Monday Night Memories: Remembering legendary Purdue coach Joe Tiller
Legendary Purdue football coach Joe Tiller has been off the Purdue sidelines for 15 years. Our panel reflects on his remarkable career, where he became the Boilermakers’ all-time winningest coach with 87 victories in 12 seasons (1997-2008).
You will hear from writers and Purdue staffers that knew Tiller from a behind-the-scenes media perspective. Tom Kubat, the Hall of Fame sportswriter from the Lafayette Journal and Courier and author of the Tiller Biography “Not Your Average Joe,” is joined by Tom Schott and Jim Vruggink, who worked closely with Tiller from a Purdue athletics communications perspective and broadcaster and co-host Nate Barrett who had several personal and professional interactions with the legendary Purdue coach.
“Some say Joe Tiller changed the face of college football as much as anyone in the modern era,” Schott said during the 53-minute Zoomcast. “With his innovative passing offense, he certainly had much to do with the Big Ten evolving into the conference it is today.”
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In a lively discussion, Tiller’s legacy is debated and discussed with viewpoints on the new Tiller Tunnel, which will serve as the entryway for the Purdue football team onto the Rohrman Field turf each home Saturday. Not surprisingly, there are lots of stories shared as Tiller’s dry wit, leadership style, and the way he treated his fellow coaches, players and much more are discussed in addition to the critical role that Tiller’s surviving wife Arnette played in the growth of the program during the dozen year tenure.
Memories of Tiller’s first win as the Boilermaker coach, a shocker over Notre Dame, to his swan song blowout of Indiana are the focus and how Tiller evolved as the Boilermaker head coach and also some of the challenges his program faced as the rest of the Big Ten caught up with him. Tiller, who passed away on Sept. 30, 2017 at the age of 74 in his Buffalo, Wyoming home, is viewed by the panel as not only a remarkable coach, but a remarkable human being.
