- Don Nehlen
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Don Nehlen Sport(s) Football Biographical details Born January 1, 1936 Place of birth Mansfield, Ohio Playing career 1955–1957 Bowling Green Position(s) Quarterback Coaching career (HC unless noted) 1963
1967
1968–1976
1977–1979
1980–2000Cincinnati (assistant)
Bowling Green (assistant)
Bowling Green
Michigan (QB)
West VirginiaHead coaching record Overall 202–128–8 Bowls 4–9 Statistics College Football Data Warehouse Accomplishments and honors Championships 1 Big East (1993) Awards Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award (1988)
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award (1988)
AFCA Coach of the Year (1988)
Big East Coach of Year (1993)
Kodak Coach of the Year (1993)
Woody Hayes Trophy (1993)College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2005 (profile)Don Nehlen (born January 1, 1936) is a former American football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University (1968–1976) and at West Virginia University (1980–2000). Nehlen retired from coaching college football in 2001 with a career record of 202–128–8 and as the 17th winningest coach in college football history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005 and has served as a president of the American Football Coaches Association.
Nehlen played quarterback at Bowling Green (1955–1957) and led the team to a Mid-American Conference championship in 1956. He began his coaching career in 1958 at Mansfield Senior High School and then served as head coach at Canton South High School and Canton McKinley High School. Nelsen was later an assistant coach at the University of Cincinnati, Bowling Green, and the University of Michigan.
Since his retirement from coaching, Nehlen has been a spokesman for the coal industry. He has been urged to run as a Republican for several political offices, but has declined to do so.[citation needed] He is a supporter of the FBI's childhood fingerprint identification campaign.[citation needed] Nehlen received the 2002 Distinguished West Virginian Award from the West Virginia Broadcasters Association.[1] In 2006, Nehlen published a book called Don Nehlen's Tales from the West Virginia Sideline, an autobiographical account recalling his 21-year tenure as the head football coach at West Virginia.
Contents
At West Virginia
Nehlen served as the quarterbacks coach at the University of Michigan under Bo Schembechler from 1977 to 1979 before taking the head coaching job at West Virginia. Nehlen became West Virginia's 29th head football coach on December 7, 1979, replacing Frank Cignetti, who had posted four straight losing seasons.
Nehlen first hired Gary Tranquill as the offensive coach. In an effort to emulate the Michigan defense, Nehlen hired Dennis Brown away from the Wolverines. Nehlen hired a number of coaches he worked with at Bowling Green. Nehlen also retained Donnie Young, Cignetti's former assistant head coach, as his recruiting coach. Tranquill left West Virginia after three seasons to become head coach at Navy, taking graduate assistant Steve Dunlap with him. Dunlap later returned to serve as West Virginia's defensive coach. One of Nehlen's most famed assistants was Doc Holliday, who served the assistant head coach and recruiting coach for almost 20 years before leaving for North Carolina State University. Holliday was sent to Florida every year to find recruits and found many talented players there, including linebacker Steve Grant. When Nehlen arrived at West Virginia, he introduced the Mountaineers' first "home and away uniforms" and a new helmet logo, "The Flying WV," which became the official logo of West Virginia athletics and, eventually, the university itself.
In 1980, Nehlen's first season at West Virginia, the Mountaineers went 6–6. In 1981, led by quarterback and future WVU athletic director Oliver Luck, West Virginia went 9–3 and upset the Florida Gators in the Peach Bowl, 26–6. In 1982, led by quarterback Jeff Hostetler (who ended up marrying Nehlen's daughter, Vicky), West Virginia started the season with an upset over the #9 Oklahoma Sooners. In 1984, Nehlen's squad posted wins against Boston College, led by eventual Heisman Trophy winner, Doug Flutie, and over Penn State for the Mountaineers' first defeat of the Nittany Lions since 1955.
The 1987 season marked the beginning of the Major Harris era at West Virginia. In Harris' sophomore season, 1988, the Mountaineers went undefeated in the regular season and faced top-ranked Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Harris was injured on the third play of the game and West Virginia lost, 34–21. Notre Dame was crowned as national champions.
In 1993, Nehlen led West Virginia to another undefeated regular season and a Big East Conference title, but the Florida Gators exacted revenge in the Sugar Bowl, winning 41–7. Nehlen's 1994 team started the season with a 1–4 record, but rebounded to qualify for the Carquest Bowl, where they lost to South Carolina, 24–21.
In 1998, West Virginia featured a number of future NFL players including Marc Bulger, Amos Zereoue, Anthony Becht, Gary Stills, Barrett Green, Solomon Page and John Thornton, to form what Nehlen called "his best West Virginia...squad."[citation needed] The Mountaineers opened the season with a home loss to Ohio State, but finished the season with an 8–4 record, losing in the Insight Bowl to Missouri, 34–31.
Following a loss to Syracuse in 2000, Nehlen announced that the season would be his final one as head coach. On December 28, he coached his final game against Ole Miss in the Music City Bowl. After winning three of their first four bowl games, Nehlen's West Virginia teams had lost seven straight postseason contents, but his final squad, led by the offensive attack of quarterback Brad Lewis, tailback Avon Cobourne, wide receiver Antonio Brown, and fullback Wes Ours, handled the Rebels, 49–38.
Nehlen completed his tenure as West Virginia with a record of 149–93–4. His 149 victories are the most in school history. With the Mountaineers, Nehlen coached 15 first team All-Americans, 82 All-Big East Conference honorees, and 80 future NFL players. In 1988, Nehlen was recognized with three national coaching awards, the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, and the AFCA Coach of the Year. In 1993, he was named the Big East Coach of Year. Nehlen was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Head coaching record
Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP° Bowling Green Falcons (Mid-American Conference) (1968–1976) 1968 Bowling Green 6–3–1 3–2–1 T–3rd 1969 Bowling Green 6–4 4–2 2nd 1970 Bowling Green 2–6–1 1–4 T–5th 1971 Bowling Green 6–4 4–1 2nd 1972 Bowling Green 6–3–1 3–1–1 2nd 1973 Bowling Green 7–3 2–3 T–3rd 1974 Bowling Green 6–4–1 2–3 T–4th 1975 Bowling Green 8–3 4–2 T–3rd 1976 Bowling Green 6–5 4–3 T–5th Bowling Green: 53–35–4 27–21–2 West Virginia Mountaineers (NCAA Division I-A Independent) (1980–1990) 1980 West Virginia 6–6 1981 West Virginia 9–3 W Peach 18 17 1982 West Virginia 9–3 L Gator 19 19 1983 West Virginia 9–3 W Hall of Fame Classic 16 16 1984 West Virginia 8–4 W Bluebonnet 18 1985 West Virginia 7–3–1 1986 West Virginia 4–7 1987 West Virginia 6–6 L Sun 1988 West Virginia 11–1 L Fiesta 5 5 1989 West Virginia 8–3–1 L Gator 21 1990 West Virginia 4–7 West Virginia Mountaineers (Big East Conference) (1991–2000) 1991 West Virginia 6–5 3–4 4th 1992 West Virginia 5–4–2 2–3–1 5th 1993 West Virginia 11–1 7–0 1st L Sugar 6 7 1994 West Virginia 7–6 4–3 T–3rd L Carquest 1995 West Virginia 5–6 4–3 T–4th 1996 West Virginia 8–4 4–3 4th L Gator 1997 West Virginia 7–5 4–3 T–3rd L Carquest 1998 West Virginia 8–4 5–2 T–2nd L Insight.com 1999 West Virginia 4–7 3–4 T–4th 2000 West Virginia 7–5 3–4 T–5th W Music City West Virginia: 149–93–4 39–29–1 Total: 202–128–8 National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title #Rankings from final Coaches' Poll.
°Rankings from final AP Poll.See also
- List of college football coaches with 200 wins
- List of presidents of the American Football Coaches Association
- Legends Poll
References
External links
- Don Nehlen on Facebook
- Don Nehle at the College Football Hall of Fame
- Don Nehle at the College Football Data Warehouse
Bowling Green Falcons head football coaches John Stitt (1919) • Walter Jean (1920) • Earl Krieger (1921) • Allen Snyder (1922) • R. B. McCandless (1923) • Warren Steller (1924–1934) • Harry Ockerman (1935–1940) • Robert Whittaker (1941–1954) • Doyt Perry (1955–1964) • Bob Gibson (1965–1967) • Don Nehlen (1968–1976) • Denny Stolz (1977–1985) • Moe Ankney (1986–1990) • Gary Blackney (1991–2000) • Urban Meyer (2001–2002) • Gregg Brandon (2003–2008) • Dave Clawson (2009– )
West Virginia Mountaineers head football coaches Frederick Lincoln Emory (1891) • No team (1892) • F. William Rane (1893–1894) • Harry McCrory (1895) • Thomas Trenchard (1896) • George Krebs (1897) • Harry Anderson (1898) • Louis Yeager (1899) • John Hill (1900) • Louis Yeager (1901–1902) • Harry E. Trout (1903) • Anthony Chez (1904) • Carl Forkum (1905–1906) • Clarence W. Russell (1907) • Charles Augustus Lueder (1908–1911) • William P. Edmunds (1912) • Edwin Sweetland (1913) • Sol Metzger (1914–1915) • Mont McIntire (1916–1917) • No team (1918) • Mont McIntire (1919–1920) • Clarence Spears (1921–1924) • Ira Rodgers (1925–1930) • Greasy Neale (1931–1933) • Charles Tallman (1934–1936) • Marshall Glenn (1937–1939) • Bill Kern (1940–1942) • Ira Rodgers (1943–1945) • Bill Kern (1946–1947) • Dudley DeGroot (1948–1949) • Art Lewis (1950–1959) • Gene Corum (1960–1965) • Jim Carlen (1966–1969) • Bobby Bowden (1970–1975) • Frank Cignetti, Sr. (1976–1979) • Don Nehlen (1980–2000) • Rich Rodriguez (2001–2007) • Bill Stewart (2008–2010) • Dana Holgorsen (2011– )
AFCA Division I FBS Coach of the Year winners 1935: Waldorf | 1936: Harlow | 1937: Mylin | 1938: Kern | 1939: Anderson | 1940: Shaughnessy | 1941: Leahy | 1942: Alexander | 1943: Stagg | 1944: Widdoes | 1945: McMillin | 1946: Blaik | 1947: Crisler | 1948: Oosterbaan | 1949: Wilkinson | 1950: Caldwell | 1951: Taylor | 1952: Munn | 1953: Tatum | 1954: Sanders | 1955: Daugherty | 1956: Wyatt | 1957: Hayes | 1958: Dietzel | 1959: Schwartzwalder | 1960: Warmath | 1961: Bryant | 1962: McKay | 1963: Royal | 1964: Broyles & Parseghian | 1965: Prothro | 1966: Cahill | 1967: Pont | 1968: Paterno | 1969: Schembechler | 1970: McClendon & Royal | 1971: Bryant | 1972: McKay | 1973: Bryant | 1974: Teaff | 1975: Kush | 1976: Majors | 1977: James | 1978: Paterno | 1979: Bruce | 1980: Dooley | 1981: Ford | 1982: Paterno | 1983: Hatfield | 1984: Edwards | 1985: DeBerry | 1986: Paterno | 1987: MacPherson | 1988: Nehlen | 1989: McCartney | 1990: Ross | 1991: B. Lewis | 1992: Stallings | 1993: Alvarez | 1994: Osborne | 1995: Barnett | 1996: Br. Snyder | 1997: Carr | 1998: Fulmer | 1999: Beamer | 2000: Stoops | 2001: Coker & Friedgen | 2002: Tressel | 2003: Carroll | 2004: Tuberville | 2005: Paterno | 2006: Grobe | 2007: Mangino | 2008: Whittingham | 2009: Patterson | 2010: Kelly
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award winners 1976: Dooley | 1977: Schembechler | 1978: Osborne | 1979: Edwards | 1980: Bowden | 1981: Paterno | 1982: MacIntyre | 1983: Hatfield | 1984: Wacker | 1985: DeBerry | 1986: Sheridan | 1987: MacPherson | 1988: Nehlen | 1989: Curry | 1990: Ross | 1991: Welsh | 1992: Robinson | 1993: Alvarez | 1994: Goldsmith | 1995: Barnett | 1996: Sutton | 1997: Price | 1998: Snyder | 1999: Beamer | 2000: O'Leary | 2001: Friedgen | 2002: Tressel | 2003: Stoops | 2004: Johnson | 2005: Paterno | 2006: Grobe | 2007: Carr | 2008: Brown | 2009: Patterson | 2010: Petersen
Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award winners 1967: Pont | 1968: Hayes | 1969: Schembechler | 1970: Blackman | 1971: Devaney | 1972: Paterno | 1973: Majors | 1974: Switzer | 1975: Kush | 1976: Burns | 1977: Holtz | 1978: Powers | 1979: Mackovic | 1980: Dooley | 1981: Sherrill | 1982: Stovall | 1983: White | 1984: Morrison | 1985: DeBerry | 1986: Johnson | 1987: MacPherson | 1988: Nehlen | 1989: McCartney | 1990: Ross | 1991: B. Bowden | 1992: Stallings | 1993: T. Bowden | 1994: Paterno | 1995: Barnett | 1996: Br. Snyder | 1997: Carr | 1998: Bi. Snyder | 1999: Beamer | 2000: Stoops | 2001: Friedgen | 2002: Ferentz | 2003: Stoops | 2004: Tuberville | 2005: Paterno | 2006: Schiano | 2007: Mangino | 2008: Saban | 2009: Patterson | 2010: Kelly
Categories:- 1936 births
- Living people
- American football quarterbacks
- Bowling Green Falcons football players
- Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches
- Michigan Wolverines football coaches
- West Virginia Mountaineers football coaches
- College Football Hall of Fame inductees
- Kent State University alumni
- People from Mansfield, Ohio
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