Bicknell has enjoyed time away from game

BOSTON – Any discussion of former University of Maine coaches who have gone on to make it big must begin with Jack Bicknell, who strode the sidelines of Alumni Field in Orono as football coach of the Black Bears from 1976-80.

From Maine, where his teams were 18-35-1, Bicknell went on to coach Division I-A Boston College. There he recruited a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback named Doug Flutie. The two took the Eagles to new heights, leading BC to a Cotton Bowl victory in 1985 and a Hall of Fame Bowl win in ’86.

After BC fired him following the 1990 season, Bicknell went on to coach the Barcelona Dragons in the World League of American Football, taking the team to the championship game in 1991 before the league folded.

Now a youthful-looking 55, Bicknell is back in the Boston area. He worked Saturday’s game between Maine and Boston University as the color analyst for Sportschannel TV. Before the game he took time out to discuss life, football, and his career.

Bangor Daily News: What is your life like now that the WLAF is gone and you’re out of coaching?

Jack Bicknell: “Things are going great. I really enjoyed the World League. It was a great situation to be involved with, going to a foreign country. Now I’m working for the NFL in what’s called NFL World Partnership, where you travel through Europe doing clinics. I did that for four months this spring, giving clinics in Germany, Ireland, Scotland, England and Spain. The World League is trying to make a decision whether to start up again this year or next year. But I’ve enjoyed having the fall off.”

BDN: Assuming the World League starts up again, will you be back on the sidelines?

JB: “Oh yes, definitely. I’m going to coach. I want to coach. I’ll be back there (Barcelona) the second they start up again. I loved it over there. The people were great.”

BDN: It must seem like an awfully long way from Orono to Barcelona. Could you ever have predicted things would have gone the way they have?

JB: “No. I loved it at Maine. I was kidding Jack (Cosgrove). I was there longer than any of the coaches that have been there since. I was there five years. He laughed. I said the only guy who’ll be there longer than me will be you. I learned a lot about coaching football at Maine and the connection has lasted. I coached Jack. (Maine assistant) Bobby Wilder was with me at BC. And Steve Spagnuolo, Jack’s secondary coach, coached with me in Barcelona.”

BDN: What about BC? You had a great run with them, then it ended badly. How do you feel about them and do you still follow their program?

JB: “I follow it. I don’t follow it as closely now that… the longer I’m away, the fewer kids are involved I coached. They’re going to have a good program. It’s just a tough business at that level. At some point they’re going to realize it’s a tough situation, the competitive nature of all those teams and the big money aspect at that level of football is tough. Tom Coughlin coached for me. A couple of coaches who were with me are still on the staff. I wish them nothing but the best.”

BDN: Doug Flutie. What is your relationship like with him now that he’s playing for Calgary in the CFL?

JB: “I keep in touch. I watched him last night. He’s been MVP in the Canadian League for two years and he probably will be for a third year. He’s amazing. He’s just a winner. He plays the game because he enjoys it. He’s got that way about him, he’ll never lose. I’m really proud of the kid.”

BDN: There’s still a feeling among a lot of people that Flutie could not only play in the NFL, but win in the NFL. What’s your take on his career?

JB: “I think he can play in the NFL. I think it’s a joke that he’s not playing in the NFL. I don’t think he wants to, now. I think he’s found a home in Canada. They love him. He’s really a national hero there. He’s found his niche. I don’t know that he’ll never come back, but he doesn’t have anything to prove to anybody. He tried that. It didn’t work out. Now, he’s happy where he is.”

BDN: Do you ever look back and wonder what if you’d never gone to Flutie, who was the fourth string quarterback at one point for you at BC?

JB: “It was a quirky situation. He didn’t have many other scholarship offers. We thought he was an outstanding athlete who might play wide receiver or free safety for us. But I had promised him at least the opportunity to play quarterback. I told him, `if I decide you can’t play, I’m going to switch you.’ Obviously, the first game he went into against Penn State, it was like someone flipped a switch. Everything started going faster and better. You didn’t have to be a genius to realize you had something special.”

BDN: There are rumors circulating that you might be in line for the Harvard job. If the WLAF doesn’t work out, would you try to get into college coaching again?

JB: “Yeah. I would make that effort. I just like what I’m doing right now. If it doesn’t work out, I’m young enough that I still want to coach and I would want to coach in the United States at the college level.”