A long and storied coaching career has come to an end.

With this Saturday's game against Yale, football coach Joe Restic will hang up his clipboard and retire from the Crimson sideline.

Not to say that his tenure has not been fun, however. Just as the Multi-Flex offense is intertwined with intricacies, so is Restic's career.

Restic came to Harvard to replace departing coach John Yovicsin, who for 14 years lead the Crimson to many successful, if not exciting, seasons. The conservative Yovicsin seemed to call a sweep every other play, and several black players on the team believed that there was racism on the coaching staff and boycotted a practice. It was time for a change.

Restic definitely provided that. Coming from the Canadian football League Hamilton Tiger Cats, Restic brought an innovative system known as the "Multi-Flex" where the offense would react to the defenses changes and exploit them. Still, not everyone was sold on it. In the registration issue, The Crimson wrote, "He may not beat them, but he will confuse them."

Restic's first season, 1971, was troubled. Spoiled by 7-2 and 8-0-1 seasons under Yovicsin, Harvard began the season 3-4. Quarterback Rod Foster complained that the playbook was too difficult, having been used to the bash-their-brains-out style of seasons past. Nevertheless, the Crimson finished the year with victories over Brown and Yale to have a record of 4-3 Ivy, 5-4 overall.

In 1972, hopes were up. The feeling was that now the team had had a year to learn the system, so that it could start winning some more. It was not to be. Harvard finished 3-3-1 Ivy, 4-4-1 overall, lost to Yale, and Crimson fans wondered if "Resticball" could ever work here the way it did in Canada.

For the 1973 campaign, hopes were not too high. Key players were lost to graduation, such as Eric "End Zone" Crone. The Crimson wrote, "Harvard fans can expect a lot of close scoring games this year."

In its Ivy League opener against Columbia, though, Harvard won 57-0, proving the first rule of the Multi-Flex: Don't ever try to predict it. The Crimson rolled throughout the rest of the season, and went to New Haven with an Ivy record of 7-1 and in the hunt for the crown. But Harvard lost to Yale, 35-0, and finished the season 5-2 Ivy, 7-2 overall.

In 1974 the Crimson seemed to get over last year's heartbreak. Harvard rolled through the Ivies, losing only to Brown and defeating Yale 21-16. With the effort, the team captured a share of the Ivy League title in its 100th season of football with a record of 6-1 Ivy, 7-2 overall. This season marked the first of Restic's five Ivy League titles.

1975 looked murky from the outset. Many key offensive stars were lost to graduation, including Pat McInally, who went on to play with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Restic, who was just beginning to get some gray hairs on his head, still had some tricks up his sleeve, though. The Crimson overcame an early loss to BU and closed out the 6-1 Ivy, 7-2 overall season with a 10-7 defeat of Yale. The victory gave Restic and Harvard their first undisputed Ivy League title.

For the first year, the Crimson was favored to win in 1976. Restic's career record at Harvard was 30-14-1, and the Crimson had either captured or shared the Ivy League title for the last two seasons.

After beginning the season 3-0, however, Harvard was stunned by Cornell, 9-0. The loss, which was so distressing that it caused The Crimson to print a special late Saturday supplement, led to losses against Brown and Yale and a 4-3 Ivy, 6-3 overall season.

The 1977 season brought Restic looking like a modern-day Clint Eastwood and questions about the football team. Could Restic work his magic and pull out a title? Or would the loss of star quarterback Jim Kubacki '76 hurt the team beyond repair?