Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

I was trying to think of NFL HCs who ended up returning to college football like Belichick is doing at UNC. I can't think of that many off the top of my head....Lovie Smith to Illinois, Pete Carroll to USC, others?

Dave Wannstedt was HC 6 years with the Bears, then 5 years with the Dolphins, then went to Pitt. 2nd one I thought of was Bill Walsh and Stanford.

Only three HOF coaches went back to the college ranks after they had been NFL head coaches.

1. Bill Walsh in Stanford

2. George Allen spent the last year of his life coaching Long Beach State University.

3. Weeb Ewbank served as the quarterbacks coach at Columbia in 1975.

Technically, you could also count Jimmy Conzelman. After his career as a player/coach ended, he spent most of the 1930's at Washington University in Missouri.

Some other examples

-Herm Edwards left the TV studio to coach at Arizona.

-Lou Saban never coached in the NFL again after he resigned from the Bills in mid-1976. He coached at Miami Army, and Central Florida (with a year as New York Yankees president sandwiched in there). He later coached in high schools, the Arena League, and smaller college programs.

Forrest Gregg went back to SMU after his Packers gig.

Belichick isn't "returning" to college football. He's never coached at the college level before.

Nick Saban and Gene Stallings both spent time in the NFL as HCs and went back to NCAA.

GameBeforeTheMoney wrote: ↑Fri Dec 13, 2024 12:45 pm Nick Saban and Gene Stallings both spent time in the NFL as HCs and went back to NCAA.

So did another Alabama head coach. Ray Perkins kept going back and forth, from the Giants to Alabama to Tampa Bay to Arkansas State. After posting a 1-10 record there, he returned to the NFL as a coordinator and position coach.

Sam Rutigliano, after nearly seven seasons in Cleveland, went to Liberty five years later, where he stayed for 11 seasons.

Joe Walton, after seven seasons with the Jets, went to Robert Morris, where he stayed for 20 seasons.

Both Rutigliano and Walton started the football programs at Liberty and Robert Morris.

you can throw Bill Arnsparger in, though his stint as NFL head coach is nothing to write home about