Robert Ford (football coach)

Last updated
Robert Ford
Position: Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1951-06-21) June 21, 1951 (age 67)
Belton, Texas
Career information
High school: Belton (TX)
College: Houston
Undrafted: 1973
Career history
As coach:
Career highlights and awards

Robert Ford (born June 21, 1951) is an American football coach. He won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Houston.

American football Team field sport

American football, referred to as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, which is the team controlling the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with or passing the ball, while the defense, which is the team without control of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and aims to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, and otherwise they turn over the football to the defense; if the offense succeeds in advancing ten yards or more, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins.

Super Bowl Annual championship game of the National Football League in American football

The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL) where the champion of the National Football Conference (NFC) competes against the champion of the American Football Conference (AFC). The game is the culmination of a regular season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. Normally, Roman numerals are used to identify each game, rather than the year in which it is held. For example, Super Bowl I was played on January 15, 1967, following the 1966 regular season. The sole exception to this naming convention tradition occurred with Super Bowl 50, which was played on February 7, 2016, following the 2015 regular season, and the following year, the nomenclature returned to Roman numerals for Super Bowl LI, following the 2016 regular season. The upcoming Super Bowl is Super Bowl LIV, scheduled for February 2, 2020, following the 2019 regular season.

Dallas Cowboys National Football League franchise in Arlington, Texas

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and plays its home games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which opened for the 2009 season. The stadium took its current name prior to the 2013 season. The Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960. The team's national following might best be represented by its NFL record of consecutive sell-outs. The Cowboys' streak of 190 consecutive sold-out regular and post-season games began in 2002. The franchise has made it to the Super Bowl eight times, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos for second most Super Bowl appearances in history, just behind the New England Patriots record eleven Super Bowl appearances. This has also corresponded to eight NFC championships, most in the NFC. The Cowboys have won five of those Super Bowl appearances, tying them with their NFC rivals, the San Francisco 49ers; both are second to Pittsburgh's and New England’s record six Super Bowl championships. The Cowboys are the only NFL team to record 20 straight winning seasons (1966–85), in which they missed the playoffs only twice.

Contents

Early years

Ford attended Belton High School, where he played as a running back. He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Houston, where he was switched to wide receiver. His roommate was future NFL player Robert Newhouse.

Belton High School or (BHS) is a public high school that serves the city of Belton, Texas, parts of Temple and Morgan's Point Resort and classified as a 6A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Belton Independent School District located in south central Bell County. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.

Running back position in American and Canadian football

A running back (RB) is an American and Canadian football position, a member of the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block. There are usually one or two running backs on the field for a given play, depending on the offensive formation. A running back may be a halfback, a wingback or a fullback. A running back will sometimes be called a "feature back" if he is the team's starting running back.

University of Houston state research university in Houston, Texas, United States

The University of Houston (UH) is a state research university and the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, UH is the third-largest university in Texas with nearly 44,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of Houston–University Park from 1983 to 1991. The Carnegie Foundation classifies UH as a doctoral degree-granting institution with "highest research activity." The U.S. News & World Report ranks the university No. 171 in its National University Rankings, and No. 91 among top public universities.

As a sophomore and junior, he was a backup wide receiver. He was named the starter as a senior in 1972, leading the team in receiving with 35 receptions for 538 yards (15.4-yard avg.) and 4 receiving touchdowns, earning third-team All-American honors. He also led in kickoff returns and punt returns. He had 231 receiving yards against San Diego State University. He became the first player in the history of the NCAA to have two 99-yard touchdown receptions,

A wide receiver, also referred to as wideouts or simply receivers, is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is a key player. They get their name because they are split out "wide", farthest away from the rest of the team. Wide receivers are among the fastest players on the field. The wide receiver functions as the pass-catching specialist.

Touchdown means of scoring in both American and Canadian football

A touchdown is a scoring play in both American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.

San Diego State University public research university in San Diego, USA

San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. It is the largest and oldest higher education institution in San Diego County. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university in the 23-member California State University (CSU). SDSU has a Fall 2016 student body of 34,688 and an alumni base of more than 280,000.

Ford was inducted into the University of Houston Athletics Hall of Honor and the Central Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

Coaching career

In 1973, he began his coaching career in Saginaw High School. In 1974, he was named the wide receivers coach in Western Illinois University. In 1979, he joined the University of New Mexico as their wide receivers coach. In 1980, he was hired by Oregon State University as the wide receivers coach, where he was part of the same staff as future NFL coaches Joe Avezzano and Dave Campo. In 1982, he moved to Mississippi State University to be their wide receivers coach. [1]

Saginaw High School

Saginaw High School is located in Saginaw, Michigan, USA. The student enrollment is 593 students.

Western Illinois University university

Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university located in Macomb, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. Like many similar institutions of the time, Western Illinois State Normal School focused on teacher training for its relatively small body of students. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College.

University of New Mexico public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

The University of New Mexico is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, UNM offers bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degree programs in multiple fields. Its Albuquerque campus encompasses over 600 acres (2.4 km²), and there are branch campuses in Gallup, Los Alamos, Rio Rancho, Taos, and Los Lunas. UNM is categorized as an R1 doctoral university in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education

In 1985, he spent one season with the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League before the league folded. He oversaw wide receivers Ricky Sanders, Clarence Verdin and Richard Johnson. Sanders grabbed 48 passes for 538 yards despite playing only 10 games, Verdin caught 84 passes for 1,004 yards and Johnson had 103 catches for 1,384 yards. [2]

Houston Gamblers defunct American football team

The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducing former Middletown (Ohio) High School football coach Glenn "Tiger" Ellison's Run & Shoot offense to the world of pro football.

United States Football League American football league

The United States Football League (USFL) was an American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be played in the autumn/winter, directly competing against the long-established National Football League (NFL). However, the USFL ceased operations before that season was scheduled to begin.

Ricky Sanders American football player

Ricky Wayne Sanders is a former American football wide receiver who played professionally for twelve seasons from 1983 to 1994, two with the United States Football League's Houston Gamblers and ten in the National Football League. He played running back, safety, and place kicker as a three-year letterman for Belton High School in Belton, Texas and broke five records.

In 1986, he was hired by the University of Kansas to be the wide receivers coach. In 1987, he accepted the wide receivers coach position at Texas Tech University. He helped to develop Tyrone Thurman, Eddy Anderson and Wayne Walker as All-Southwest Conference wide receivers and were also named the nation's best group of receivers by The Sporting News in 1988. They finished one-two-three on the school's All-time receiving list.

In 1989, he joined the Texas A&M University coaching staff, helping the team to receive two College Bowl invitations, while guiding wide receiver Shane Garrett to reach the NFL.

In 1991, was hired by head coach Jimmy Johnson to be the tight end coach for the Dallas Cowboys, where he helped to develop All-Pro Jay Novacek. He also contributed to the team winning Super Bowl XXVII, XXVIII and XXX. [3]

In 1998, he followed Johnson to the Miami Dolphins coaching staff as the wide receivers coach, where he had an opportunity to develop Oronde Gadsden, O. J. McDuffie, Tony Martin and Chris Chambers. [4]

In 2004, he was hired by the Arizona Cardinals to be the wide receivers coach. [5] He had the opportunity to coach Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson.

In 2006, he joined the Oakland Raiders coaching staff as the offensive quality control coach. [6]

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References

  1. ↑ "Robert Ford - 2011-12 Football Coaching Staff". Texas Southern University. 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Driven by Ford". South Florida Sun Sentinel. July 30, 1998. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Dallas Coaches In for Long Haul". The Oklahoman. August 27, 1995. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  4. ↑ "J.J. HIRES FORD; SEIPLE TO COACH QBS". ESPN. February 8, 1998. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Pendergast tapped as defensive coordinator". ESPN. January 16, 2004. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Raiders plotting their free-agent game plan". East Bay Times. March 5, 2006. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
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