As the football world marveled at Raheem Mostert’s 220-yard, four-touchdown outburst in the NFC championship game, at least one observer wasn’t surprised.
He knew who the unheralded running back’s coach was, a man who churned out six consecutive 1,000-yard rushers in Denver and 11 in 12 years. At 70 years old, Bobby Turner — or Bobby T., as he’s affectionately known — is still turning afterthoughts into names that are known league-wide.
“He’s the best running backs coach on the planet — by far,” former Ohio State running back Butler B'ynote' said emphatically. “I tell people all the time, there were seven guys in the running backs room who ended up in the NFL. Everything that we learned from coach Turner carried us over the rest of our careers. The level of detail, the drills that he taught us, a lot of those things are what I coach today.”
B’ynote’, who coaches at Kirkwood High School in St. Louis, was recruited to Ohio State by Turner, the school’s running backs coach in 1989 and 1990. As he watched the 49ers run over the Green Bay Packers, B’ynote’ knew Mostert’s success stemmed from the guy who barked orders in practice throughout the week.
On Sunday, Turner, in his third season coaching the 49ers’ running backs, will coach in his fourth Super Bowl. He won two rings with the Broncos in the 1990s tutoring Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis and was a victim of the New England Patriots’ record-setting comeback in Super Bowl LI as the Atlanta Falcons’ running backs coach.
“We call Bobby the O.G. of coaching,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said this week in Miami.
As a naive high school senior, B’ynote’ didn’t know who Woody Hayes or Archie Griffin were. So when Turner sat in his St. Louis living room and offered him a scholarship to Ohio State, the enormity didn’t register with B’ynote’. He simply thanked Turner and sent him on his way.
An uncle couldn’t believe what he was hearing, admonishing B’ynote’ and urging him to tell Turner that he would take an official visit to Columbus. B’ynote’ found Turner outside and delivered the news.
Three decades later, Turner remains an influential force in B’ynote’s life.
“He was the reason I even knew about Ohio State,” B’ynote’ said. “When I got there, he was a father figure to a lot of us. He became the guy you knew immediately cared about you beyond football. He talked to us about life and shared a lot about his life, which helped foster the relationship.”
The running backs meeting room in 1990 was a Who’s Who of its time — B’ynote’, Robert Smith, Raymont Harris, Scottie Graham, and the injured Carlos Snow. The healthy quartet rushed for 2,137 yards and 19 touchdowns for the 7-4-1 Buckeyes.
“Excellent football coach. Very good recruiter,” said former OSU head coach John Cooper, who hired Turner away from Fresno State. “Good person. I’d give him As all the way across the board. I’d put him in the upper echelon of assistant coaches that worked for me.”
Jim Colletto, Ohio State’s offensive coordinator, was hired as Purdue’s head coach in 1991 and took Turner with him, helping groom Mike Alstott into a wrecking ball.
“Hated to lose him,” Cooper said. “Trust me, I tried like heck to keep him.”
In 1995, Turner was hired by Mike Shanahan to coach running backs for the Denver Broncos, the beginning of a 24-year NFL coaching career that’s arguably the most accomplished at his position — 15 1,000-yard seasons by eight different running backs. Unsung names like Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, Reuben Droughns, and Tatum Bell.
Prized student Terrell Davis never rushed for 900 yards in college. He eclipsed 1,100 in four consecutive seasons from 1995 to 1998 and was the catalyst on back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
Turner followed Shanahan to the Washington Redskins in 2010, where he turned sixth-round draft pick Alfred Morris into an All-Pro. When Shanahan’s son, Kyle, became the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator, Turner was one of his first hires. It was only natural that he’d assist Kyle in his first head-coaching job.
“I made a commitment to Bobby Turner a long time ago that if I got a head-coaching job I was going to take him with me,” Shanahan said.
And it only took them three seasons to turn San Francisco into a Super Bowl contender after being a laughing stock. Of course, Turner has played a leading role with a run-dominant offense that’s one of the stories of the 2019 season. Mostert, Matt Breida, and Tevin Coleman combined for 1,939 yards and 15 touchdowns in the league’s second-best rushing offense.
“The one common denominator that we have in our backfield now is speed,” Turner said. “But we’re not going to look for guys who are all fast guys. What we’re looking for is coachability.”
Acclaim for Turner is nearly universal — B’ynote’, Davis, Coleman, Clinton Portis, and Tim Hightower are among a long list of former players who consider Turner to be the best ever at coaching running backs. It stems from the production of his players and the techniques he teaches.
On game days, Turner famously administers lengthy pencil-and-paper tests that review the game plan and opposing coverages. But there’s also a human side to the reverence players share for Turner, a prickly personality whose intentions are appreciated.
“He was the guy I trusted,” B’ynote’ said. “There were times he was extremely hard on me at practice, ripping me from A to Z. He would ask me after practice how I was. I was like, ‘I’m fine, coach.’ And he told me he was on me because I was his recruit and he wanted to make sure I succeeded. I had a huge amount of respect for him.”
First Published February 1, 2020, 2:00 p.m.
