Terry Hoeppner died Tuesday of complications from a brain tumor.
Months after Randy Walker, former Miami player and head football coach, died unexpectedly at a very young age, his assistant, Hoeppner, died at the age of 59.
Hoeppner was what you want a coach and a man to be. He was optimistic without being unrealistic and confident without being cocky. He knew how to handle the good times and more importantly the bad times. He was one of my favorite coaches of all time (as was Walker).
Like the time that Miami lost a very tough, very close game against Marshall at Marshall in the last seconds. Things got out of hand after the game. One Miami assistant coach was led off the field in handcuffs, while another basically trashed the visiting coaches booth. Hoeppner handled the situation with grace and humility. He apologized for the actions of the staff. And he said that Miami had had a streak of 70 straight years of acting with class that was broken, and that the'll just have to start another streak starting today.
As the coach of the mid-major Miami (my alma mater), he had a saying that he would meet anybody, any place, any time. The RedHawks were not afraid to play any team.
It of course helped to have Ben Roethlisberger as his quarterback during the 13-1 season of 2003. But those teams were stacked with good players who played the game tough and right. It was Hoeppner who got those players and had them playing well.
Hep had the Hoosiers on the right track. They were going to be pretty good pretty soon. It may be a tough road to win consistently at Indiana. But they are on the right track.
OldCleat
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