- Barry Switzer
College coach infobox
Name = Barry Switzer
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Sport = Football
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DateOfBirth = birth date and age|1937|10|5
Birthplace = flagicon|ArkansasCrossett, Arkansas
DateOfDeath =
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OverallRecord = 40–24 (NFL)
157–29–4 (College)
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CFbDWID = 2288
Championships = 3 National Championships
"(1974, 1975, 1985)"
12 Conference Championships
Awards = 1974Walter Camp Coach of the Year
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Player = Y
Years = 1956-1960
Team = Arkansas
Position = C / LB
Coach = Y
CoachYears = 1961-1965
1966-1972
1973–1988
1994–1997
CoachTeams = Arkansas (assistant)
Oklahoma (assistant)
OklahomaDallas Cowboys
FootballHOF = 2002
CollegeHOFID = 70068
BBallHOF =Barry Switzer (born
October 5 ,1937 ) is a former football coach, in the college and professional ranks, between 1962 and 1997. He has one of the highest winning percentages of any college football coach in history, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DE3DD123AF933A2575BC0A9649C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fS%2fSwitzer%2c%20Barry "Switzer Is Honored To Be Inducted"] . "The New York Times ". August 10, 2002. RetrievedApril 17 2007 ] and is one of only two head coaches to win both a college football national championship and aSuper Bowl (the other being his college teammate and rival head coach Jimmy Johnson. [http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2942 "Barry Switzer"] . "The Arkansas Encyclopedia of History and Culture". RetrievedApril 17 ,2007 .] )Early life and career
Born in Crossett,
Arkansas , the son of a bootlegger, Switzer accepted an athletic scholarship to theUniversity of Arkansas . After graduation, he did a brief stint in theU.S. Army and then returned to Arkansas as anassistant coach .University of Oklahoma
Following the 1966 season, Switzer moved to the
University of Oklahoma as an assistant coach under new Head Coach and good friendJim Mackenzie , who died of a heart attack following spring practice of 1967. Switzer continued as an assistant under formerUniversity of Houston assistant and new Oklahoma Head CoachChuck Fairbanks .Switzer quickly made a name for himself by perfecting the Wishbone Offense and developing it into the most prolific rushing offense in college football history. Under Switzer's Wishbone, the Sooners set an NCAA rushing record of 472 yards per game in 1971 and scored over 500 points in two different seasons, 1971 and 1986. [http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/big12/oklahoma/yearly_totals.php]
When Fairbanks accepted the position of Head Coach of the
New England Patriots following the 1972 season, Switzer was the obvious choice to succeed him.Switzer became head coach at Oklahoma in 1973, leading the team to undefeated seasons that year and the next. Oklahoma won national championships in 1974, 1975 and 1985 under Switzer's leadership. The team won or shared in the
Big 8 championship every year from 1973 to 1980. During his sixteen years as head coach at Oklahoma, his teams won eight of the thirteen post-season bowl games they played in, and 54 of his players were selected asAll-America ns. In 1978Billy Sims won theHeisman Trophy . Switzer resigned as head coach in 1989 after Oklahoma was placed on probation by the NCAA. His overall record was 157-29-4.Switzer was known as an outstanding recruiter of high school talent, particularly in the neighboring state of Texas. However he only managed to beat the University of Texas 9 times in 16 tries and finished with a losing record over 10 years against UT coach Fred Akers. Switzer had a bitter relationship with legendary Texas coach
Darrell Royal . Royal (who had dominated the Sooners during most of his tenure) lost to Switzer in their first three meetings. Royal's support of NCAA rules restricting recruiting practices and opposition to limitations on the number of scholarships led Switzer to say that some coaches didn't want to work anymore and would rather "listen to guitar pickers" (a perceived reference to Royal's friendship with musicianWillie Nelson ). Shortly before Switzer and Royal's fourth and final meeting in 1976, Royal blithely accused Switzer's staff of spying on his practices and it dominated the sports news during the week of the game. In the pre-game, the two coaches made a brief appearance with then-president Gerald Ford and neither spoke to the other. The game ended in a 6–6 tie.Switzer's time at OU ended among a cascade of scandal highlighted by a Sports Illustrated cover with the title "Oklahoma, a sordid story." Switzer was forced to resign and was not sought after by other schools afterward because of the multiple player scandals and NCAA probations he oversaw at OU.
Dallas Cowboys
Barry Switzer resurfaced in coaching in 1994 with the
Dallas Cowboys , owned byJerry Jones . Switzer stepped in following the sudden departure of Jimmy Johnson, who as head coach had won the previous two Super Bowls. Johnson had clashed with owner Jerry Jones (leading to his departure) and many felt that Switzer was more apt to go along with Jerry's ideas. Switzer was successful with the Cowboys, going 12–4 his first season in 1994 (losing to the 49ers in the NFC Championship). In Switzer's second season of 1995, the team went 12–4. Dallas wonSuper Bowl XXX over thePittsburgh Steelers , 27–17. Switzer resigned as Cowboys' coach after a 6–10 1997 season with a 45–26 career NFL coaching record.After football
Switzer was elected to the
College Football Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004, he received theJim Thorpe Lifetime Achievement Award . Switzer still resides in Norman,Oklahoma . In August 2007,XMSN added Barry Switzer [cite press release |publisher=XM Satellite Radio |date=2007-02-15 | title = College Football Kicks Off on XM Satellite Radio with the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, and SEC | url=http://xmradio.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=press_releases&item=1485 | accessdate = 2007-09-19] as a part of the channel's expanded college sports coverage. On2007-09-09 , Barry Switzer joined the FOX NFL Pregame show. Switzer also guest-starred in an episode of TNT's "Saving Grace" titled "Do You Love Him?", which first airedAugust 11 ,2008 .Notes
Persondata
NAME=Switzer, Barry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Retired football player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH=October 5 ,1937
PLACE OF BIRTH=Crossett, Arkansas
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
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