The greatest coach you never heard of.

Growing up in the South, I was raised on football. Especially college football. College football and hot sauce to be exact. This has afforded me the opportunity to witness some great teams, players and coaches that most people have never heard of.

One of these individuals was a coach by the name of Marino "The Godfather" Casem. Casem was the coach of three historically black colleges: Alabama State, Alcorn State and Southern.

Casem was too awesome to have his picture taken, because the camera would instantly self-destruct. There are some artists renderings out there of what he might look like.

These are the two most widely accepted portraits of the man:



As you can see both drawings are similar. I suspect both contain aspect of the true Marino Casem.


The reason why Casem is the man is because he gave the truest definition of Southern football to ever be recorded. The Godfather was once quoted as saying:

"In the East, college football is a cultural exercise.
On the West Coast, it is a tourist attraction.
In the Midwest, it is cannibalism.
But in the South, college football is a religion, and every Saturday is a holy day."

Now that is the truest shit I have ever read in my life! In case you are thinking to yourself, "Has this genius of a man ever received the credit that is befitting him?" The answer is yes.

Casem was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003. Here is his membership profile given on their website:

Known as the "The Godfather, " Marino Casem's coaching career began as an excuse to visit his girlfriend. His fiancee had a job at Utica Junior College, and Casem traveled from his Memphis home to Mississippi to interview for a coaching position simply as a reason to see his future wife. He got the job, and after a stint in the military returned to coaching as the head coach at Alabama State. After one season he moved to Alcorn State where he coached for 22 seasons. With the Braves, he won seven Southwestern Athletic Conference Championships. In 1968, he won the first of back-to-back Black College National Championships. He added a third crown with a national title in 1974 and yet another in 1984. The 1984 team finished the regular season as the top team in all of Division I-AA football. He resigned from Alcorn to accept the job as Athletic Director at Southern. In 1987 and 1988 he doubled as the school's head coach and was interim coach in 1992. As an administrator, he guided Southern to become the top overall program in the conference, winning numerous all-sport championships. Throughout his career he served on many national committees including the NCAA Football Rules, and the NCAA Executive Committee.

Everyone pay homage to a true coaching legend. There are hundreds of other "Godfathers" out there that make up the great sport of college football. Do some research and learn more about the history of the sport.