Gym Cracks By Jim October 25, 2002 SWEET ON SWITZER Memories of the man behind that Sooner magic By Jim (Babe) Berryman MissingNebraska.com Western Nebraska The MissingNebraska.com website asked visitors before the Oklahoma-Texas football game, which of these two teams would they prefer to win this contest. My choice was Oklahoma. I've always liked the Sooners. In my younger days Coach Bud Wilkinson had considerable success as the coach of the Sooners. But if was the coach of the 70's and 80's Sooners that I admired. This coach--none other than Barry Switzer. Coach Switzer coached Oklahoma to three national titles (1974, 75, 85). He is fourth on the all-time winning percentage list at .837 (157-29-4). Both Tom Osborne and Bobby Bowden had losing records against Switzer. I saw the Huskers lose a couple heartbreakers against the Switzer coached Sooners in Lincoln. On one of the Sooners visit to Lincoln, I walked down next to the field. I watched Switzer closely from a very short distance. He was down on one knee watching the Sooners drive for a touchdown. I noticed his hand coming up to his face on a couple occasions. Upon closer observation, I could see the smoke coming from the hand. Switzer had a lit cigarette cupped in his hand. Switzer would appear with Coach Osborne on a Lincoln or Omaha television station the Friday night before the Huskers-Sooners Saturday football contest. He was a very entertaining guest. Quite a contrast with the stoic Osborne. Switzer left the Sooners in 1989. Sometime in the early 90's, the Husker football coaching staff and the athletic director Bob Devaney were in Kearney for an appreciation day. The activities for this day included some golfing and a steak fry that evening. Switzer agreed to play a joke on Bob Devaney. Switzer took a position in the serving line with a chef's hat and other cooking paraphernalia. When Devaney was opposite Switzer in the serving line, Switzer "insulted" Devaney several times before Devaney realized who the "chef" was. Switzer said he was most willing to do this for his friend Devaney, even though they had been very competitive at one time. After leaving the Sooners, Switzer was coach of the Dallas Cowboys when this team won Super Bowl XXX in 1996. He has also had a couple embarrassing incidents with the law since leaving the Oklahoma football program. One sports publication presents the top 50 college coaches ever to walk the sidelines. This ranking includes all Division I coaches who were head coaches for at least ten seasons. Barry Switzer was rated number 16. Where was Tom Osborne rated? Who was rated number one? Number one coached three southern college teams during his career. This information will be supplied in the next Gym Cracks by Jim. Feedback Previous Gym Cracks: 10-17-02: Best Time Year Gym Cracks By Jim 10-11-02: Odds And Ends Gym Cracks By Jim 10-04-02: The Rating Game Gym Cracks By Jim 09-22-02: Fans Panned Gym Cracks By Jim 09-12-02: World Herald Calling Gym Cracks 09-05-02: Bit By Baseball Bug Gym Cracks 08-29-02: Caring Coaches Gym Cracks 08-22-02: Nebraska "Storm" Hits Colorado Gym Cracks 08-15-02: Cubs Win, Wallet Drained Gym Cracks 08-08-02: To Coors For Cubs Gym Cracks 07-25-02: Major League Madness Gym Cracks 07-18-02: Nebraskans In The Majors Gym Cracks 07-11-02: Kile Death Sheds Light Gym Cracks 07-04-02: Couch Potato Parking Gym Cracks 06-23-02: Top 10 Nebraska High School Nicknames Gym Cracks 06-06-02: Better In The 50s Gym Cracks 05-30-02: Dangerfield of Nebraska Gym Cracks 05-16-02: Baseball Sneak Aways Gym Cracks