Joe Tiller Living the "About Schmidt" Life

Joe Tiller hung it up after 11 years as Purdue's head coach at the end of last season. And while he gives assurances that he doesn't miss the drugery of preparing a team to play each week, it's clear that the guy isn't ready to abandon the gameday atmosphere entirely just yet.

Instead, Tiller has gotten into the tailgating scene at his alma mater of Montana State, as well as his former coaching homes, Wyoming and Purdue. And, judging from his interview with the Illini HQ, he's learning a lot about the fan experience.

We hosted our inaugural tailgate last Saturday at the Texas game. We had about 60 people stop by. I discovered that they drink a lot. They don't eat much, just drink a lot. Mack Brown stopped by afterward and I told him, 'While you were walking back to the locker room before the game, your stomach churning and you were pacing back and forth, I had a Bud Light in my hand.' He laughed and gave me a high-five.

That has to be a good feeling following years of associating gameday with loads of stress. But Bud Light? C'mon, you can do better.

[Thanks, SportsbyBrooks]

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.