Former Eastern Illinois football coach Bob Spoo, whose players included future NFL quarterbacks Tony Romo and Jimmy Garoppolo, has died at age 80.
The university said Spoo died Monday in Rockford. School spokesman Rich Moser said Spoo had been ill in recent weeks.
Spoo retired in 2011 after 25 years as Eastern Illinois coach. He had a career record of 144-131-1 and nine FCS playoff appearances. He holds the school record for victories and his 68 Ohio Valley Conference wins rank fourth all-time among conference head coaches.
He had an 11-5 record as Purdue’s starting quarterback in 1957 and ’58 before becoming the coach at Loyola Academy. He was an assistant coach at Wisconsin and Purdue — where he was the quarterbacks coach for future NFL players Mark Herrmann, Scott Campbell and Jim Everett — before taking over the Eastern Illinois program.
Spoo was runner-up for the FCS Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year in 2000. He was named the conference coach of the year four times.
He was inducted into the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Eastern Illinois Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
