- Don McCafferty
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Don McCafferty Date of birth March 12, 1921 Place of birth Cleveland, OH Date of death July 28, 1974 (aged 53) Position(s) End
Offensive coordinator
Head CoachCollege Ohio State NFL Draft 1943 / Round 13 / Pick 116 Stats Playing stats Pro Football Reference Playing stats DatabaseFootball Coaching stats Pro Football Reference Coaching stats DatabaseFootball Team(s) as a player 1946 New York Giants Team(s) as a coach/administrator 1959-1972
1973Baltimore Colts
Detroit LionsDonald William McCafferty (March 12, 1921 – July 28, 1974) was an American football coach who, in his first year as head coach of the Baltimore Colts, led the team to a victory in Super Bowl V.
McCafferty played college football at Ohio State University under Paul Brown, where he was a key member of the offensive line. Due to World War II, he was one of a select group of players to play twice in the annual College All-Star Game held in Chicago.
After moving on to the National Football League, McCafferty was shifted to wide receiver, playing one season with the New York Giants. After working in the Cleveland, Ohio recreation department the following year, he was hired as an assistant at Kent State University in 1948. He spent 11 seasons with the Golden Flashes until accepting an assistant coaching position with the Baltimore Colts. During that first season at the professional level, McCafferty was part of the Colts' second straight championship team.
When Colts' head coach Weeb Ewbank was fired after the conclusion of the 1962 NFL season, McCafferty remained with the team as offensive coordinator under new coach Don Shula. McCafferty's easy-going personality helped serve as a buffer against the demanding Shula's quest for perfection, a contrast that played a major part in the team's three NFL playoff appearances during the next seven years. Colts' Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas once said about McCafferty, "He doesn't shout and scream. He's able to look at football objectively without getting carried away emotionally." He was referred to in the press and by the Colts players as "Easy Rider".[1]
When Shula left to accept the head coaching position with the Miami Dolphins, McCafferty was chosen to replace him on April 6, 1970, then the following season led the Baltimore Colts to an 11-2-1 record and their second Super Bowl appearance in three years. In that mistake-filled contest against the Dallas Cowboys on January 17, 1971, the Colts won 16-13 on a last-second field goal by rookie Jim O'Brien.
The Colts once again reached the playoffs in 1971, but were shut out 21-0 in the AFC Championship game by Shula's Dolphins. The following year, after only one win in the team's first five games, the Colts' general manager, Joe Thomas, ordered Unitas benched as the team's quarterback. When McCafferty refused, he was fired.
On January 26, 1973, McCafferty was hired as head coach of the Detroit Lions and was 6-7-1 in his first year on the sidelines. On July 28, 1974, while spending some time at his nearby home in West Bloomfield, Michigan, he suffered a heart attack while cutting his grass. He died after being transported to a Pontiac, Michigan hospital. He was buried three days later following services at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium, Maryland.
References
External links
- Olsen, Jack. "The Rosenbloom-Robbie Bowl," Sports Illustrated, November 9, 1970.
- Don McCafferty at Find a Grave
Preceded by
Hank StramSuper Bowl Winning Head Coaches
Super Bowl V, 1971Succeeded by
Tom LandryBaltimore / Indianapolis Colts head coaches Keith Molesworth (1953) • Weeb Ewbank (1954–1962) • Don Shula (1963–1969) • Don McCafferty (1970–1972) • John Sandusky (1972) • Howard Schnellenberger (1973–1974) • Joe Thomas (1974) • Ted Marchibroda (1975–1979) • Mike McCormack (1980–1981) • Frank Kush (1982–1984) • Rod Dowhower (1985–1986) • Ron Meyer (1986–1991) • Rick Venturi # (1991) • Ted Marchibroda (1992–1995) • Lindy Infante (1996–1997) • Jim E. Mora (1998–2001) • Tony Dungy (2002–2008) • Jim Caldwell (2009– )
Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.Portsmouth Spartans / Detroit Lions head coaches Hal Griffen (1930) • George Clark (1931–1936) • Dutch Clark (1937–1938) • Gus Henderson (1939) • George Clark (1940) • Bill Edwards (1941–1942) • John Karcis (1942) • Gus Dorais (1943–1947) • Bo McMillin (1948–1950) • Buddy Parker (1951–1956) • George Wilson (1957–1964) • Harry Gilmer (1965–1966) • Joe Schmidt (1967–1972) • Don McCafferty (1973) • Rick Forzano (1974–1976) • Tommy Hudspeth (1976–1977) • Monte Clark (1978–1984) • Darryl Rogers (1985–1988) • Wayne Fontes (1988–1996) • Bobby Ross (1997–2000) • Gary Moeller (2000) • Marty Mornhinweg (2001–2002) • Steve Mariucci (2003–2005) • Dick Jauron # (2005) • Rod Marinelli (2006–2008) • Jim Schwartz (2009– )
Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.Baltimore Colts 1959 NFL Champions Alan Ameche | Raymond Berry | Ordell Braase | Ray Brown | Ed Cooke | Milt Davis | Art DeCarlo | Art Donovan | L. G. Dupree | Alex Hawkins | Don Joyce | Ray Krouse | Hal Lewis | Big Daddy Lipscomb | Gino Marchetti | Marv Matuszak | Lenny Moore | Jim Mutscheller | Steve Myhra | Andy Nelson | Buzz Nutter | Jim Parker | Bill Pellington | Sherman Plunkett | George Preas | Billy Pricer | Bert Rechichar | Jerry Richardson | Johnny Sample | Alex Sandusky | Dave Sherer | Don Shinnick | Jackie Simpson | Mike Sommer | Art Spinney | Dick Szymanski | Carl Taseff | Johnny Unitas
Head Coach Weeb Ewbank
Assistant Coaches Herman Ball | Don McCafferty | John Sandusky | Charley WinnerBaltimore Colts Super Bowl V Champions 15 Earl Morrall | 17 Sam Havrilak | 19 Johnny Unitas | 20 Jerry Logan | 21 Rick Volk | 27 Ray Perkins | 28 Jimmy Orr | 30 Ron Gardin | 32 Mike Curtis | 33 Eddie Hinton | 34 Tom Nowatzke | 35 Jim Duncan | 36 Norm Bulaich | 40 Jack Maitland | 42 Tom Maxwell | 45 Jerry Hill | 47 Charles Stukes | 49 David Lee | 50 Bill Curry | 51 Bob Grant | 52 Robbie Nichols | 54 Tom Goode | 56 Ray May | 60 George Wright | 61 Cornelius Johnson | 62 Glenn Ressler | 71 Dan Sullivan | 72 Bob Vogel | 73 Sam Ball | 74 Billy Ray Smith | 75 John Williams | 76 Fred Miller | 78 Bubba Smith | 80 Jim O'Brien | 81 Billy Newsome | 83 Ted Hendricks | 84 Tom Mitchell | 85 Roy Hilton | 87 Roy Jefferson | 88 John Mackey
Head Coach: Don McCafferty
Coaches: Dick Bielski | Bobby Boyd | Hank Bullough | John Idzik | Lou Rymkus | John SanduskyCategories:- 1921 births
- 1974 deaths
- Ohio State Buckeyes football players
- New York Giants players
- Baltimore Colts coaches
- Detroit Lions coaches
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