Panther head coach Bob Spoo is a humble guy. He is on the verge of becoming Eastern’s all-time winningest football coach, but said he isn’t concerned with that. This comes as no surprise to those close to Spoo – his former and current assistant coaches. They say Spoo has had a plan since Day 1. To them, integrity and ethics are as much a part of Panther football as a flexible offense and a stingy defense. They believe Spoo, 63, will continue coaching as long as he still has the fire, which if the past 16 years are any indication, will be a long time.

Those who are close to Panther head football coach Bob Spoo say he’s the type of guy who doesn’t like to take credit for many things.

So when he becomes the winningest football coach in Eastern history, which will happen if Eastern wins against Eastern Kentucky in Saturday’s Homecoming game at O’Brien Stadium, Spoo will shrug it off as just another win.

That’s easy to do when you’ve won 96 games over the last 16 years.

“That’s all well and good, but I just worry about winning each one at a time,” Spoo said. “If they tally up to that, that’s great. I just want to win another game and keep winning.”

Charles Lantz, head coach from 1911-1934 and again in 1944, amassed a 96-65-13 record in his 25-year coaching career.

Those who know Spoo closely say he’s a proud man too. They believe he’ll enjoy having his name in the record books as Eastern’s top coach, but not until the season is over. Until then, there’s business to be done. The Panthers are on a mission to go deep into the NCAA playoffs.

That exceeds anything deeply etched into the Eastern record books.

Win No. 100, which if the Panthers go undefeated from now, would be Nov. 9 in O’Brien Stadium against Tennessee-Martin, probably won’t carry much significance at the time either.

“I’m fortunate and grateful the opportunity is there for me to do that,” Spoo said. “But like the hundreds of other coaches around the country, I just want to focus on the win.”

His focus goes beyond that.

“The thing that stands out to me is that with all the victories he’s had, academics still comes first,” first-year defensive line coach Charlie Partridge said. “The proof is in the pudding. Eastern athletics have the highest graduation rate in the conference.”

Partridge said that’s why he wanted to join Spoo’s coaching staff after leaving Iowa State University.

“It really made all the difference in the world,” Partridge said. “It was the main reason I decided to come here.”

When former assistant coaches talk about Spoo, they’ll throw around phrases like, “he’s a classy guy,” “he’s professional,” and “he’s extremely organized.” But one that often isn’t associated with the usually soft-spoken Spoo is his volume.

“He’s got a really loud voice on the field,” said former Eastern assistant and current Central Michigan head coach Mike DeBord. “The first time I heard it, it took me by surprise. I was like, ‘what was that?’ But it’s just him being a coach.”

DeBord came to Eastern with Spoo in 1987 after working as an offensive coordinator at Fort Hays.

“He had a plan from Day 1,” DeBord said. “He was really organized and had everything together.”

Spoo’s staying power surprised him, and no one else. His former assistants believe he’ll continue coaching for as long as he feels comfortable.

“I know he’s got a ton of energy,” Partridge said. “He’s the driving force behind this program and he’s got a lot more energy than a lot of 25-year-olds I know.”

Randy Melvin, Rutgers University defensive line coach, spent 11 years at Eastern, including three as a player.

“He’s just a great person and is sincere,” Melvin said. “He really stands for the right thing and is a guy you can trust. He gave me my first college coaching job, so there’s no doubt I wouldn’t be where I am now if it weren’t for him.”

Spoo said he’s amazed he’s been able to continue coaching at Eastern, but gives most of the credit to the teams he’s had.

“In this profession, if you can last four or five years, then you’re doing something right,” Spoo said. “We had some down years when they could’ve just taken the rug out from under us. I just hope it continues as well for me.”

But how long can he keep it up?

“He’s just got a great staying power,” DeBord said. “He’s a great competitor and a finisher.”

Assistant athletic director John Smith has been at Eastern as long as Spoo. He was Spoo’s first hire in 1987.

Smith and Spoo worked together at the University of Wisconsin in the mid 1970s and Smith played under Spoo with the Badgers. Spoo hired Smith away from Western Illinois University.

“He’s got a tremendous amount of integrity,” Smith said. “I never would’ve made that kind of lateral move from Western to Eastern if it weren’t for him.”

And Spoo taught Smith many ethical lessons along the way.

“We used to get our film from the officials and they were supposed to send us film on our next opponent – Illinois State, but instead they sent us film on the next two opponents by accident,” Smith said. “I thought yeah, let’s get a look at this, but coach Spoo came into my office as I was putting the reels up and he stopped me. He just said, ‘this doesn’t belong to us we can’t do this.’

“He’s always put an emphasis on doing things the right way.”

And Smith and Spoo helped each other through the tough years, including the Panthers’ 3-7-1 season in 1993, Eastern’s fourth consecutive losing season.

“The best thing about him is that even through those tough times we stayed the course,” Smith said. “He had a certain belief on how things were supposed to be done and he always stuck with it.”