Good discussion upthread.
JMO, but the blossoming of the passing game in the 80s is what stopped the Wishbone. When the goal of every major-college OL and RB became signing an NFL contract, the Bone and other similar offensive concepts became difficult to recruit to. The Bone and other similar offenses carried on for many years at D2 & 3 levels, who were largely free of the pro game’s corrupting influence.
Tactically speaking, passing yardage has become so easy to gain in the modern game (Some would argue that outcome was engineered by the NCAA) that the costs of committing to an offense like the Bone just aren’t worth it…even if you could fill out a staff that knew how to do install and run the thing. Conceptually though, the principles are still effective…we see many ‘Bone/option concepts out on the field these days, camouflaged by inverted-shotgun formations. That at least has brought some interest back into offensive football for me.
