He was still a top hire and the only LSU head coach to have an undefeated career record. Actually, Bill Arnsparger was also a top hire and very successful, he just had happy feet. Still, Bobby Bowden wanted the LSU job very badly at the time and thought he was the top candidate, as did many LSU supporters. But AD Bob Broadhead was in love with the NFL. If we had hired Bobby Bowden, the 80's and 90's would have been quite different.
Bo Rein was hired to replace Cholly Mac, but on a recruiting trip in his first month at LSU, he was killed in a bizarre plane crash. AD Paul DIetzel then kept Rein's staff together and hired Jerry Stoval to be head coach. Jerry actually won national Coach of the Year before he let the wheels come off.
He left Shreveport recruiting visit flying a Cessna. He was a pilot. He had someone with him. Can't remeber their name. He turned east after takeoff to avoid a storm. Air traffic control lost voice contact. The plane climbed past 41000 ft heading east. Aircraft sent to intercept found them flying over North Carolina. They saw no one in the pilot seat. The plane continued east over the Atlantic til it ran out of fuel and crashed! Their bodies were never recovered.
Rein and experienced pilot, Louis Benscotter, left Shreveport in a Cessna 441 aircraft. The flight was planned to be a 40-minute trip, but when Benscotter rerouted east to avoid a storm, air traffic control lost contact with him. The plane climbed to 40,000 feet and kept heading due east on autopilot. After being tracked on radar, the plane was eventually intercepted by U.S. Air National Guard jets over North Carolina, a thousand miles off course and at an altitude of 41,600 feet, 6,600 feet higher than its maximum certified ceiling. It was night and the military pilots could not see anyone in the cockpit. The plane continued on over the Atlantic Ocean, where it crashed after running out of fuel. The military pilots spotted some debris, but no wreckage was ever recovered. The cause of the crash is undetermined but was most likely cabin depressurization causing hypoxia, a lack of oxygen, resulting in the occupants losing consciousness. Out of respect, LSU paid for Rein's children's college educations at the universities of their choice. Former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes gave the eulogy at Rein's funeral in Niles, Ohio.
It was a sad thing that happened. That's for sure. Thanks Red for the more detailed explanation! You rock, Sir!
