At Ohio State, Bruce succeeded the legendary Woody Hayes and won four Big Ten Conference titles.

Bruce returned to coaching in 2001 to helm the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League for a season and also later guided the Columbus Destroyers.

Bruce was recruited as a fullback at the Ohio State University by head coach Wes Fesler.

[1] On the strength of his success at Massillon, Bruce returned to Ohio State in 1966 as a position coach for the offensive line and later defensive backs.

Bruce moved into the head coaching position at Iowa State University following his success at Tampa.

Iowa State experienced some success in six seasons with Bruce as head coach, including the third and fourth bowl appearances in school history.

In Bruce's first year, Ohio State went undefeated in the regular season and played in the Rose Bowl, losing the game—and at least a share of the national championship—by a single point.

In 1987, Ohio State was sent reeling when star receiver Cris Carter was kicked off the team for signing with an agent.

They lost to Indiana for the first time in 38 years, with Bruce calling the loss “the darkest day in Ohio State football”, and never recovered.

[6] Bruce was the leading candidate to replace Bob Valesente as head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks after the 1987 season, but due to a contract dispute, KU did not hire him.

Five years earlier, his final Ohio State team played LSU to a 13–13 tie in Tiger Stadium in a nationally televised game.

After Colorado State, he moved on to the Arena Football League, where he coached the Cleveland Thunderbolts in 1994 and the St. Louis Stampede in 1995 and 1996 before retiring.

In 2003, Bruce came out of retirement to coach the final ten games for the Arena Football League's Iowa Barnstormers, guiding them to a 7–3 record.