 In December 1922 , Schulz was hired as head football coach at the University of Detroit . Shortly after his appointment , Schulz announced that he was looking for " eleven raving maniacs " to fill out his team , a phrase that was picked up in wire service reports around the country . He noted : " You can 't beat eleven raving maniacs with football heads " . In September 1923 , the press reported that Schulz suffered a shoulder injury while demonstrating proper tackling technique on a tackling " dummy " . After going 39 – 7 in the five seasons before Schulz took over , the Detroit team fell to 4 – 3 – 2 in 1923 . In January 1924 , the University announced that it would not renew Schulz 's contract , and Schulz announced his " permanent retirement from football coaching " . 
