Howard Schnellenberger, who led Miami to his first national championship and turned a former 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 giving up the sport as losses increased and morale dropped.
But after helping deliver the 1983 national championship, Miami won three more national titles in the next six seasons. Although it was only there for the title of 83, the speed and athletics that the hurricanes first displayed under Schnellenberger became a plan for programs across the country.
Its impact has surpassed Miami. Subsequently, Schnellenberger revitalized his hometown of Louisville Cardinals and built Florida Atlantic football from scratch, leaving an indelible mark on three college football programs over three decades.
His baritone voice, bushy mustache, and ever-present pipe made him look more like a businessman than a football coach, but they became as synonymous with Schnellenberger as his penchant for embracing recovery projects.
He did this first with Miami, a co-worker urged him to avoid because he looked like a dead end. Schnellenberger saw something else and said Miami would win a national championship within five years. He stepped up discipline within the program and focused his recruitment efforts primarily on the untapped potential of South Florida, declaring the area “the state of Miami.”
It didn’t take long for Miami to reach national prominence, culminating in the 1984 Orange Bowl against Nebraska, a game that ranks among the sport’s biggest upsets.
Miami entered his homeland as a subordinate. But when Kenny Calhoun beat Turner Gill’s 2-point conversion, Hurricanes sealed the 31-30 upset and the first national championship in school history.
In a post-game interview, Schnellenberger said: “This has been a love affair that has been going on for five years, and tonight was a dream come true. I say fulfillment. It could be just the beginning of a dream. “
He was, but Schnellenberger was not there to see him directly. Schnellenberger left the Hurricanes after that championship season to take a job with a USFL team planned for Miami. At the time, he told The Miami Herald that he was leaving because he felt constrained by Miami’s athletic budget and could not give up the $ 3 million contract offer.
But the team never materialized, and Schnellenberger came to stay in the 1984 football season.
In 2011, Schnellenberger said of leaving Miami, “If you look at it objectively, it was the worst thing a human being could do.”
But his one-year coaching career gave him the opportunity to go home to Louisville, where he became head coach in 1985. He also promised national championships there and, although he did not win any, revitalized a program that was in a better condition stupid. than it was Miami when he took the lead. In his 10 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 5-5-1 season, Schnellenberger resigned under pressure.
Schnellenberger will have another coaching opportunity in the state in which he made his name. In 1998, a commuter school in Boca Raton, Florida, wanted to start a football program. Schnellenberger was elected director of football operations in Florida Atlantic and later decided to coach the team. He had a quick vision for Owls: after three years at FCS, they will become an FBS program.
So far, she has given up the pipe for health reasons, but she still wears her sportswear, suspenders and tie. During his time as head coach, FAU participated in two home games and built a stadium on campus. When he retired in 2011, Schnellenberger compiled an overall record of 158-151-3. The stadium grounds are also named after him.
His resume includes not only championship rings (three earned as an assistant in Alabama, one with the undefeated Miami Dolphins in 1972 and one with Miami since 1983), but the defenders he coached or recruited. As an assistant in Alabama in 1962, Schnellenberger persuaded top recruit Joe Namath to sign with Tide in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.
Along with Hurricanes, he coached Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde, the foundation for the Miami-owned “Quarterback U”.
Then there are the coaches he learned from. Schnellenberger played for Paul “Bear” Bryant in Kentucky and later coached with him in Alabama; he also coached under the NFL Hall of Famers, George Allen and Don Shula. Schnellenberger had the chance to coach the NFL, 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 in Kentucky from 1952 to ’55, winning the All-America Awards last year. After a brief stint in the CFL, he began his coaching career at the alma mater before joining Bryant in Alabama.
After retiring from the FAU, he served as ambassador for the school and remained in the South Florida area. When Miami and FAU first played each other in 2013, Schnellenberger was named honorary co-captain.
Survivors include his wife, Beverlee, sons Stuart and Tim and three grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son Stephen.