Don Strock

Don Strock
Sport(s)	Football
Current position
Team	Virginia Tech
Biographical details
Born	November 27, 1950 (1950-11-27) (age 60)
Place of birth	Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Playing career
1969–1972 1973–1987 1988 1989	Virginia Tech Miami Dolphins Cleveland Browns Indianapolis Colts
Position(s)	Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1993 1994 1995 1996–1998 2002–2006	Miami Hooters Massachusetts Marauders Rhein Fire (OC) Baltimore Ravens (QB) Florida International
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
NFL.com stats

Don Strock (born November 27, 1950) is a former professional football player who was the head coach of the Florida International University football team from 2002–2006.

Playing career

College

Strock played college football at Virginia Tech, and graduated in 1973. In his senior season in 1972, Strock led the nation in total passing and total offense, yet finished only ninth in voting for the Heisman Trophy. The college game was then dominated by running backs; the 1972 Heisman went to wingback Johnny Rodgers of Nebraska.^[1]

To date, Strock still holds many collegiate football passing records at his alma mater^[2] and was inducted into the Virginia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in 1985.^[3]

Professional

Strock played in the National Football League as a quarterback. A 5th round selection (111th overall pick) of the 1973 NFL Draft, he spent the majority of his professional career with the Miami Dolphins (1973–1987), and was mostly known for his role as a back-up to Hall-of Famers Bob Griese in his first years with the team and Dan Marino as he finished his career with the club.^[4] He also played one season with the Cleveland Browns (1988) and part of a season on the roster of the Indianapolis Colts (1989) before retiring as a player.

Strock was a member of the "taxi squad" during the 1973 season when the Dolphins won their second straight Super Bowl ^[5] following the undefeated 1972–73 season. He was also a member of the Dolphin teams who played and lost in the 1983 ^[6] and 1985 ^[7] Super Bowls.

Strock is well-remembered for coming off the bench on January 2, 1982, for the Miami Dolphins in an AFC Divisional Playoff Game against the San Diego Chargers at the Miami Orange Bowl. Strock led Miami from a 24–0 deficit to tie the score in the 3rd quarter. Ultimately, Miami lost the game to San Diego, 41–38, in overtime. The game is also remembered for the image of San Diego tight end Kellen Winslow being helped off the field by his teammates after the game while suffering from exhaustion. Strock finished the game with 29 of 43 completions for 403 yards and four touchdowns, with one interception. The game later became known as The Epic in Miami and has entered NFL lore as one of the greatest games ever in NFL history.

Every game with two 400 or more yard quarterbacks

Rank	Quarterback	Date	Game	Attempts	Comp	Yards	TDs	INTs	Rating
1	Tom Brady Chad Henne	9/12/2011	New England Patriots: 38 Miami Dolphins: 24	48 49	32 30	517 416	4 2	1 1	121.6 93.6
Total:			62 Points	97	62	933	6	2
2	Ken O'Brien Dan Marino	9/21/1986	New York Jets: 51 Miami Dolphins: 45	43 50	29 30	479 448	4 6	1 2	126.0 112.3
Total:			96 Points	93	59	927	10	3
3	Matt Schaub Donovan McNabb	9/19/2010	Houston Texans: 30 Washington Redskins: 27	52 38	38 28	497 426	3 1	1 0	114.0 119.0
Total:			57 Points	90	66	923	4	1
4	Dan Marino Drew Bledsoe	9/4/1994	Miami Dolphins: 39 New England Patriots: 35	42 51	23 32	473 421	5 4	1 2	124.3 96.6
Total:			74 Points	93	55	894	9	3
5	Jim Kelly Steve Young	9/13/1992	Buffalo Bills: 34 San Francisco 49ers: 31	33 37	22 26	403 449	3 3	1 1	126.2 127.0
Total:			65 Points	70	48	852	6	2
6	Dan Fouts Ken Anderson	12/20/1982	San Diego Chargers: 50 Cincinnati Bengals: 34	40 56	25 40	435 416	1 2	2 1	87.0 97.0
Total:			84 Points	96	65	851	3	3
7	Dan Fouts Don Strock	1/2/1982	San Diego Chargers: 41 Miami Dolphins: 38	53 43	33 29	433 403	3 4	1 1	116.2 118.7
Total:			79 Points	96	62	836	7	2

• List of NFL quarterbacks who have passed for 400 or more yards in a game

Coaching career

Arena Football League, the World League and the NFL

Strock began his coaching career as the head coach of the Miami Hooters of the Arena Football League for one season in 1993. The following season he moved on to be the head coach of the Massachusetts Marauders and again only stayed for one season. He then moved on to be an assistant coach of the Rhein Fire in the World League during 1995 season. Between 1996–1998 seasons, he was the quarterbacks coach of the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL.

Florida International University

On September 13, 2000, Strock was named the first head football coach in FIU's history. He was named to the position just shy of two years before the university's inaugural football game. Prior to being named head coach he was the director of football operations, a job he had obtained the year before. His overall record through the 2006 football season was 15–41.

On November 15, 2006 Strock resigned as head coach of the FIU Golden Panthers. Of his 15 career victories, none came during the 2006 campaign and only three of them came against Division I-A opponents. His resignation came after an 0–9 start and a much-publicized brawl against the University of Miami Hurricanes caused 16 players from FIU to be suspended.^[8] His resignation became effective following FIU's last game against Troy University on December 2, 2006.

See also

• List of NFL quarterbacks who have passed for 400 or more yards in a game

References

1. ^ Heisman.com - 1972 voting
2. ^ http://www.hokiesports.com/football/lanestadium-records.html
3. ^ http://www.hokiesports.com/halloffame/
4. ^ http://www.profootballhof.com/default.aspx
5. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_VII
6. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XVII
7. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XIX
8. ^ AP (2006-11-15). "Florida International coach resigns". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2663579. Retrieved 2006-11-15. 

External links

• Virginia Tech Hall of Fame
• Inhistoric: The Epic in Miami

Persondata
Name	Strock, Don
Alternative names
Short description	American college football player, professional football player, college football coach, professional football coach, quarterback
Date of birth	November 27, 1950
Place of birth	Pottstown, Pennsylvania, United States
Date of death
Place of death