Earle Bruce Earle Bruce ( born March 8 , 1931 ) is a former American football player and coach . He served as the head coach at the University of Tampa ( 1972 ) , Iowa State University ( 1973 – 1978 ) , Ohio State University ( 1979 – 1987 ) , the University of Northern Iowa ( 1988 ) , and Colorado State University ( 1989 – 1992 ) , compiling a career college football record of 154 – 90 – 2 . At Ohio State , Bruce was the successor to the legendary Woody Hayes , and won four Big Ten Conference titles . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2002 . Bruce returned to coaching in 2003 to helm the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League for a season and also guided the Columbus Destroyers the following year . As a player and player / coach . Bruce was recruited as a full back at the Ohio State University by head coach Wes Fesler . He played on the OSU freshman team in 1950 , but before he could join the varsity team in 1951 he suffered a torn meniscus , ending his football career . Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes asked Bruce to join the coaching staff , which he did until his graduation in 1953 . He was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity while attending Ohio State . Coaching career . Bruce accumulated a collegiate coaching record of 154 – 90 – 2 with five different universities . Preceding that , Bruce was one of the most successful high school football coaches in Ohio history , accumulating a record of 82 – 12 – 3 in 10 seasons of head coach ing positions with three Ohio high schools . He led four different college teams to bowl game s , where he had a 7 – 5 record . High school coaching . Upon graduating from Ohio State , Bruce accepted a position as an assistant coach at Mansfield High School in Mansfield , Ohio . In 1956 , Bruce accepted his first head coaching position , at Salem High School in Salem , Ohio . Over the next four seasons , he led the Quakers to a record of 28 – 9 . From 1960 until 1963 , Bruce coached the Blue Streaks at Sandusky High School , Sandusky , Ohio . He compiled a record at Sandusky of 34 – 3 – 3 . Massillon High School then hired Bruce as head coach , where his teams went undefeated in 1964 and 1965 . Though the Massillon Tigers have gained national fame for their football teams over the years , Bruce remains the only undefeated head football coach in Massillon High School history . College coaching . Hayes then hired Bruce back to Ohio State as a position coach for the offensive line and later defensive back s . After five seasons the University of Tampa brought Bruce on as head coach in 1972 . During his first season , Tampa went 10 – 2 , including a win in the Tangerine Bowl . Bruce moved into the head coaching position at Iowa State University following his success at Tampa . Iowa State experienced some success in six seasons with Bruce as head coach , including the second and third bowl appearances in school history . He is the only coach in modern times to leave Iowa State with a winning record . In 2000 , Iowa State inducted Bruce into their school hall of fame , named the Louis Menze Hall of Fame . Ohio State . After Woody Hayes was fired from Ohio State , Bruce was offered that head coaching position . Bruce coached Ohio State from 1979 – 1987 . In the first year , Ohio State went undefeated in the regular season and played in the Rose Bowl , losing the game — and the national championship — by a single point . The Buckeyes would win nine games in each of the next six years and won 10 games in 1986 . However , it rankled a fan base used to contending for a national title every year . In 1987 , Bruce was fired just prior to the last game of the season — against Michigan — but was allowed to finish out the year . Reportedly , school president Edward Jennings made the move out of pique over a last - second loss to Iowa that dropped the Buckeyes to 5 - 4 - 1 , meaning they needed to beat Michigan in order to be bowl - eligible . Bruce was able to defeat Michigan at Ann Arbor . This is something Ohio State would not do again until 2001 under head coach Jim Tressel . After the game , Bo Schembechler told Bruce , " I always mind losing to Ohio State but I didn ' t mind so much today . " After Ohio State . Bruce was the leading candidate to replace Bob Valesente as head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks after the 1987 season , but due to a contract dispute , KU did not hire him . KU instead hired Glen Mason out of Kent State . Bruce took over the head coaching position at the University of Northern Iowa for one year , and then finished his intercollegiate coaching career at Colorado State University . In his second season , he led the Rams to a winning record and a victory over Oregon in the Freedom Bowl , their first bowl appearance since 1948 and their first bowl victory ever . He was fired two years later for , among other things , verbally and physically abusing his players and discouraging players from taking classes that conflicted with football practice . A comical interview session , which might or might not have really existed , showed an irate Bruce freaking out and blasting AD Corey Johnson . After Colorado State , he moved on to the Arena Football League , where he coached the Cleveland Thunderbolts in 1994 and the St . Louis Stampede in 1995 and 1996 before retiring . Return to coaching and later life . In 2001 , Bruce came out of retirement to coach the final ten games for the Arena Football League ' s Iowa Barnstormers , guiding them to a 7 – 3 record . In 2004 , Bruce returned to Ohio to become the head coach for the Columbus Destroyers , who were moving from Buffalo to Columbus that year . He retired to a front office position after coaching the Destroyers to a 6 – 10 record in 2004 , and was replaced as head coach by Chris Spielman , who played for Bruce at Ohio State . Bruce finished with a 19 – 25 record over four seasons in the AFL . Today , Bruce works as an Ohio State football analyst for WTVN 610AM in Columbus as well as being an analyst for ONN on their OSU programming . In his private life , Earle Bruce is married with four children and eight grandchildren . His daughters ' names are Lynn , Mikky , Aimee , and Noel . Coaching tree . Played under : Coached under : Former assistants who became NCAA Division I FBS or NFL head coaches : Former players who became NCAA Division I FBS or NFL head coaches :