Bridging the Generation Gap

77, 77, 68, 74, 67, hut? No, it’s not some ill-fated snap count devoted to offensive linemen. Instead, those are the ages of some of the most respected coaches in the business. Men like John Gagliardi of St. John’s (Minn.) University, Dick Vermeil of the Kansas City Chiefs, Joe Paterno of Penn State, Bobby Bowden of Florida State and Lou Holtz of South Carolina. There’s no doubt about the track record of these men as all are championship-level coaches who have been dominant over the years. But all are three or four times as old as the men they coach on the field. Isn’t it increasingly difficult to lead men when the age differential starts to reach mountainous proportions? To a man, they all answer with a resounding no, and that’s not surprising. While older coaches can easily talk about their reasons for wanting to stay on the job – it keeps them young, vital and alert –