Leon Burtnett had had enough and resigned from the Purdue job with three games remaining in the 1986 season.
Burtnett’s fifth and final season was one of the dreariest in an often dreary tenure for the likable Burtnett, who went 21-34-1 overall and 17-25-1 in the Big Ten. He was unable to build off the foundation of success crafted by predecessor Jim Young, for whom he served as defensive coordinator and architect of the famed "Junk Defense."
“I just looked at my family and looked at the team,” said Burtnett back in November 1986. “And when I did that, it was pretty clear that’s what I should do.”
Which direction would Purdue turn for a successor? It was a big decision for athletic director George King.
The list of possible candidates chronicled by the Lafayette Journal & Courier was eclectic.
Fred Akers, Texas head coach
Jim Colletto, Arizona State OC
Bob Cope, Pacific head coach
Dick Crum, North Carolina head coach
Gerry Faust, Akron head coach
Foge Fazio, Notre Dame DC
John Mackovic, Kansas City Chiefs head coach
Bill McCartney, Colorado head coach
Ron Meyer, Co-owner of sports agency in Dallas
Don Nehlen, West Virginia head coach
Johnny Majors, Tennessee head coach
Bob Otolski, Illinois State head coach
Stan Parrish, Kansas State head coach
Francis Peay, Northwestern head coach
Tim Rose, Miami (Ohio) head coach
Bobby Ross, Maryland head coach
Paul Schudel, Ball State head coach
Larry Smith, Arizona head coach
Bob Spoo, Eastern Illinois head coach
Rick Venturi, Indianapolis Colts assistant
Jim Wacker, TCU head coach
Jim Walden, Washington State head coach
George Welsh, Virginia head coach
Jim Young, Army head coach
In the end, Purdue picked the 46-year-old Akers, who was on the hot seat at Texas. No doubt, Longhorn fans probably were thrilled Akers hightailed it to Purdue coming off a 5-6 season which was his only losing record in 10 seasons in Austin.
The Akers experiment proved to be a disaster.
He went 12-31-1 overall and 9-23 in the Big Ten in West Lafayette. Akers really didn’t seem all that interested in being in West Lafayette. And, it showed. He mercifully was canned after a 2-9 mark in 1990.
Other options on the candidate would have been intriguing. Tom Kubat of the J&C opined that his favorites were Akers, Nehlen, Smith and McCartney. Kubat also wrote at the time he felt Purdue would like to get Mackovic … and that it “will probably end up with Maryland’s Bobby Ross.”
Too bad Ross wasn't the guy. He would have been a home run. After leaving Maryland, Ross went on to lead Georgia Tech to a share of the 1990 national title and the Chargers to the Super Bowl after the 1994 season.
Nehlen took WVU to monster heights a few years later, going 11-1 in 1988 and in 1993 during a glorious 21-year run in Morgantown.
Mackovic went on to revive Illinois from 1988-91 (30-16-1 with four bowls in four years) before moving on to Texas.
Purdue was left to wonder … What if?
Share your thoughts. Who would you have hired instead of Akers?
Burtnett’s fifth and final season was one of the dreariest in an often dreary tenure for the likable Burtnett, who went 21-34-1 overall and 17-25-1 in the Big Ten. He was unable to build off the foundation of success crafted by predecessor Jim Young, for whom he served as defensive coordinator and architect of the famed "Junk Defense."
“I just looked at my family and looked at the team,” said Burtnett back in November 1986. “And when I did that, it was pretty clear that’s what I should do.”
Which direction would Purdue turn for a successor? It was a big decision for athletic director George King.
The list of possible candidates chronicled by the Lafayette Journal & Courier was eclectic.
Fred Akers, Texas head coach
Jim Colletto, Arizona State OC
Bob Cope, Pacific head coach
Dick Crum, North Carolina head coach
Gerry Faust, Akron head coach
Foge Fazio, Notre Dame DC
John Mackovic, Kansas City Chiefs head coach
Bill McCartney, Colorado head coach
Ron Meyer, Co-owner of sports agency in Dallas
Don Nehlen, West Virginia head coach
Johnny Majors, Tennessee head coach
Bob Otolski, Illinois State head coach
Stan Parrish, Kansas State head coach
Francis Peay, Northwestern head coach
Tim Rose, Miami (Ohio) head coach
Bobby Ross, Maryland head coach
Paul Schudel, Ball State head coach
Larry Smith, Arizona head coach
Bob Spoo, Eastern Illinois head coach
Rick Venturi, Indianapolis Colts assistant
Jim Wacker, TCU head coach
Jim Walden, Washington State head coach
George Welsh, Virginia head coach
Jim Young, Army head coach
In the end, Purdue picked the 46-year-old Akers, who was on the hot seat at Texas. No doubt, Longhorn fans probably were thrilled Akers hightailed it to Purdue coming off a 5-6 season which was his only losing record in 10 seasons in Austin.
The Akers experiment proved to be a disaster.
He went 12-31-1 overall and 9-23 in the Big Ten in West Lafayette. Akers really didn’t seem all that interested in being in West Lafayette. And, it showed. He mercifully was canned after a 2-9 mark in 1990.
Other options on the candidate would have been intriguing. Tom Kubat of the J&C opined that his favorites were Akers, Nehlen, Smith and McCartney. Kubat also wrote at the time he felt Purdue would like to get Mackovic … and that it “will probably end up with Maryland’s Bobby Ross.”
Too bad Ross wasn't the guy. He would have been a home run. After leaving Maryland, Ross went on to lead Georgia Tech to a share of the 1990 national title and the Chargers to the Super Bowl after the 1994 season.
Nehlen took WVU to monster heights a few years later, going 11-1 in 1988 and in 1993 during a glorious 21-year run in Morgantown.
Mackovic went on to revive Illinois from 1988-91 (30-16-1 with four bowls in four years) before moving on to Texas.
Purdue was left to wonder … What if?
Share your thoughts. Who would you have hired instead of Akers?
