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Glenn "Tiger" Ellison: 'Let's go for it on every play!'
Wide-open offense had its roots in a coach shaking things up for a struggling team.
More: Going deeper tha X's and O's | Daughter's book a 'bridge' to the next generation | Ellison wasn't just a coach, he changed players lives
Friday, October 26, 2007
Glenn "Tiger" Ellison came up with the basis of his revoluntionary run-and-shoot offense in the midst of one of his worst seasons at Middletown High School.
Determined to turn around a 1-4-1 start in 1958, Ellison came up with a new scheme — The Lonesome Polecat — in the week leading up to the Middies' game against undefeated Dayton Roosevelt.
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The Lonesome Polecat spread the offense across the field, with the center and quarterback lined up in the middle of the field, the offensive line set up to the far left and two running backs positioned to the far right. Ellison's idea was to spread the field and the defense, with eligible receivers in all three areas of the field.
It was quite a departure for Ellison, who up until then was known as a grind-it-out, ball-control coach.
"Like every conventional coach, I was focused on three things that mattered most on each play: down, distance and position on the field," Ellison was quoted as saying in 'Coach the Kid, Build the Boy, Mold the Man.' "But what this crazy offense was saying was, 'To hell with that! Let's go for it on every play! Let's throw passes at will, put the football on display, give the fans something to cheer about, and have fun doing it.'"
The Lonesome Polecat was an immediate success. The Middies beat Roosevelt, the start of four straight wins to end the season.
The offense evolved over the next few years, and eventually became known as the run and shoot — a name taken from Middletown basketball coach Paul Walker's fast and furious offense.
The run and shoot featured four receivers — two split ends and two slotbacks — one running back, five lineman and a quarterback. The ends lined up 17 yards from the center. The linemen were two feet apart, which opened up room for the run and further spread out the defense.
The theory behind the run and shoot was to make every run play look like a pass play, and vice versa. Ellison was the first coach to call plays based on the defense's alignment. Middletown's quarterbacks and wide receivers surveyed the defense at the line of scrimmage, and signaled to each other what plays to run. Up until then, offenses merely ran a set of pre-programmed plays, mostly out of the T-formation, regardless of how the defense lined up.
Ellison left Middletown for Ohio State after the 1962 season. He served as the freshman coach and assistant under Woody Hayes at OSU. Ellison was a member of the staff that guided the Buckeyes to a national championship in 1968. Ellison retired from coaching the next season.