Tiller honored at roast
A cast of Purdue and Big Ten football luminaries were among those to honor retired coach Joe Tiller Saturday night.
In front of a sold-out crowd of about 450 at the University Inn in West Lafayette, numerous former Boilermaker players returned to campus for the Roast and Toast of their former coach.
There was much more toasting being done than roasting, though.
But there was plenty of good-natured ribbing.
Ex-players Matt Light, Brandon Gorin, Rosevelt Colvin, A.T. Simpson, Tim Stratton, Travis Dorsch, Ryan Baker, Rob Turner, Jermaine Guynn and others took the podium to speak about Tiller, as he heads into retirement. Former Tiller colleague and former Washington State coach Bill Doba traveled to West Lafayette for the event, too, and spoke.
Stu Schweigert and Dustin Keller wrote in, as did former assistant Scott Downing.
Drew Brees - home in New Orleans with his nine-day-old son - sent a video spiel, as did Penn State coach Joe Paternon, former Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez, former Tiller assistants Brock Spack, Jim Chaney and Gary Emanuel and ex-Purdue basketball coach Gene Keady.
The parade started with the ageless Paterno, ironically referring to Tiller as a broken down old coach from Purdue, then commending him for running the Boilermaker program with no shenanigans, without doing anything fishy.
The Penn State coach, though, paid Tiller the ultimate compliment.
When they write the history of the Big Ten, Paterno said, Joe will have a big part in it.
Then came Keady, who referred to Tillers basketball on grass offense.
I tried to coach football on hardwood, said Keady, now an analyst for the Big Ten Network, but I didnt do it as well as you.
Alvarez joked about Tiller meeting with Wisconsin alumni at the Big Ten media day in Chicago each year.
They loved him, said Alvarez, now the Badgers athletic director, but what they didnt know was that Joe was only there for the free beer.
Colvin was the first of the former players to speak and one of the evenings biggest hits.
Coach, you owe me for this, Colvin said, I could have been at Lucas Oil Stadium at the monster truck rally (tonight). I had to tell my 3-year-old son (we werent) and he doesnt even know who you are.
My parents raised to me that if you didnt have anything nice to say, Colvin said, to not say anything at all. But when I was introduced so lovely by Mr. (Pete) Quinn, I thought it would be rude to just come up here, then sit back down in my seat.
The former defensive end and Super Bowl champion was one of numerous players to mention some prominent Tiller-isms, such as The Golden Rule (i.e. He who holds all the gold makes all the rules) and Its Tiller time.
Brees picked on many of the same Tiller sayings, but also touched on the prank Tiller pulled in 1998, when he brought the team in for a meeting and told players he was taking the Colorado job, only to reveal to them he was just kidding, as a lesson in truthfulness.
It was funny, Brees said, but at the time, it was just mean.
Stratton told his obligatory helmet story.
We always had a love/hate relationship, the former tight end joked. He hated me, and I loved to piss him off.
Chris Clopton read written messages from Schweigert - Coming to Purdue was the best decision of my life - and Keller.
Keller chided Tiller for offering him a scholarship 10 minutes before the signing date, even though, I lived 10 minutes from Purdue and everyone in my family went to Purdue.
Coach gave me an experience I cant re-pay him for, unless I give him my signing bonus from the Jets, Keller wrote. And we know thatll be a cold day in hell.
And by the way, Coach, you still owe me an official visit, added Keller, who never took one. Ill take a trip to Wyoming instead.
Spack, now Illinois States head coach, relayed a story from 1991, when Tiller had just gotten the Wyoming job just as Jim Colletto was hired at Purdue.
Colletto called Spack to offer him a job coaching linebackers at Purdue; Tiller, his mentor whod helped get him in the business, called an hour later to offer him a job, too.
Tiller told Spack the better opportunity was at Purdue.
I would have done what he told me to do, Spack said.
Chaney, now the offensive coordinator at Tennessee, joked about why he couldnt be in attendance.
I just got out of back surgery, Chaney said, from carrying your big butt for 13 years.
The biggest hit of the night, though, was Tillers successor, Danny Hope, who took the stage in a bald wig, taking a friendly poke at Tillers hairline, the centerpiece of Tillers self-deprecating nature.
Tillers wife, Arnette, spoke, as did the former coach himself, as a rebuttal.
Its (the players) world, Tiller said. I was just passing through it.
The event was put on by the John Purdue Club and Joe Tiller Chapter of the National Football Foundation, with proceeds benefiting NFF programs.