John Richard Behee

An analysis of a great football coach was a natural quest for Dr. John Behee. Ten years of football coaching, two as a graduate assistant at Michigan in 1964 and 1965, combined with a M.A. in American History sent him after the story of Fielding H. Yost twice. The first quest resulted in a Ph.D. and Fielding Yost’s Legacy to the University of Michigan (1971). That groundbreaking book was a sweeping look at Coach Yost’s twenty five-year career as Football Coach and Athletic Director at Michigan.

Dr. Behee followed his Michigan days with a career in teaching at Trine University (Angola, Ind.) and in a second career conducting leadership workshops for manufacturing plants throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Retirement provided Dr. Behee with the time to pursue a second quest, and Coach Yost—Michigan Tradition Maker (2020) focuses on Yost’s football coaching, his motivational skills, and his methods.

Coach Yost reveals the complex teamwork formulas Coach Yost implemented, his teaching strategies, and powerful motivational skills. Dr. Behee makes clear why Fielding H. Yost was truly a tradition maker and why so many of his teams were proud to be called “Champions of the West.”