Every time Florida Atlantic quarterback Rusty Smith has a chat with Coach Howard Schnellenberger, he sees them.
BOn one hand there?s the national championship ring, on the other the Super Bowl ring,C Smith said. BHe always has them on.C
Schnellenberger hasn?t won a national championship during his eight years at FAU, but if you peer back into the early ?80s - before any statewide team was regularly contending for national titles - you?ll see Schnellenberger as the architect of the Miami football program.
He took over a Hurricanes program in 1979 that was in shambles. It was on the verge of being shut down by administration.
Then, just four years later, Miami won the national championship.
After deciding to leave Miami, Schnellenberger went to Louisville, and nearly did the same thing. The Cardinals never won the national championship, but Schnellenberger did lead them to program?s first national ranking and a 34-7 upset of Alabama in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl.
BHe?s rebuilt University of Miami,C said Smith, who has 20 touchdowns to seven interceptions on the season. BHe?s rebuilt the University of Louisville. Then FAU came to him, and he said, 'How awesome would it be to do something nobody?s ever done before??C
So far, so good.
FAU?s football program started in 2001, but the Owls are 5-4 and 4-1 in the Sun Belt Conference and are on course to play Troy, which UF throttled 59-31 earlier this season, for the conference title.
BI?ve gotten to develop a football team - the greatest coaches in America haven?t always had this opportunity. To get to do that in my senior years was a great motivating factor,C the 73-year-old Schnellenberger said. BThere are only a handful of coaches that have ever had the opportunity to do something like this: Steve Spurrier, Bobby Bowden, Bear Bryant, Woody Hayes. All these guys developed programs that came in on the ground floor.C
With more than 45 years in the coaching field, his experience has become invaluable to his players.
BEvery time I see the rings, I can?t believe I?m playing for a legend,C Smith said. BYou?re playing for a guy that?s experienced everything there is to be experienced. You know everything that he has in the playbook is going to work.C
When Smith was first recruited, Schnellenberger took him into a room and showed him pictures of the quarterbacks he has coached. Smith recalled seeing clips of Jim Kelly and Bernie Kosar.
Schnellenberger contributed to the Miami Dolphins? undefeated team in 1972 as the offensive coordinator. He then had a stint as head coach for the Baltimore Colts from 1973-74.
As if he doesn?t already boast an impressive track record, he was also the offensive coordinator at Alabama under legendary coach Bear Bryant and was part of the 1961, ?64 and ?65 title-winning teams.
That?s where the rings come in.
After all these years, it?s safe to say Schnellenberger?s earned them.
BSome people may think I?m pretentious to do that,C he said. BBut it?s been a major asset for me to recognize that I?ve been associated with those kind of things, especially when you?re developing a tradition.
BIt?s important that I wear the rings.C
