How Vince Marrow to Louisville Compares with Shocking Sports Heel Turns

Vince Marrow spent years throwing Ls Down while celebrating Governor’s Cup victories. The next time we see him in public, he will be wearing a Tom Jurich turtleneck.

Marrow’s move from Lexington to Louisville sent shockwaves around the Commonwealth of Kentucky. To see him in Louisville red will be incomprehensible. He was one of us. Now he’s turning to the dark side. We’ve seen some crazy moves in the past. How does this move stack up to those epic heel turns?

Hulk Hogan to NWO

The term “turning heel” may have existed before, but it became part of the lexicon when Hulk Hogan did the unthinkable. He was a Real American, the poster child for everything good in professional wrestling. Hulk Hogan was a hero who became the mysterious third man, joining Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to form the New World Order. He ditched the Hulkster’s yellow for NWO black and embraced the shocking role as wrestling’s new villain.

Babe Ruth from Boston to New York

More than 100 years ago, Boston Red Sox fans received a form of heartbreak that lingered for almost as long. Baseball’s brightest star, Babe Ruth, won two World Series in Boston and was sold to the New York Yankees for $100,000. There’s no way to gauge how fans reacted, but they certainly felt that pain until the Curse of the Bambino was lifted when the Red Sox finally ended their 86-year World Series drought in 2004.

Jim Schlossnagle from Texas A&M Baseball to Texas

This baseball break-up was on a much smaller scale, but nonetheless jarring in the most jaw-dropping way. Jim Schlossnagle guided Texas A&M to the College World Series finals. Shortly after the Aggies fell to the Volunteers, a TexAgs reporter asked about rumors tying him to the vacancy at Texas.

“I think it’s pretty selfish of you to ask me that question, to be honest with you,” Schlossnagle said. “I left my family to be the coach at Texas A&M. I took the job at Texas A&M to never take another job again, and that hasn’t changed in my mind.

“That’s unfair to talk about something like that. That would be like you asking Montgomery if he’s going to sign in the draft. But I understand you gotta ask the question, but I gave up a big part of my life to come take this job and I’ve poured every ounce of my soul in this job and I’ve given this job every single ounce I can possibly give it. Write that.”

On the very next day, Schlossnagle accepted the job at Texas.

Tommy Tuberville leaves Ole Miss for Auburn

Schlossnagle’s defiance to the reporter was striking, but it was not unprecedented. Bobby Petrino often said publicly that he would not take a job, then abruptly left for another. The most colorful language ever used in one of these cases happened in 1998. Ole Miss head Tommy Tuberville addressed rumors on his radio show that he would be leaving Oxford to take the head coaching position at Auburn.

“They’ll have to carry me out of here in a pine box.” Two days later, he was the Auburn head coach.

Phil Fulmer’s Coup at Tennessee

Johnny Majors was incredibly successful at Tennessee in the 80s. A perennial Top 25 team, he reached the peak of his powers with an 11-win season and a victory over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. Majors had consecutive 9-win seasons when his health took a turn. He needed quintuple bypass surgery before the start of the 1992 season.

Offensive coordinator Phil Fulmer took the reins while Majors recovered. He never let them go. Fulmer upset Georgia and a Top 5 Florida team before Majors returned to the sideline. That’s when the team hit a skid and suffered losses to Arkansas, South Carolina, and Alabama. Fan sentiment shifted in favor of Fulmer. Majors saw the writing on the wall and resigned before the season’s end.

Brett Favre to the Minnesota Vikings

Brett Favre was as American as Apple Pie. A Green Bay Packers icon, the gunslinger was the best quarterback in football and he was never too shy to share his opinions. In a saga we saw play out decades later with Aaron Rodgers, discontentment between Favre and the Packers grew, ultimately leading Green Bay to trade him to the New York Jets.

After one year with the Jets, Favre was ready to move on, again. This time he returned to the NFC North to play for the Packers’ most bitter rival, the Minnesota Vikings. It’s still bizarre to see pictures of him in purple, but he almost took them to a Super Bowl, falling to the Saints in the infamous Bounty Gate NFC Championship Game.

Rick Pitino to Louisville

For folks across the Commonwealth of Kentucky, there’s only one heel turn that comes to mind. Rick Pitino resurrected the Kentucky basketball program from the ashes of probation and guided the Wildcats to three Final Fours and a National Championship.

Following the 1997 season, he took on the challenge of bringing the Boston Celtics back to prominence. He missed his NBA Lottery chance to get Tim Duncan, the start of his demise in the NBA. Four years later, Pitino was looking for a new job in the college ranks. He could have gone to Michigan. Instead, he returned to Kentucky as the Louisville head basketball coach.

Like Favre, or Kenny Payne years later, Pitino at least had a few years in between his time at Kentucky and Louisville. Vince Marrow is packing up and moving directly down I-64 West to Louisville. Anakin Skywalker is now Darth Vader.