John Edward Mazur(June 17, 1930 – November 1, 2013) was an Americangridiron footballplayer and coach. He was playedcollege footballas aquarterbackat theUniversity of Notre Dame.Mazur served as head coach for theNew England Patriotsof theNational Football League(NFL) from 1970 to 1972.[1]
 Mazur in 1954 with the BC Lions | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | June 17, 1930 Plymouth, Pennsylvania,U.S. |
| Died: | November 1, 2013(aged 83) Mount Laurel, New Jersey,U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Plymouth (PA) |
| College: | Notre Dame |
| Career history | |
| As a coach: | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season: | 9–21 (.300) |
| RecordatPro Football Reference | |
Career
editMazur grew up in Plymouth, Pennsylvania where he graduated in Plymouth High School's class of 1948. His outstanding quarterbacking skills caught the attention of Notre Dame coaches, leading him to play for the Fighting Irish from 1949 to 1951, starting for the 1951 squad that finished 7–2–1. The following year, Mazur went into theMarine Corps,playing quarterback for both the Quantico andCamp PendletonMarines. Upon his discharge in 1954, Mazur headed to Canada, where he spent one year with theBC Lionsof theCanadian Football Leaguebefore suffering a career-ending ankle injury.[1]
In 1955, Mazur entered the coaching ranks, spending the first of three years as an assistant atTulane University.He followed that with one year atMarquette Universityin 1958, before heading east to work three years in a similar capacity forBoston University.[1]
On January 22, 1962, Mazur was hired as backfield coach of theAmerican Football LeagueBuffalo Bills,spending seven seasons with the team as offensive coordinator, helping them capture AFL titles in both 1964 and 1965. By his final year with Buffalo in 1968, Mazur had seen the team collapse with the worst record in professional football, a dubious distinction that helped them selectO. J. Simpsonin theNFL Draft.[1]
Looking for other options, Mazur was hired as an assistant with theBoston Patriotson February 6, 1969. However, the team struggled under new head coach Clive Rush, who resigned on November 3, 1970, elevating Mazur to his first and only head coaching role.[1]
Mazur was re-hired at the end of the1970 NFL season,and selected quarterbackJim Plunkettwith the first pick in the 1971 draft. Leading the team to a 6–8 mark that year, which included upsets of theMiami Dolphins,Baltimore ColtsandOakland Raiders,the team enjoyed its best record since 1966, and Mazur was awarded a new contract with a substantial pay increase. That excitement would be short-lived as the Patriots won only two of their first nine games. Mazur then resigned on November 13, 1972, one day after a 52–0 shutout by Miami, and was replaced byPhil Bengtson.[1]
Mazur would resurface the next year as defensive backs coach with thePhiladelphia Eagles,and would survive the dismissal of much of the coaching staff following the end of the1975 NFL season.However, after just one year working underDick Vermeil,Mazur left in 1977 to join former Eagles assistantWalt Michaels,who had been hired as head coach of theNew York Jets.
After two years as defensive backs coach with the Jets, Mazur was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1979, helping the team to its second straight 8–8 season. The following year, In December, he announced that he would be retiring to battle the effects ofParkinson's disease.
References
edit- ^abcdefGrossfeld, Stan (December 1, 2005)."For Mazur, the scars remain: Illness, financial woes weighing heavily on former Patriot coach".The Boston Globe.RetrievedApril 11,2010.