It was a cold Thursday in Chicago. Cowboy Joe was standing on the grass of Soldier Field taking a picture for the press. He was smiling and a flanked by his two greatest proteges, Drew Brees and Kyle Orton. Joe Tiller had made a postseason stop in Chicago to watch his two star pupils go head to head as NFL starting quarterbacks. He was just stopping by before he rode off into the Montana sunset.
Coach Tiller had just completed his final season as Purdue's football coach after 12 seasons. This last season had been a disappointing losing season, but Tiller went out a winner in his last game with a smashing victory over intrastate rival Indiana.
It's hard to fully appreciate the impact that coach Tiller had upon Purdue and the Big Ten. He came to a Purdue program in 1997 that had been a losing program for 13 years. He completely changed Purdue's offense from a running based attack to his fabled "basketball on grass" spread assault. This offensive makeover was seen by other coaches in the Big Ten as ridiculous. The Big Ten played in harsh weather conditions and most teams followed the "three yards and a cloud of dust" mold popularized by Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler. The coaches thought Joe was crazy and that the spread would never work.
The other coaches look silly now. Boy were they wrong about Joe and his offense. After falling flat against MAC school Toledo in his first game, Purdue came out and beat out traditional power Notre Dame (Purdue had been ND's punching bag for many years) in a program changing victory. They went on in that first year to post a winning record of 8-4 and then win the Alamo Bowl. It was the first bowl game for Purdue in 13 years.
Joe furthered his success in the next few years. With little known, undersized Drew Brees as his quarterback, Tiller coached the Boilermakers to more winning seasons making the Alamo and Outback bowls. However, his crowning accomplishment came in 2000. That year Purdue beat Big Ten powers, Ohio State and Michigan, going on to become Big Ten co-champions and earning a berth to the prestigious Rose Bowl. Brees also did well that year. He was a Heisman finalist and won the Maxwell Award as Football's most outstanding player.
When Brees graduated, Tiller made tall, rocket armed Kyle Orton his quarterback. With Orton, Purdue continued to have winning seasons. They went to the Sun Bowl multiple times as well as the CapitalOne Bowl. However, they suffered a heart breaking, program changing loss against Wisconsin in 2004.
The next few years would be tough for Coach Tiller. Without a superb quarterback to lead his attack, he suffered 2 losing seasons in 4 years. He also had problems keeping players under control as many legal troubles and attitude issues ate away at his team. It was clearly the decline of his success with Purdue Football. As the pressure on him mounted, Joe agreed 2008 would be his last season before retirement. He then picked former assistant, Danny Hope, to succeed him and serve as his apprentice during the 2008 season.
Tiller left the Big Ten having opened some eyes. He had made Purdue a respectable Football team that was accustomed to winning and bowl games. In 4 seasons, he took Purdue from Big Ten cellar dweller to a Big Ten championship and a Rose Bowl berth. Also in 2008, it was noted that the stodgy Big Ten had changed a lot too. 8 teams of 11 (including powers Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State) now ran some form of the wide open spread offense. He was now known as an offensive innovator within the Big Ten conference.
As coach Tiller eases into fly fishing and retirement, I give my sincere thanks. He practically made something out of nothing with Purdue Football. He also coached many players who would go on to NFL success. Cowboy Joe will always be known as a good and beloved coach to his players and fans.
