:25:42.849 It's Ed Jones being the first tick in the draft. 00:25:43.089 --> 00:25:45.170 It's the bridge and the boulevard. It's all of 00:25:45.170 --> 00:25:47.390 it. And I can't help but go back to that final 00:25:47.390 --> 00:25:49.910 what if. a thought experiment. It's impossible 00:25:49.910 --> 00:25:53.529 not to. He died at 57. He was winning 80 % of 00:25:53.529 --> 00:25:56.769 his games. If he lives to be 70, another 13 seasons. 00:25:56.950 --> 00:25:59.329 Yeah. What does his career record look like? 00:25:59.490 --> 00:26:01.609 Well, at his average of about eight or nine wins 00:26:01.609 --> 00:26:03.890 a year, you're looking at another 100 victories. 00:26:04.089 --> 00:26:07.990 He gets to 335 wins, maybe more. That puts him 00:26:07.990 --> 00:26:10.150 in the top five all time. Almost certainly. He 00:26:10.150 --> 00:26:12.170 was on pace. He'd be right there with Eddie Robinson 00:26:12.170 --> 00:26:14.849 and Bear Bryant. So that's one what if. The other 00:26:14.849 --> 00:26:17.720 is... What if he had taken that Wichita State 00:26:17.720 --> 00:26:21.019 job in 73? Oh, that's the big one. How different 00:26:21.019 --> 00:26:22.920 would the landscape of college football history 00:26:22.920 --> 00:26:27.480 look today? If he goes there and succeeds, and 00:26:27.480 --> 00:26:30.200 with his track record, why wouldn't he? Does 00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:32.500 that open the door for dozens of other black 00:26:32.500 --> 00:26:34.960 coaches a decade earlier than it happened? I 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:36.660 think it has to. He would have broken the glass 00:26:36.660 --> 00:26:39.509 ceiling. He would have proven that an HBCU coach 00:26:39.509 --> 00:26:42.289 could win at the highest level of a PWI. The 00:26:42.289 --> 00:26:43.869 ripple effect would have been enormous. We might 00:26:43.869 --> 00:26:45.690 have seen a completely different, more integrated 00:26:45.690 --> 00:26:48.390 coaching landscape by the mid -80s. But he didn't. 00:26:48.410 --> 00:26:51.609 He chose loyalty. He did. So instead of becoming 00:26:51.609 --> 00:26:54.349 the first, he became the greatest at what he 00:26:54.349 --> 00:26:56.569 was already building. It's one of the great lost 00:26:56.569 --> 00:26:59.470 chapters of sports history. It is. But the chapters 00:26:59.470 --> 00:27:02.329 he did write, they are pretty incredible. They 00:27:02.329 --> 00:27:04.930 certainly are. Unforgettable. Big John Merritt. 00:27:05.049 --> 00:27:09.250 A guard. A scholar. Thanks for taking this deep 00:27:09.250 --> 00:27:11.450 dive with us. Always a pleasure. We will see 00:27:11.450 --> 00:27:12.309 you next time. Keep digging.