Nick Nicolau

Nick Nicolau

Biographical details
Born	(1933-05-05)May 5, 1933 New York City,New York, U.S.
Died	December 6, 2014(2014-12-06)(aged 81) Wareham, Massachusetts,U.S.
Playing career
1957–1959	Southern Connecticut
Position(s)	Running back
Coaching career (HCunless noted)
1960	Southern Connecticut (assistant)
1961	Springfield(assistant)
1962–1964	Bridgeport(assistant)
1965–1969	Bridgeport
1970	Massachusetts(RB)
1971–1972	Connecticut(assistant)
1973–1975	Kentucky(RB)
1976	Kent State(assistant)
1977	Hamilton Tiger-Cats(RB)
1978–1979	Montreal Alouettes(RB)
1980	New Orleans Saints(RB)
1981	Denver Broncos(special assistant)
1982–1987	Denver Broncos (RB)
1988	Los Angeles Raiders(WR)
1989–1991	Buffalo Bills(WR)
1992–1994	Indianapolis Colts(OC)
1995–1996	Jacksonville Jaguars(TE)
1997–1998	San Diego Chargers(AHC)
Head coaching record
Overall	24–22
Bowls	0–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1EFC(1969)
Awards
2×EFCCoach of the Year (1966, 1969) SCSUAthletic Hall of Fame (1995)

Anthero"Nick"Nicolau(May 5, 1933 – December 6, 2014) was a longtimeNational Football League(NFL) andcollege footballassistant coach.He graduated fromSouthern Connecticut State University.

He spent most of the 1960s -'70s coaching at college programs such asBridgeport (Head Coach),Massachusetts,Connecticut,Kentucky,andKent State.

Nicolau broke into the NFL with theNew Orleans Saintsin 1980 under then head coachDick Stanfel.He moved on to theDenver Broncos,coaching therunning backsfrom 1981 through 1987. Some of the players he coached includedDave Preston,Sammy Winder,andSteve Sewell.

A dispute ended his tenure in Denver. He landed with theLos Angeles Raiders,but got into a dispute with another assistant coach,Art Shell.Shell was supported by owner and managing partnerAl Davis,who fired Nicolau. He then went to theBuffalo Billsand served as theirwide receiverscoach from 1989 to 1991. There he worked with talents such asAndre ReedandDon Beebe.It was rumored that Nicolau left Buffalo due to a dispute with offensive line coach Tom Bresnahan who became offensive coordinator the next season.

In 1992, he became theoffensive coordinatorof theIndianapolis Coltsunder head coachTed Marchibrodawith whom he worked in Buffalo. He helped the Colts to a 9–7 record in 1992 and an 8–8 record in 1994. He helped developReggie Langhorneas a receiver and worked withquarterbackJeff Georgeas well. In 1994, he helped turn running backMarshall Faulkas a rookie while also working with bothJim HarbaughandDon Majkowskiat quarterback.

Nicolau then spent two seasons coaching thetight endsfor theJacksonville Jaguars,helping to developPete Mitchellas a blocker and receiver. In 1997, Jaguars offensive coordinatorKevin Gilbridebecame the head coach of theSan Diego Chargersand Nicolau followed him to California. There he served two years as the Chargers assistant head coach before retiring after the1998 NFL season.He died at age 81, on December 6, 2014.

Head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Bridgeport Purple Knights(Eastern Football Conference)(1965–1969)
1965	Bridgeport	3–6	1–3	4th
1966	Bridgeport	7–3	3–1	2nd
1967	Bridgeport	2–6	2–2	3rd
1968	Bridgeport	4–5	3–2	T–2nd
1969	Bridgeport	8–2	4–0	1st	LKnute Rockne Bowl
Bridgeport:		24–22	13–8
Total:		24–22
National championshipConference titleConference division title or championship game berth