Bo Rein had the opportunity of a lifetime. He enjoyed his job at North Carolina State, but this was L-S-U. Was there any hesitation in taking the job? Perhaps. Any time a coach jumps ship for greener pastures, he realizes it all could go wrong. Rarely is it ever all glory. I wondered if Rein would have opted to coach the Wolfpack in the Orange Bowl game  - if they had been invited, delaying his departure for Baton Rouge? Greg Williams had an answer: "LSU wasn't waiting," he said. It was take the job - now, or lose it.

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     There was no doubt about it, LSU would have moved on to another candidate had Rein balked. Recruiting was a priority, and waiting until Rein coached a bowl game would have jeopardized the entire recruiting process of 1980. The deeper question: Had N.C. State not lost to Penn State three weeks earlier, and they had gone on to play in either the Gator Bowl or Orange Bowl, would any of that have affected Rein's decision to leave N.C. State? A Penn State win would have catapulted the Wolfpack into the national polls with one game remaining to clinch the ACC. Knocking off Joe Paterno and the sure opportunity to play a ranked opponent as ACC Champion would have been tremendous. Rein would have N.C. State exactly where he envisioned them to be when he accepted the job in 1976 – on the cusp of something special with three consecutive bowls. In retrospect, the Rein Wolfpack had already defeated Clemson in Death Valley during that 1979 season. Two seasons later, those same Tigers, led by Clemson's Danny Ford, went 12-0 and  won the national championship. Who's to say that couldn't have been Rein's fate? Moreover, it is every coach's dream to take a team and mold it into his own style, his own identity. Who out there remembers Florida State football before Bobby Bowden? What about Penn State football before Joe Paterno? Rein had an opportunity to make a similar mark at N.C. State, building on the momentum Lou Holtz had started.

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     As a successful coach, Rein became adept at simply dismissing reports of his departure from N.C. State, publicly filing it away as media speculation and negative propaganda from rival programs. Such hoopla came with the territory. Alumni and fans largely understood the process. It is the constant flirtations with other schools that will annoy a fan base. By all accounts, Bo Rein did not do that. However, as I explained previously, Rein did express interest in Ohio State and, less than eight months later, placed his name back into the open job market. This time, his sights were set on LSU.

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     When LSU Athletic Director Paul Dietzel called Rein on the evening of November 17, 1979, after the Wolfpack’s victory over Duke to win the ACC, it wasn't the first time the two had talked. The Dietzel call simply elevated the process to the next level. Now, with time running out and Dietzel determined to get a deal done within the next few weeks, Bo Rein was on the short list. Prior to that November call, two pieces of verifiable evidence point to Rein's active pursuit of the LSU job.

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    The first is an obvious discovery: the application, posted September 14, 1979:

 

       "Minimum ten years experience coaching football at collegiate level to include at least three years as Head Coach at a major

        institution with a program similar to LSU. Minimum academic requirement will be a baccalaureate degree...."

 

     Assuming the rules were followed  - in this case we have no reason to believe otherwise - anyone who wanted the job had to complete an application. Doing so date-stamped the “official" university contact. Although Rein's application and its corresponding submission date could not be verified, there is proof it was submitted before the October 15, 1979, closing date.

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     In all, 26  people applied. Of  those, 25 were deemed qualified. Twelve candidates were interviewed. Records show all applicants were white men, and only one received a job offer. Presumably, that offer went to Rein. There is no report of any other applicant declining an offer for the job.

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     In addition to Dietzel, the AD, the selection committee consisted of four other school administrators. After initial screenings, however, Dietzel was given full authority “to act as an agent for the committee," freeing him to contact the leading candidates as necessary for the duration of the process. On the record, "No minutes of the meeting were taken and the Screening Committee agreed to keep all names completely confidential.” The next meeting would reveal Dietzel's final choice to be voted on and approved by the Board of Supervisors.

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     The second sign of Rein's contact with LSU was a handwritten note. Which one Rein submitted first, the application or the note, is unclear. Dated October 2, 1979, on Dick Hotel’s stationary, the note read: 

 

       Dear Paul, I would be very interested in talking to you at some future date concerning the Head Coaching Position at LSU.

       I would appreciate a response in the near future.

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       Sincerely, Bo Rein

 

     There also is circumstantial proof – albeit maybe not of Rein's actual participation - that he was on LSU’s radar very early on. Here’s what newspaper sports columnist Pete Finney of the New Orleans States-Item said about Rein in the weeks prior to Dietzel's announcement: "I've been guessing him ever since Paul Manasseh, the LSU Sports Information Director, mentioned his name to me a year ago.” Finney was not alone in his prediction. In the July 1979 issue of the Tiger Rag - “The Bible of LSU Sports,” Rein was deemed the "logical choice," based on his and Dietzel's "similar backgrounds," to replace McClendon. Because Dietzel and Manasseh are no longer alive to verify, we’re left to assume Rein's name apparently had been floated about and raised to the top in the beginning stages of the process. Indeed, someone had noticed the young rising coach at N.C. State.

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     It’s uncertain whether Rein could have been enticed to remain at N.C. State. Most signs, both tangible and intangible, point to a firm “No.” All we now know about Rein's contact with LSU, make it seem very unlikely, too. Greg Williams said Willis Casey simply was not going to pay Rein enough to stay. "If they had paid him $48,000, he would have probably stayed because he liked it here. He liked it in Raleigh.” Not everyone agreed. Former Wolfpack Club Executive Director Charlie Bryant said not only could N.C. State not compete at that time with LSU salary-wise, the school also couldn’t match program amenities such as an ample recruiting budget, fundraising success, and state-of-the-art football facilities.

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     As for Carolyn Stuart, she likely would have checked the “Maybe” box. She knew Bo's heart as well as anyone. "Bo would have never left N.C. State had he been promised the facility upgrades that were needed," she said. Rein championed improved football facilities and academic support, but neither the university nor its athletic director would make any promises. Ironically, it was two decades after Rein's departure before the large-scale upgrades Holtz, Rein and several other successors asked for were finally delivered. It was the beginning of the Chuck Amato era in 2000.

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     N.C. State Chancellor Joab Thomas and AD Willis Casey were well aware Rein had been offered the job at LSU prior to the big announcement. In fact, Dietzel said he personally contacted the athletic director of each serious candidate to request permission to speak with their coach. When that contact was made on Rein’s behalf is anyone's guess. Many in the know believe Casey was not happy about Rein's impending departure and would not have allowed Rein to coach in a bowl game, even if one were available; hence, the bowl controversy that ended the 1979 season.

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     The controversy hinged on decision to turn down the fledgling Garden State Bowl (NJ). The reasons appeared to be part spite, part academic, part fiscal and part enthusiasm, or lack thereof. The Wolfpack was losing their coach and had been invited to a lower tiered, cold-weather bowl  - in New Jersey. Whenever decisions like that are made, the buck doesn’t stop with coaches or players. Depending on the school, it comes from the administration - i.e. board members/committees, the Athletic Director, the President/Chancellor or the Vice President - who oversee athletics.

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     When asked at his LSU press conference about the bowl game decline, Rein seemed certain he wasn't the reason. "I'm glad the process evolved that I was officially offered and accepted the job until this late date so that nobody can go back and say it was because there was going to be a coaching change,” he said. Rein was hired almost two weeks after the bowl decline. The University's official line: the Garden State Bowl game conflicted with N.C. State’s exam schedules. It did, but few believed that was a good enough, or even a legitimate, reason. Perhaps Darrell Moody gave the most logical explanation as to why the team did not play in a bowl. In his opinion, it was "the combination of Bo leaving and him (Casey) wanting to get on with hiring a new coach." Some news articles stated the team voted not to play in the game. To the contrary, I have yet to locate one player who recalled the bowl ever being put to a team vote. Someone close to the Wolfpack administration assured me "a vote,” as long as Willis Casey was athletic director, would  never have happened.

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     Casey was a legendary Wolfpack swim coach who had learned firsthand how to do without. Those closest to Casey said he did not lose sleep over the fact that his coaches were underpaid. As athletic director, he was powerful, influential and successful. In addition to the successful Holtz and Rein eras, Casey had garnered a NCAA National Basketball Championship under Norm Sloan in 1974. That gem came on the heels of an undefeated, 27-0 season the previous year. Led by All-Americans David Thompson and Tommy Burleson, N.C. State basketball reigned supreme on Tobacco Road and in the ACC for much of the 70's. As a result, Casey's reputation of being a hardnosed, fiscally tight son-of-a-bitch was well deserved. He was also a winner. That was his way.

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     As an interesting side-note: On March 27, 1980, Casey did it again. After Sloan left N.C. State for Florida, Casey hired a little-known 34-year-old Italian basketball coach who hailed originally from Queens, New York.

 

His name was James T. Valvano.