With change comes uncertainty.
As long as Bobby Hauck was at the helm of the football program at Montana, this was inevitable: The Grizzlies would be organized, prepared, focused and formidable.
As head coach, Hauck was the gatekeeper of Griz football for 15 of the past 23 years. In that time, he became the winningest coach in both Montana and Big Sky Conference history with an overall record of 151-43 and a 86-23 mark in league games.
Now it's up to another Bobby — surname Kennedy — to foster and build on that wave of achievement in the aftermath of Hauck's sudden retirement, which was announced Wednesday. It'll be a tall order for any coach to match what Hauck accomplished at Montana.
The only thing that eluded Hauck was a national championship, but not for a lack of trying. To that end, let's take a look back to what were at least some of the biggest on-field moments of Hauck's tenure(s) — in no particular order — which spanned 2003-09 and 2018-25.
Rising up to beat Appalachian State
Everything about the 2009 season was special for Montana, but this FCS semifinal wasn't just a top Hauck moment — it might be the biggest moment in Washington-Grizzly Stadium history.
At the time, Appalachian State was the class of the FCS. The Mountaineers had the subdivision's best player, quarterback Armanti Edwards, and were gunning to win their fourth national title in a five-year stretch. But Hauck's Grizzlies protected their home turf as a second-half blizzard descended on Missoula in a game that lived up to every bit of the hype. And there was a lot.
A 25-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Selle to Jabin Sambrano with 1:31 left broke a tie, and Montana's defense thwarted an Edwards pass to the end zone from the 3-yard line on the final play to preserve a 24-17 win and earn a berth to the national title game. This was also Hauck's final home game before he departed to take the job at UNLV.
The Junior Bergen Show
This was another wild scene in Missoula in 2023 that put a stamp on Hauck's second stint at Montana and gave the program its first playoff semifinal victory since the aforementioned Appalachian State thriller. This will also be remembered as the Junior Bergen Show.
Bergen scored on a 47-yard punt return in the fourth quarter and caught a 22-yard TD pass in the first overtime, and also threw a two-point conversion pass in double OT to ultimately give Montana the winning points in a 31-29 victory. In the end, Bergen had 59 receiving yards, 21 rushing yards, 47 punt return yards and 28 kickoff return yards in a virtuoso and clutch performance.
In what was a 13-win season, Hauck had brought Montana back to the national championship stage, accomplishing a big goal he set upon his return to UM in 2018.
The comeback to end all comebacks
This first-round playoff game in 2009 was all but over. And things got worse before they got better.
Already down 34-14 at halftime, South Dakota State blocked a Montana punt for a touchdown at the outset of the third quarter to put the Griz in a 27-point hole. But a 98-yard kickoff return by Marc Mariani later in the third sparked a comeback for the ages — to the tune of 40 unanswered points in a 20-minute span for a 61-48 win.
Mariani had 171 receiving yards and scored three total touchdowns, Chase Reynolds rushed for three scores and what looked like the premature end to an undefeated season (to that point) began a march back to the championship game. Hauck's quote after the game? "At halftime we said, 'Everybody hang on. If you don’t buy into it, stay in the locker room. But if you do, this is going to be the greatest comeback in school history. You’re about to witness it.' That’s what they did."
2008: A Copper and Gold surprise
Hauck's first stint at Montana included a run of four straight wins against rival Montana State, and that included 2008 when the Griz ran out of the tunnel at Washington-Grizzly Stadium wearing replica uniforms from the Don Read era of the 1980s and '90s.
UM was again a powerhouse that season on the way to another appearance in the national title game. And this game seemed over before it started, thanks to the uniform surprise and a goal-line stand that stuffed MSU at the outset of the game. The Griz went on to win 35-3.
Marc Mariani and Chase Reynolds played a key role with two touchdowns apiece, but the blowout was punctuated by a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown by big defensive lineman George Mercer with time winding down in the fourth quarter.
Lightning in a bottle in 2004
Hauck's second season in Missoula in 2004 gave a glimpse into what his first stint as head coach would be with the Grizzlies' first of four national championship appearance under his guidance.
Quarterback Craig Ochs, previously a transfer from Colorado, put together a masterful season while Lex Hilliard and Justin Green powered an effective running game. This was also the season in which Tuff Harris emerged as a top cornerback, picking off four passes with 148 return yards. Harris would later turn into a return threat in the kicking game.
The Grizzlies didn't win the national championship that year — field conditions in Chattanooga notwithstanding — but it signaled the run of consistent success the program would achieve under Hauck for the next five seasons.
Taking down the Huskies
Hauck considers this to be the biggest win in Griz program history. You can debate that, but it certainly put Montana in rare company when it knocked off FBS Washington, the No. 20-ranked team in the AP preseason poll, 13-7 at Husky Stadium on Sept. 4, 2021.
The Grizzlies won by scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter — the only points by either team after halftime. A 4-yard run by Cam Humphrey and a 22-yard field goal by Kevin Macias decided it. Montana's defense, meanwhile, held Washington to just 65 net rushing yards and intercepted three passes.
The win also gave Hauck and Montana the distinction of being just the sixth FCS team to knock off a ranked FBS opponent, and the first to do it in a five-year stretch. Nobody has done it since.
Road survival at James Madison
It was one of the rare times Hauck and the Grizzlies had to go on the road to try to win a playoff semifinal game but they got it done with a 35-27 win in 2008 at James Madison.
Montana jumped up 14-3 on consecutive touchdown runs by Chase Reynolds in the first quarter. Reynolds had another rushing score before tight end Steve Pfahler caught a TD pass from Cole Bergquist in the third. A Bergquist touchdown throw to Mike Ferriter late in the third gave the Griz a 35-17 lead and provided enough cushion.
That win was one of just two "true" road playoff games the Grizzlies have won, but it fit the script — especially in Hauck's first tenure at Montana, and it came during a four-year stretch when the team went 51-6 and made three title-game trips under his leadership.
