Northfield News publishes feature on former Carleton football coach Bob Sullivan
Bob Sullivan is the winningest coach in Carleton Football history.
Northfield News published the feature, “Bob Sullivan: Recruiting Smart Guys.”
A member of Carleton College’s C-Club Hall of Fame (2002) and Minnesota Football Coaches Association (1998), Marshall, Minnesota (located 150 miles southwest of Minneapolis near the border of South Dakota) native Bob “Sully” Sullivan credits his coaching success to recruiting smart guys.
The next stop for Bob’s coaching career was Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. A prestigious academic college with a nationally acclaimed reputation, Carleton won the Midwest Conference football title Bob’s first year at the helm in 1979. The Carleton Knights had a record of 25-5 during the four years they were in the conference before joining the much more competitive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in 1983. “Recruiting smart guys was key,” Bob says of the challenge of finding athletes who met the lofty academic admission standards of Carleton and could play smart football. He found coaches Bill Walsh and Lou Holtz to be inspirational. In fact, he patterned his offense off ideas he saw and learned from Walsh, the successful NFL coach who guided the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl Championships.
Retiring from college coaching in 2000, Bob’s overall record at Carleton was 102-114. The football team won the MIAC championship in 1992, leading Bob to be named MIAC Coach of the Year. The Knights lost 20-8 in the first round of the Division III playoffs to Central (Iowa). “The MIAC is the second strongest Division III conference in the nation after the WIAC in Wisconsin,” Bob opines.
Many players achieved awards under Bob’s guidance on the Carleton gridiron now named after him: 7 All-Americans, 2 MIAC MVPs, and dozens of All-Conference players. “Tim Nielson [1985-88] may have been the best player I coached. He was a five-foot, eight-inch quarterback, the MVP in the MIAC, and an All-American. He was a magician with the ball and stronger than hell. His football jersey number is the only one ever retired at Carleton. His brother John succeeded him, and he was great too. Guy Finne of West Concord was the best offensive tackle I ever coached. The Packers wanted to look at him, but he was afraid of flying and wouldn’t go for a tryout.”