George Terlep

Infobox Pro Football player


DateOfBirth=birth date and age|1923|4|12
Birthplace= Elkhart, Indiana
DateOfDeath=
Position=Quarterback
College=Notre Dame
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DatabaseFootball=TERLEGEO01
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years=1946-1948
1948
teams=Buffalo Bills
Cleveland Browns

George Rudolph "Duke" Terlep (Born April 12, 1923 in Elkhart, Indiana) is a former professional football player, coach, and general manager.

Playing career

An All-State back from Elkhart High School (now Elkhart Central and Elkhart Memorial), Terlep played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 1943, but had to leave during the 1944 season due to military service. He was replaced as Irish starting Center by Frank Szymanski, who later went on to play in the NFL. He played quarterback for the Great Lakes Sailors football team based at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station.

In 1946 he was discharged and signed with the Buffalo Bisons of the All-America Football Conference. He was the starting quarterback, although local player Al Dekdebrun saw significant playing time due to Terlep's ineffectiveness. He was replaced by former Notre Dame teammate George Ratterman in 1947, but remained with the team as a backup.

During the 1948 season he was sold to the Cleveland Browns to back up future Hall of Famer Otto Graham.

Coaching career

Terlep's coaching career began in 1949 as the Backfield at the University of South Carolina. From 1951-52 he was an assistant at Vanderbilt University. Another assistant on the team, Steve Belichick, father of Bill Belichick, was one of Terlep's closest friends until Belichick's death in 2005.

In 1953 he was hired by Lisle Blackbourn to coach the same position at Marquette University. When Blackbourn was hired to coach the Green Bay Packers the following season, he moved to the University of Pennsylvania. In 1956 he moved to the Indiana University to coach the Hoosiers backfield.

In 1957 he was hired by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as backfield coach. He was hired as head coach by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1958. After a 7-7-2 season and a Western Semi Finals loss, he and quarterback Frank Tripucka were dismissed and moved to the Ottawa Rough Riders.

After 10 games in 1959 he was promoted to General Manager. In 1960 the Rough Riders defeated the Edmonton Eskimos 16-6 in the 48th Grey Cup. After a disappointing 6-7-1 season in 1962 he resigned and was replaced by the team's former wide receiver Red O'Quinn. During the season he had many disagreements with the coaching staff and there were many reports that Terlep was to be fired before his resignation.