Howard Schnellenberger, who led Miami to his first national championship and, in the process, turned a dynamic football program into a dynasty, died Saturday his family announced. He was 87 years old.
What Schnellenberger did in Miami remains one of the greatest transformations in the history of college football. Prior to his arrival in 1979, Miami administrators considered abandoning the sport as losses increased and morale decreased.
But after helping deliver the 1983 national championship, Miami won three more national titles over the next six seasons. Although it was only there to win the 83 title, the speed and athletics the hurricanes first showed under Schnellenberger became a plan for programs across the country.
Its impact went beyond Miami. Schnellenberger later revitalized his hometown of Louisville Cardinals and built Florida Atlantic football from scratch, leaving an indelible mark on three college football programs for three decades.
His baritone voice, thick mustache, and ever-present pipe made him look more like a businessman than a football coach, but he became as synonymous with Schnellenberger as his fondness for adopting recovery projects.
He did this first with Miami, a job his friends urged him to avoid because it looked like a dead end. Schnellenberger saw something else and declared that Miami would win a national championship in five years. He took discipline within the program and focused his recruitment efforts primarily on the untapped potential of South Florida, declaring the area “Miami State.”
Miami soon rose to national prominence, culminating in the 1984 Orange Bowl against Nebraska, a game that ranks among the sport’s biggest disorders.
Miami entered his home camp as a helpless man. But when Kenny Calhoun defeated Turner Gill’s two-point conversion pass, the Hurricanes sealed the upset 31-30 and the first national championship in school history.
In a post-game interview, Schnellenberger said, “This has been a love story that has been unfolding for five years, and tonight was the realization of a dream. I say the realization. It can be let it be the beginning of a dream. “
It was, but Schnellenberger was not there to see it first hand. Schnellenberger left the Hurricanes after that championship season to deal with a planned USFL team in Miami. At the time, he told The Miami Herald that he was leaving because he felt compelled by Miami’s athletic budget and could not pass up the $ 3 million contract offer.
But the team never materialized and Schnellenberger ended up sitting in the 1984 football season.
In 2011, Schnellenberger said of leaving Miami: “If you look at it objectively, it was the craziest thing a human being could do.”
But being away from the coach for a year gave him a chance to go home to Louisville, where he became head coach in 1985. He also promised national championships there and, although he didn’t win any, he went revitalize a program that was in a worse situation. the shape Miami had when it took over. During his ten years as head coach, Louisville won a Fiesta Bowl and Schnellenberger led the construction of a stadium on campus. The current football complex bears his name.
He left in 1995 to become head coach in Oklahoma, another decision he came to regret. After a miserable season that went 5-5-1, Schnellenberger resigned under pressure.
Schnellenberger would have one more chance to train, in the state where the name was made. In 1998, a neighborhood school in Boca Raton, Florida, wanted to start a football program. Schnellenberger was chosen as director of football operations for the Atlantic of Florida, and later decided to coach the team. He had a quick look for the Owls: after three years dedicated to the FCS level, they would become an FBS program.
By now, he had already left the pipe for health reasons, but he still wore his sports coat, suspenders and tie on his side. During his time as head coach, the FAU participated in two bowling games and also built a stadium on campus. When he retired in 2011, Schnellenberger had compiled a record of 158-151-3. The stadium field also bears his name.
His resume includes not only championship rings (three won as an assistant in Alabama, one with the 1972 undefeated Miami Dolphins and one with the 1983 Miami Dolphins), but the quarterbacks he coached or recruited. As Alabama’s assistant in 1962, Schnellenberger convinced top recruit Joe Namath to sign with Tide outside of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.
With the Hurricanes, he coached Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde, the founder of the Miami nickname “Quarterback U”.
Then there are the coaches from whom he learned. Schnellenberger played with Paul “Bear” Bryant in Kentucky and then trained with him in Alabama; he also coached George Allen and Don Shula of the NFL Hall of Fame. Schnellenberger had his shot as NFL coach, leaving the Dolphins after the 1972 season to take over the Baltimore Colts. But his tenure lasted 17 games: he was fired after a dispute with the owner after a 0-3 start in 1974.
Schnellenberger was born on March 16, 1934, in Louisville, and played closely in Kentucky between 1952-55, earning honors at All-America in his senior year. After a brief stint in the CFL, he began his coaching career at his alma mater before joining Bryant in Alabama.
After retiring from the FAU, he served as the school’s ambassador and remained in the South Florida area. When Miami and FAU first played against each other in 2013, Schnellenberger was named honorary co-captain.
Among the survivors are his wife Beverlee, sons Stuart and Tim and three grandchildren. His son, Stephen, preceded him in death.