Chris Palmer (American football)

Last updated

Chris Palmer
Biographical details
Born (1949-09-23) September 23, 1949 (age 74)
Brewster, New York, U.S.
Alma mater Southern Connecticut State
Playing career
1969–1971 Southern Connecticut State
Position(s) Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1972 Connecticut (DL)
1973–1974 Connecticut (WR)
1975 Lehigh (WR)
1976–1982 Colgate (OC)
1983 Montreal Concordes (OL)
1984 New Jersey Generals (WR)
1985New Jersey Generals (OC/QB)
1986–1987 New Haven
1988–1989 Boston University
1990–1992 Houston Oilers (WR)
1993–1995 New England Patriots (WR)
1996New England Patriots (QB)
1997–1998 Jacksonville Jaguars (OC/QB)
1999–2000 Cleveland Browns
2002–2005 Houston Texans (OC)
2006 Dallas Cowboys (QB)
2007–2009 New York Giants (QB)
2010 Hartford Colonials
2011–2012 Tennessee Titans (OC)
2014 San Francisco 49ers (offensive assistant)
2015–2016 Buffalo Bills (senior offensive assistant)
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2010 Hartford Colonials (GM)
2018–2019 New Haven
Head coaching record
Overall24–18 (college)
8–32 (professional)

Chris Palmer (born September 23, 1949) is an American former football coach and college athletics administrator. Palmer served as the head coach for Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1999 to 2000 and in the same capacity with the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League (UFL) in 2010. He was the head football coach at the University of New Haven from 1986 to 1987 and at Boston University from 1988 to 1989. Palmer has also served as an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Oilers, Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills of the NFL. He later returned to the University of New Haven and served as the athletic director from 2018 to 2019.

Contents

High school and college

Palmer played high school football at Immaculate High School a small Catholic high school located in Danbury, Connecticut. After high school, he attended and played college football at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). Palmer played quarterback for Southern Connecticut State from 1968 to 1971. He earned both bachelor's and master's degrees at SCSU, where he was inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Hall of Fame at New Haven and Immaculate High School.

After graduation from Southern Connecticut State University, Palmer coached under Larry Naviaux at the University of Connecticut. While at Connecticut, Palmer also devoted his time to help develop sports talent, as quoted by Jeff Naviaux "Chris helped me learn the importance of a team". Palmer coached the freshman defensive line in 1972 and the varsity wide receivers in 1973 and 1974. In 1975, he became the wide receivers coach at Lehigh University. The following year, Palmer was named the offensive coordinator at Colgate University, where he stayed for seven years. In 1977, the Red Raiders led the nation in total offense with an average of 486 yards a game.

Prior to entering the NFL, Palmer was a college football coach. He was the head coach at Boston University in 1988 and 1989 and at the University of New Haven in 1986 and 1987, when the Chargers posted consecutive 8–2 records.

Professional

Initial professional coaching experience

Palmer's first professional coaching experience came in 1983, when he was the offensive line coach for the Montreal Concordes in the Canadian Football League. The following year, he coached the wide receivers for the USFL's New Jersey Generals. In 1985, he was promoted to quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. That year, Palmer's offense featured quarterback Doug Flutie and running back Herschel Walker, who rushed for 2,411 yards.

Houston Oilers

Palmer's first NFL coaching experience was as the Houston Oilers wide receivers coach from 1990 to 1992 when Kevin Gilbride was the Houston offensive coordinator. During those three seasons, the Run ‘N Shoot Oilers had the NFL's most productive passing attack. Four Houston wide receivers—Curtis Duncan, Ernest Givens (twice), Drew Hill and Haywood Jeffires (twice)—made the Pro Bowl while being coached by Palmer.

New England Patriots

Palmer first worked under Bill Parcells as the New England Patriots wide receivers coach from 1993 to 1995. In 1996, he became the quarterbacks coach, where he worked with Drew Bledsoe as they advanced to Super Bowl XXXI.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Following Super Bowl XXXI, he joined the Jacksonville Jaguars, spending the 1997–98 seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks under head coach Tom Coughlin. [1]

Cleveland Browns

Palmer became the head coach of the reborn Cleveland Browns for the 1999–2000 seasons, the first two for the "new" Browns after the original team had moved to Baltimore. Palmer struggled to make the team competitive, especially on offense. Palmer was fired after posting a 5–27 record in two seasons, and was succeeded by former University of Miami coach Butch Davis. During his tenure in Cleveland, he starred as himself on an episode of The Drew Carey Show, which took place in Cleveland.

Houston Texans

In 2002, he became the offensive coordinator of the expansion Houston Texans under head coach Dom Capers. He remained with Houston until he was fired in Week 2 of the 2005 NFL season as a result of Houston's lackluster offense and would not be retained under new head coach Gary Kubiak.

Dallas Cowboys

In January 2006, several months after his firing from Houston, Palmer was hired by the Dallas Cowboys to be the quarterbacks coach. He was reunited with head coach Bill Parcells and quarterback Drew Bledsoe with whom he had worked during his days with the New England Patriots.

New York Giants

In January 2007, Palmer was hired by the New York Giants as their new quarterbacks coach, reuniting with the team's head coach, Tom Coughlin, with whom he had worked in Jacksonville. [2] [3] In Palmer's first year with the Giants, they would go on to win Super Bowl XLII, defeating the previously undefeated New England Patriots by a score of 17-14. Palmer coached quarterbacks Eli Manning, Jared Lorenzen, Anthony Wright, David Carr, and Rhett Bomar in his 3 seasons as quarterbacks coach.

On January 29, 2010 Palmer announced his retirement. [4]

Hartford Colonials

Following his retirement from the NFL, Palmer was named as the head coach and general manager of the United Football League's Hartford Colonials. [5]

Tennessee Titans

On February 15, 2011, the Tennessee Titans named Palmer as the new offensive coordinator, which was previously held by Mike Heimerdinger. Under Palmer during the 2011 season the Titans scored 325 points (20.3/g), 21st of 32 in the NFL. On November 26, 2012, Palmer was fired by the team midway through the season, and replaced by quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains.

San Francisco 49ers

During the 2014 season, the San Francisco 49ers hired Palmer as an offensive assistant under head coach Jim Harbaugh. 2014 was the inaugural season playing their home games at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. At the end of the season, Harbaugh left the Niners to become the head coach at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, and had released Greg Roman, the offensive coordinator, and ultimately Palmer as well.

Buffalo Bills

Palmer followed Roman to Buffalo, served as an offensive assistant on Rex Ryan's staff from 2015 to 2016. He was not retained under new head coach Sean McDermott.

Return to college athletics

Palmer returned to New Haven to serve as the director of athletics and recreation for the Chargers' NCAA Division II athletics program in January 2018. [6] He retired in June 2019. [7]

He was inducted into the New Haven Chargers Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997 for his previous success as the school's head football coach. [8]

Head coaching record

College

YearTeamOverallConferenceStandingBowl/playoffs
New Haven Chargers (NCAA Division II independent)(1986–1987)
1986 New Haven8–2
1987 New Haven8–2
New Haven:16–4
Boston University Terriers (Yankee Conference)(1988–1989)
1988 Boston University 4–73–5T–7th
1989 Boston University 4–74–46th
Boston University:8–147–9
Total:24–18

Professional

TeamYearRegular SeasonPost Season
WonLostTiesWin %FinishWonLostWin %Result
CLE 1999 2140.1256th in AFC Central----
CLE 2000 3130.1886th in AFC Central----
CLE Total5270.156----
HAR 2010 350.3754th in UFL----
HAR Total350.375----
Total8320.200----

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Reich</span> American football player and coach (born 1961)

Frank Michael Reich is an American former football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played 14 seasons as a quarterback in the NFL. He became a coach afterwards, including head coaching stints with the Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marty Schottenheimer</span> American football player and coach (1943–2021)

Martin Edward Schottenheimer was an American football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1984 to 2006. He was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs for 10 seasons, the Cleveland Browns and the San Diego Chargers for five each, and the Washington Redskins for one. Eighth in career wins at 205 and seventh in regular season wins at 200, Schottenheimer has the most wins of an NFL head coach to not win a championship. After coaching in the NFL, he won a 2011 championship in his one season with the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League (UFL). He was inducted to the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2010.

Les Steckel is an American football coach currently serving as the quarterbacks coach at Centre College. He was the third head coach of the Minnesota Vikings in 1984, and he has also worked as an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norm Chow</span> American football player and coach (born 1946)

Norman Yew Heen Chow is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for the Helvetic Guards in the European League of Football (ELF). He was the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, a position he held from December 2011 until November 2015 and previously held the offensive coordinator position for the Utah Utes, UCLA Bruins, the NFL's Tennessee Titans, USC Trojans, NC State Wolfpack, and BYU Cougars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Gilbride</span> American football coach (born 1951)

Kevin Bernard Gilbride is an American football head coach. He was a coach for twenty years in the NFL, spending seven of them as the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, with whom he earned two Super Bowl rings. From 1997 to 1998, he was the head coach for the San Diego Chargers. Most recently, Gilbride served as the head coach for the New York Guardians of the XFL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Ragone</span> American football player and coach (born 1979)

David Patrick Ragone is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He was most recently the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons and previously served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins and Tennessee Titans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Robiskie</span> American football player and coach (born 1954)

Terrance Joseph Robiskie is a former American football coach and player. He previously served as an assistant coach for the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, Los Angeles Raiders, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football</span> University of Hawaii football team

The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team represents the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in NCAA Division I FBS college football. It was part of the Western Athletic Conference until July 2012, when the team joined the Mountain West Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Whipple</span> American football player and coach (born 1957)

Mark John Whipple is an American football coach, who most recently served as offensive coordinator at Nebraska in 2022. Whipple was the head football coach at University of New Haven from 1988 to 1993, Brown University from 1994 to 1997, and stints as the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass), from 1998 to 2003 and 2014 to 2018. His 1998 UMass team won the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship. He was the quarterbacks coach for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) in 2011 and 2012. Before joining the Browns in January 2011, Whipple worked for two seasons as the offensive coordinator at the University of Miami. He previously coached in the NFL, working as a quarterback coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2004 to 2006 and as an offensive assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007 and 2008. On January 14, 2014, Whipple returned to UMass as head coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Zampese</span> American football coach (born 1967)

Kenneth Zampese is an American football coach who is a senior offensive assistant for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). Zampese began his coaching career at the University of San Diego, his alma mater, and has held a variety of college and NFL coaching positions. He is the son of former NFL coach Ernie Zampese.

The NFL Alumni Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is composed of former National Football League (NFL) players, coaches, team staff members and associate members who work voluntarily to raise funds for youth-oriented causes and engage in hands-on service to foster the development of "youth through sports and sports through youth". It was founded in 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill O'Brien (American football)</span> American football coach (born 1969)

William James O'Brien, nicknamed "the Teapot", is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Boston College, a position he has held since 2024. Previously, he was the head coach of the Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020, and at Penn State from 2012 to 2013. Prior to Boston College, O’Brien was the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. After the Patriots parted ways with longtime head coach, Bill Belichick, O’Brien was not retained by the Patriots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Daboll</span> Canadian-born American football coach (born 1975)

Brian Michael Daboll is a Canadian-born American football coach who is the head coach for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Buffalo Bills. Daboll has also served in various capacities as an assistant coach for the New England Patriots from 2000 to 2006 and again from 2013 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pep Hamilton</span> American football player and coach (born 1974)

Alfonza "Pep" Hamilton is an American football coach. He was previously the head coach and general manager of the DC Defenders of the XFL, and the quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Chargers, and was most recently the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL).

Brent Richard Pease is an American football coach and former player. He was hired in 2018 at the University of Montana as the Offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. He was previously the offensive coordinator at UTEP, the wide receivers coach at the University of Washington and the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the University of Florida.

Shane Paul Day is an American football coach who is the quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins and the Chicago Bears. Day has also served as an assistant coach for Connecticut and Michigan.

In American football the air raid offense refers to an offensive scheme popularized by such coaches as Mike Leach, Hal Mumme, Sonny Dykes, and Tony Franklin during their respective tenures at Iowa Wesleyan University, Valdosta State, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Louisiana Tech, and Washington State.

Sean Ryan is an American football quarterbacks coach with experience coaching in the National Football League (NFL). He has previously served as an assistant coach for the Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers, and is often cited for his development of star players including Victor Cruz, Odell Beckham Jr., Matthew Stafford, Eli Manning, and Deshaun Watson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John DeFilippo</span> American football player and coach (born 1978)

John Eugene DeFilippo is an American football coach for the Memphis Showboats of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football as a quarterback at James Madison University, and has served as offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Denver Broncos season</span> NFL team season

The 2013 season was the Denver Broncos' 44th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 54th overall. It also marked their 30th season under the ownership of Pat Bowlen, the second with Peyton Manning as the team's starting quarterback and the third under head coach John Fox.

References

  1. ↑ "Jaguars Name Chris Palmer Offensive Coordinator".
  2. ↑ "Yahoo!". Archived from the original on May 19, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Giants hire ex-Cowboys assistant Palmer as QB coach". Espn.com. January 28, 2007.
  4. ↑ "Chris Palmer retires as Giants quarterback coach, reportedly takes head job with UFL's Sentinels". New York Daily News . Archived from the original on February 2, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
  5. ↑ http://www.ufl-football.com/press/2010/02/16/chris_palmer_named_head_coach_and_general_manager_of_united_football_league_hartford_team%5B%5D
  6. ↑ "University of New Haven Names Former NFL Coach Chris Palmer New Director of Athletics". New Haven Chargers. January 16, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Director of Athletics Chris Palmer Announces Retirement Effective June 30". New Haven Chargers. June 14, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Hall of Fame - Chris Palmer". New Haven Chargers.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.