John David Crow always begins conversations with his former players the same way.
He issues an apology.
“Every time,” Crow said. “I hug their neck, shake their hand and apologize for treating them so rough.”
Crow served five seasons as a head football coach and athletics director at the former Northeast Louisiana University.
A country club atmosphere, it was not.
“He was a no-nonsense kind of fellow,” said Lou St. Amant, one of Crow’s football assistants. “That first year, we started out with 70 to 80 guys. We ended up with about 40.”
Crow was tough on his boys, and his coaches, which isn’t surprising considering his pedigree. Crow was one of Paul “Bear” Bryant’s stars at Texas A&M in the 1950s.
A rugged man with the rawhide manner of John Wayne, he was also Bryant’s only Heisman Trophy winner.
Naturally, Crow emulated his legendary college mentor when he took the NLU job in 1975. A native of Marion who lived briefly in Bastrop before his family moved to Springhill, Crow’s hardscrabble upbringing also steered his philosophy.
Crow’s way had its casualties – not every one can handle boot camp either. But those that do come away with a sense of accomplishment and pride that carries on.
“Every one of them, every one that I’ve seen, thanks me for what I did for them,” Crow said.
Crow produced a 20-34-1 record with two winning seasons during his era. But his legacy at what is now the University of Louisiana at Monroe extended beyond the white lines of the football field. In his dual role as athletics director, Crow used his celebrity to secure funding that finalized an impressive facilities upgrade on the campus in the late 1970s. Politicking in Baton Rouge, Crow fast tracked deals to build both the football and baseball stadiums.
“We were able to secure some more funds,” Crow said. “I was the fair-haired boy and that kind of stuff. We were able to build what I thought was a nice half a stadium. But that was the money we had and that’s what we did.
“I would have liked to have taken the plans and start over, but we didn’t have the time. Fortunately, we had money left over for the baseball stadium too.”
Crow’s arrival in Monroe created excitement when the school announced his hiring in December of 1975. The program had five consecutive losing seasons and was mired in mediocrity.
“He gave us credibility and we needed it bad at the time,” St. Amant said. “His whole tenure here had the buzz. He didn’t put up with a lot. You had to do it his way, or the highway was waiting for you.”
In announcing the decision to hire Crow, former school president Dwight Vines said that Bryant himself rated him as one of the top five potential coaches among all his former players.
“Over the years in investigating the character and ability of applicants for many positions, I do not recall ever having as near unanimous endorsements as I’ve had in talking to people about John David Crow,” Vines said. “He is the kind of man I would like my son to play under.”
But even Crow couldn’t work immediate miracles. HIs first two seasons produced records of 2-9.
“I took over a program that was not very successful,” Crow said. “We had a great basketball player, so the basketball program was fine. But football was having its problems.”
Crow made progress, and finally broke through in 1978 with a 6-4 record. Crow was coach of the year in Louisiana in 1978. Notably that year, ULM defeated rival Louisiana Tech (18-0) for the first time since 1970.
“Louisiana Tech was the barometer,” Crow said. “That was how you could tell where your program was and how we were doing. They were successful. That was our goal, to compete with Louisiana Tech.”
Crow’s best season was 1980, when the team finished 7-4 and again finished with a win over Tech.
“I’m pleased and very proud of what we did at northeast,” Crow said. “I think that President Vines was just an unbelievable president for an athletic program.”
Unfailingly modest about his accomplishments as a player, Crow to this day deflects conversations about his Heisman glory in college.
“I always try to make people understand,” Crow said. “I accepted that trophy on behalf of a coaching staff, the managers and trainers, the student body – everyone. That’s what it’s about. Football is a team sport.”
Still, the Heisman hardware made occasional appearances around the football complex in Monroe. Crow said he used it to motivate others, to show them what one could earn despite a humble beginning.
“I brought up to the office for a period of time,” Crow said. “But it was for an example of what you could do – even as a north Louisiana boy.”
Crow didn’t flaunt his Heisman, but his celebrity didn’t hurt as he worked to build the program’s profile in recruiting talent.
“I didn’t have to bring that up,” Crow said. “Fortunately, you people made that known. It was brought up. Certainly, I hope I took advantage of that to help my career, my family and people I was around.”
After his college career, Crow was a first-round NFL draft pick and played 11 years with the Cardinals and 49ers. He entered coaching as an assistant with Bryant at Alabama, followed by jobs with the Cleveland Browns and the San Diego Chargers. He left his job as offensive coordinator of the Chargers to come to Monroe.
“It was a great time,” said Crow, who is making a rare return to the campus for hall of fame activities this week. “A great experience.”
Crow resigned in 1981 to go into private business, and later returned to Texas A&M as an administrator – including a stint as athletics director. He still serves his alma mater today, primarily in fundraising.
His body of work at ULM carried on – the foundation he built paved the way for unprecedented and unmatched success in the 1980s – including a Division I-AA national championship in 1987 under Crow’s successor Pat Collins.
He issues an apology.
“Every time,” Crow said. “I hug their neck, shake their hand and apologize for treating them so rough.”
Crow served five seasons as a head football coach and athletics director at the former Northeast Louisiana University.
A country club atmosphere, it was not.
“He was a no-nonsense kind of fellow,” said Lou St. Amant, one of Crow’s football assistants. “That first year, we started out with 70 to 80 guys. We ended up with about 40.”
Crow was tough on his boys, and his coaches, which isn’t surprising considering his pedigree. Crow was one of Paul “Bear” Bryant’s stars at Texas A&M in the 1950s.
A rugged man with the rawhide manner of John Wayne, he was also Bryant’s only Heisman Trophy winner.
Naturally, Crow emulated his legendary college mentor when he took the NLU job in 1975. A native of Marion who lived briefly in Bastrop before his family moved to Springhill, Crow’s hardscrabble upbringing also steered his philosophy.
Crow’s way had its casualties – not every one can handle boot camp either. But those that do come away with a sense of accomplishment and pride that carries on.
“Every one of them, every one that I’ve seen, thanks me for what I did for them,” Crow said.
Crow produced a 20-34-1 record with two winning seasons during his era. But his legacy at what is now the University of Louisiana at Monroe extended beyond the white lines of the football field. In his dual role as athletics director, Crow used his celebrity to secure funding that finalized an impressive facilities upgrade on the campus in the late 1970s. Politicking in Baton Rouge, Crow fast tracked deals to build both the football and baseball stadiums.
“We were able to secure some more funds,” Crow said. “I was the fair-haired boy and that kind of stuff. We were able to build what I thought was a nice half a stadium. But that was the money we had and that’s what we did.
“I would have liked to have taken the plans and start over, but we didn’t have the time. Fortunately, we had money left over for the baseball stadium too.”
Crow’s arrival in Monroe created excitement when the school announced his hiring in December of 1975. The program had five consecutive losing seasons and was mired in mediocrity.
“He gave us credibility and we needed it bad at the time,” St. Amant said. “His whole tenure here had the buzz. He didn’t put up with a lot. You had to do it his way, or the highway was waiting for you.”
In announcing the decision to hire Crow, former school president Dwight Vines said that Bryant himself rated him as one of the top five potential coaches among all his former players.
“Over the years in investigating the character and ability of applicants for many positions, I do not recall ever having as near unanimous endorsements as I’ve had in talking to people about John David Crow,” Vines said. “He is the kind of man I would like my son to play under.”
But even Crow couldn’t work immediate miracles. HIs first two seasons produced records of 2-9.
“I took over a program that was not very successful,” Crow said. “We had a great basketball player, so the basketball program was fine. But football was having its problems.”
Crow made progress, and finally broke through in 1978 with a 6-4 record. Crow was coach of the year in Louisiana in 1978. Notably that year, ULM defeated rival Louisiana Tech (18-0) for the first time since 1970.
“Louisiana Tech was the barometer,” Crow said. “That was how you could tell where your program was and how we were doing. They were successful. That was our goal, to compete with Louisiana Tech.”
Crow’s best season was 1980, when the team finished 7-4 and again finished with a win over Tech.
“I’m pleased and very proud of what we did at northeast,” Crow said. “I think that President Vines was just an unbelievable president for an athletic program.”
Unfailingly modest about his accomplishments as a player, Crow to this day deflects conversations about his Heisman glory in college.
“I always try to make people understand,” Crow said. “I accepted that trophy on behalf of a coaching staff, the managers and trainers, the student body – everyone. That’s what it’s about. Football is a team sport.”
Still, the Heisman hardware made occasional appearances around the football complex in Monroe. Crow said he used it to motivate others, to show them what one could earn despite a humble beginning.
“I brought up to the office for a period of time,” Crow said. “But it was for an example of what you could do – even as a north Louisiana boy.”
Crow didn’t flaunt his Heisman, but his celebrity didn’t hurt as he worked to build the program’s profile in recruiting talent.
“I didn’t have to bring that up,” Crow said. “Fortunately, you people made that known. It was brought up. Certainly, I hope I took advantage of that to help my career, my family and people I was around.”
After his college career, Crow was a first-round NFL draft pick and played 11 years with the Cardinals and 49ers. He entered coaching as an assistant with Bryant at Alabama, followed by jobs with the Cleveland Browns and the San Diego Chargers. He left his job as offensive coordinator of the Chargers to come to Monroe.
“It was a great time,” said Crow, who is making a rare return to the campus for hall of fame activities this week. “A great experience.”
Crow resigned in 1981 to go into private business, and later returned to Texas A&M as an administrator – including a stint as athletics director. He still serves his alma mater today, primarily in fundraising.
His body of work at ULM carried on – the foundation he built paved the way for unprecedented and unmatched success in the 1980s – including a Division I-AA national championship in 1987 under Crow’s successor Pat Collins.
“No matter what I’ve ever received, I’ve always said that it’s not me, it’s the coaches and players and family around me,” Crow said. “I was fortunate enough to be the guy who had the reins and tried to get that horse back on track.”
