Frank Novak (American football)

Last updated

Frank Novak
Personal information
Born:1940 (age 83–84)
Leominster, Massachusetts
Career information
High school: Leominster (MA)
College: Northern Michigan
Career history
As a coach:

Frank Novak (born c. 1940) is an American former football coach who is best known for coaching special teams in the National Football League (NFL).

Contents

Early career

Novak was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, and attended Leominster High School. He later played football at Northern Michigan University, [1] where he earned NCAA Division II All-American honors as a quarterback in 1961. [2] After college, Novak spent the 1962 training camp with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. [3]

Coaching career

Novak coached high school football in New London, Connecticut and Iron Mountain, Michigan. He then returned to NMU in 1966 under head coach Rollie Dotsch, where he spent 6 years as a coach including the final 2 seasons as offensive coordinator. During this time, one of his players was future Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr. [1] Also on the NMU staff were notable coaches Jerry Glanville and Carl Reese, [4] both of whom Novak would coach alongside later in their careers. Over the next 10 seasons he coached offensive backs or served as offensive coordinator at various colleges and universities, including stints with head coach Sonny Randle at East Carolina and Virginia. [3]

In 1984 Novak coached running backs for the Oklahoma Outlaws of the United States Football League under head coach Woody Widenhofer. The following season, he coached wide receivers for the USFL Birmingham Stallions under Rollie Dotsch, reuniting him with his former boss at NMU. Dostch had originally recommended Novak to Widenhofer, whom he had coached with on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Novak returned to the NCAA ranks for the 1988 season to coach running backs at Missouri, who were coached by Woody Widenhofer after the dissolution of the USFL. [5]

NFL Coaching Career

Novak began coaching running backs in the NFL in 1989 with the Houston Oilers under head coach Jerry Glanville. Novak and Glanville had previously served as assistant coaches together at Northern Michigan University. In 1990, Jack Pardee was named coach of the Oilers and retained Novak, and in 1994 he was named special teams coordinator. [6] Novak also served as special teams coordinator with the Detroit Lions for 1995-1996, San Diego Chargers 1997-1998, [7] and the Green Bay Packers from 2000-2005. [3] Novak had joined the Chargers when friend Kevin Gilbride was hired as head coach, and resigned when Gilbride was fired after the 1998 season.

During the 2000 season, Novak was pantsed during practice by quarterback Brett Favre as a practical joke. [8]

Pro Bowl kicker Rob Bironas credits Novak with helping find another kicking job in the NFL. [9] Bironas had been cut by the Green Bay Packers in 2002 after signing as an undrafted free agent.

Novak was associated with the Run and shoot offense during his time in the USFL and with the Oilers and Chargers.

Personal life

Novak is currently retired from professional coaching and resides in Oxford, Michigan. He serves as a motivational speaker and also volunteers as a high school football coach at Leominster High School and Lake Orion High School. [3] [10] [11] In 2012, Frank married noted Metro Detroit realtor Suzanne Fodor.

Novak has five grown children from a previous marriage. One of his sons, Jason, is currently head strength and conditioning coach with the Michigan State University. Jason had previously served as head strength and condition coach at Central Michigan University, Yale and Alabama State. Novak is also the maternal grandfather to former American Professional Baseball Relief Pitcher Matt Picucci [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sid Gillman</span> American football player and coach (1911–2003)

Sidney Gillman was an American football player, coach and executive. Gillman's insistence on stretching the football field by throwing deep downfield passes, instead of short passes to running backs or wide receivers at the sides of the line of scrimmage, was instrumental in making football into the modern game that it is today. He was inducted as a coach into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.

The Arizona Outlaws were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. They were owned by Fresno banker and real estate magnate William Tatham Sr., who had briefly owned the Portland Thunder of the World Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Mariucci</span> American football coach and analyst

Stephen Ray Mariucci, nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and former football coach who was the head coach of two National Football League (NFL) teams, the San Francisco 49ers (1997–2002) and the Detroit Lions (2003–2005), and for a year at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their home games at Birmingham, Alabama's Legion Field. They competed in all three USFL seasons, 1983–1985. During their run, they were one of the USFL's more popular teams, and seemed to have a realistic chance of being a viable venture had the USFL been better run.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June Jones</span> American football player and coach (born 1953)

June Sheldon Jones III is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons. Jones was the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 1999 to 2007, and was the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 2008 until he resigned on September 8, 2014. He coached in the National Football League (NFL) for three years as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 1994 to 1996, plus a ten-game stint as interim head coach of the San Diego Chargers in 1998; he also spent 1+1⁄2 seasons as head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Jones was the general manager and head coach of the Houston Roughnecks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Nolan</span> American football coach (born 1959)

Michael Tullis Nolan is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). Nolan previously served as a head coach for the San Francisco 49ers, and a defensive coordinator for the National Football League (NFL)'s Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Washington Redskins, New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, and Dallas Cowboys. Nolan is a former linebackers coach for the Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, and New Orleans Saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloyd Carr</span> American football player and coach (born 1945)

Lloyd Henry Carr Jr. is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season, replacing Gary Moeller. Under Carr, the Michigan Wolverines compiled a record of 122–40 and won or shared five Big Ten Conference titles. Carr's undefeated 1997 team was declared the national champion by the Associated Press. His record coaching against top ten-ranked opponents was 20–8. Carr was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Fisher</span> American football player and coach (born 1958)

Jeffrey Michael Fisher is an American professional football coach and former cornerback and return specialist. He served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 22 seasons, primarily with the Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans franchise. Fisher coached the Oilers / Titans from 1994 to 2010 and the St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams from 2012 to 2016. He is currently the commissioner of Arena Football One after serving as interim commissioner of the previous incarnation of the Arena Football League.

<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">Jerry Glanville</span> American football player and coach (born 1941)

Jerry Michael Glanville is an American football coach. He is the defensive coordinator for Northwestern Oklahoma State University, a position he has held since 2024. Prior to that, was most recently the head coach of the Alabama Airborne of Major League Football (MLFB). He played football at Northern Michigan University in the early 1960s, and is a former NASCAR driver and owner, and sportscaster. He served as head coach of the Houston Oilers from 1986 to 1990 and the Atlanta Falcons from 1990 to 1994, compiling a career National Football League (NFL) record of 63–73. From 2007 to 2009, he was the Head Football Coach at Portland State University, tallying a mark of 9–24. Glanville has worked as an analyst on HBO's Inside the NFL, CBS's The NFL Today/NFL on CBS and Fox's coverage of the NFL. He has also raced on the Automobile Racing Club of America circuit. Glanville also briefly served as a consultant and liaison for the United Football League in 2011.

Chris Palmer 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.

Roland Daniel Dotsch was an American football coach who served primarily in an assistant capacity before becoming the first coach of the United States Football League (USFL)'s Birmingham Stallions on September 2, 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence Munn</span>

Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was the head football coach at Albright College (1935–1936), Syracuse University (1946), and most notably Michigan State College (1947–1953), where his 1952 squad won a national championship. Munn retired from coaching in 1953 to assume duties as Michigan State's athletic director, a position he held until 1971. Each year, the Michigan State Spartans football team hands out the "Biggie Munn Award" to the team's most motivational player. Michigan State's Munn Ice Arena, built in 1974, is named in his honor. Munn was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1959, and, in 1961, he became Michigan State's first inductee into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. He authored the coaching textbook Michigan State Multiple Offense in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duffy Daugherty</span> American football player and coach (1915–1987)

Hugh Duffy Daugherty was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Michigan State University from 1954 to 1972, compiling a record of 109–69–5. His 1965 and 1966 teams won national championships. Daugherty's tenure of 19 seasons at the helm of the Michigan State Spartans football team is the longest of any head coach in the program's history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1984.

Robert "Woody" Widenhofer was an American college football head coach and longtime assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL). Widenhofer is best known for helping the Pittsburgh Steelers "Steel Curtain" defense that won four Super Bowls in the 1970s. He later served unsuccessful tenures as head coach at the University of Missouri and Vanderbilt University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Stanley (American football)</span> American football player and coach (1935–2012)

Jim Stanley was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater from 1973 to 1978, compiling a record of 35–31–2. Stanley was also the head coach of the USFL's Michigan Panthers in 1983 and 1984, their only two years of existence. The Panthers won the USFL Championship in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike McCoy (American football coach)</span> American football coach and player (born 1972)

Michael P. McCoy is an American football coach and former player who is the quarterbacks coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He has previously spent time as quarterbacks coach for the Carolina Panthers, the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals, and four seasons as head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 2013 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Michigan Wildcats</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Northern Michigan University

The Northern Michigan Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northern Michigan University, located in Marquette, Michigan, in NCAA intercollegiate sporting competitions. All teams that play under NCAA governance compete at the Division II level, with three exceptions. The most significant one is the men's ice hockey program, which plays at the Division I level. Two other sports, Nordic skiing and women's wrestling, are de facto Division I sports; the NCAA holds a single skiing championship open to members of all three divisions, and does not currently include women's wrestling in its divisional structure. While NMU's skiing program includes both disciplines contested in the NCAA championships, only the Nordic program competes within the NCAA structure.

Anthero "Nick" Nicolau was a longtime National Football League (NFL) and college football assistant coach. He graduated from Southern Connecticut State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlo Kemp</span> American football player (born 1998)

Carlo Kemp is a former American football linebacker. He played professionally for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football at Michigan.

References

  1. 1 2 FootballYearlyLeaders | Wildcat Football at Northern Michigan University Archived 2012-03-06 at the Wayback Machine . Webb.nmu.edu. Retrieved on 2010-11-22.
  2. ↑ FootballAwardsandHonors | Wildcat Football at Northern Michigan University Archived 2012-03-06 at the Wayback Machine . Webb.nmu.edu. Retrieved on 2010-11-22.
  3. 1 2 3 4 About Frank Archived 2017-06-28 at the Wayback Machine . Frank-novak.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-22.
  4. ↑ coachesandplayers. Houseoffootball.homestead.com (1969-11-22). Retrieved on 2010-11-22.
  5. ↑ Search by Coach Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine . Coachtrees.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-22.
  6. ↑ Sports | Deals | Seattle Times Newspaper. Community.seattletimes.nwsource.com (1994-02-27). Retrieved on 2010-11-22.
  7. ↑ TRANSACTIONS - New York Times. Nytimes.com (1998-09-09). Retrieved on 2010-11-22.
  8. ↑ CNNSI.com - Inside Game - Peter King - Monday Morning QB - SI's King: MMQB - An afternoon with Brett Favre - Monday December 11, 2000 06:21 PM. Sportsillustrated.cnn.com (2000-12-11). Retrieved on 2010-11-22.
  9. ↑ Bio | Official Website of Rob Bironas I Placekicker for the Tennessee Titans Archived 2011-03-23 at the Wayback Machine . Robbironasonline.com (1978-01-29). Retrieved on 2010-11-22.
  10. ↑ "Raiders learn from former NFL assistant". July 5, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Lake Orion Dragon Football Coaches". www.lodragonfootball.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Jason Novak - Yale Bulldogs". www.yalebulldogs.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012.
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.