Ron Erhardt

Ron Erhardt
Biographical details
Born	February 27, 1931; Mandan, North Dakota,U.S.
Died	March 21, 2012(aged 81); Boca Raton, Florida,U.S.
Alma mater	University of Jamestown
Coaching career (HCunless noted)
1956	Williston HS (ND)(assistant)
1957–1959	St. Mary's HS (ND)
1960–1962	Bishop Ryan HS (ND)
1963–1965	North Dakota State(assistant)
1966–1972	North Dakota State
1973–1976	New England Patriots(RB)
1977–1978	New England Patriots (OC)
1978	New England Patriots (interim co-HC)
1979–1981	New England Patriots
1982–1990	New York Giants(OC)
1991	New York Giants (assistant)
1992–1995	Pittsburgh Steelers(OC)
1996–1997	New York Jets(OC)
1997–1998	New York Jets (QB)
Administrative career (ADunless noted)
1968–1973	North Dakota State
Head coaching record
Overall	61–7–1 (college); 21–28 (NFL); 45–9–2 (high school)
Bowls	3–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
	2NCAA College Division(1968–1969); 6NCC(1966–1970, 1972) As offensive coordinator: 2×Super Bowl champion(XXI,XXV);

Ronald Peter Erhardt(February 27, 1931 – March 21, 2012) was anAmerican footballcoach at both the collegiate and professional levels. From 1979 to 1981 he served as head coach of theNational Football League(NFL)'sNew England Patriots.

Early life

A native ofMandan, North Dakota,^[1]Erhardt played football and graduated fromJamestown Collegein 1953, then spent the next two years serving in the military. After leaving the service, he was hired in 1956 as an assistant coach atWilliston High SchoolinWilliston, North Dakota.The following year, he began a six-year run as a head coach at two North DakotaCatholichigh schools: from 1957 to 1959, his teams at St. Mary's (New England, ND) compiled a mark of 25–3–1, followed by another three-year run atBishop Ryan High SchoolinMinot,where he was 20–6–1 from 1960 to 1962.

Early career

Erhardt's successes elevated him to the collegiate level, where he served as an assistant atNorth Dakota State Universityfor three years beginning in 1963.^[2]On February 10, 1966, he became head coach at the school, setting the stage for another strong tenure, in which he put together a record of 61–7–1 in his seven years. Erhardt also served as the Bison athletic director, winning a pair of college national championships. In 1970, he was awarded Blue Key National Honor Society's Distinguished Educator award for his dedication to the University.

National Football League career

New England Patriots

On March 14, 1973, Erhardt moved on to become backfield coach of theNew England Patriots,a post he served in for four years before being promoted to offensive coordinator on February 1, 1977, following the departure ofRed Miller.^[3]After missing the playoffs that year, the Patriots seemed ready to challenge for aSuper Bowlberth in 1978. However, prior to the last regular season game on December 18, head coachChuck Fairbanksannounced he was leaving the team to accept a contract offer from theUniversity of Colorado.In response, the team suspended Fairbanks and made Erhardt and fellow assistantHank Bulloughco-coaches for the final game. The Patriots dropped that contest, then lost their opening round matchup to theHouston Oilers.

Fairbanks was allowed to leave for Colorado, with Erhardt officially taking the reins of the team on April 6, 1979.^[4]^{[self-published source]}Noting his.890 winning percentage at North Dakota State upon taking the position, Erhardt said, "I've never been a loser in football and I don't intend to start now." The Patriots underachieved to a 19–13 record in the 1979 and 1980 seasons, missing the playoffs by one game each year; the 441 points scored in 1980 was a club record not broken until 2007. But then the Patriots finished with a 2–14 record in 1981. Citing the fact that Erhardt "was just too nice a guy", ownerBilly Sullivandismissed him on December 22, two days after the conclusion of the season.^[5]

New York Giants

Just over a month later, in January 1982, Erhardt was hired as offensive coordinator of theNew York Giantsby head coach, and former fellow Patriots assistantRay Perkins,the first sinceJoe Waltonfilled the position under head coachAlex Websterin 1973.^[6]During the latter portion of that first season, Perkins announced he was leaving to become head coach at theUniversity of Alabama,withBill Parcellsreplacing him. Parcells had been Erhardt's linebackers coach with the Patriots in 1980, and kept his former boss in the same position.

That decision would prove to be the right one as the Giants went on to win twoSuper Bowls,with Erhardt working around a key injury during the run towardSuper Bowl XXV.QuarterbackPhil Simmshad suffered a season-ending injury late in the season, but his replacement,Jeff Hostetler,navigated the team to the title.

Parcells retired after that game, withRay Handleybeing promoted to head coach.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Handley then demoted Erhardt, which resulted in the latter's departure for a similar position with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992. Emphasizing the run, Erhardt ran the offense for four years, helping the team reachSuper Bowl XXXin 1996. However, after the season, the conflict over the offensive philosophy between Erhardt and Steelers' head coachBill Cowherresulted in Erhardt's resignation.

New York Jets

Erhardt then became offensive coordinator of theNew York JetsunderRich Kotite.A disastrous 1–15 mark marked the end of Kotite's brief era, with Parcells replacing Kotite. Erhardt announced his retirement on January 12, 1998.

Head coaching record

College


Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
North Dakota State Bison(North Central Conference)(1966–1972)
1966	North Dakota State	8–2	5–1	T–1st
1967	North Dakota State	9–1	6–0	1st	LPecan
1968	North Dakota State	10–0	6–0	1st	WPecan
1969	North Dakota State	10–0	6–0	1st	WCamellia
1970	North Dakota State	9–0–1	6–0	1st	WCamellia
1971	North Dakota State	7–2	4–2	T–2nd
1972	North Dakota State	8–2	6–1	T–1st
North Dakota State:		61–7–1	39–4
Total:		61–7–1
National championshipConference titleConference division title or championship game berth

NFL

Team	Year	Regular Season					Post Season
Team	Year	Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
NE^	1978	0	1	0	.000	1st in AFC East	–	–	–	–
NE	1979	9	7	0	.563	2nd in AFC East	–	–	–	–
NE	1980	10	6	0	.625	2nd in AFC East	–	–	–	–
NE	1981	2	14	0	.125	5th in AFC East	–	–	–	–
NE Total		21	28	0	.429		–	–	–
Total^[7]		21	28	0	.429		–	–	–

^ Co-coach withHank Bullough

References

^"Ron Erhardt".Mandanhistory.org.RetrievedDecember 1,2013.
^Goldstein, Richard (March 22, 2012)."Ron Erhardt, Super Bowl-Winning Offensive Coach, Dies at 81".The New York Times.
^John Maxymuk (2012).NFL Head Coaches: A Biographical Dictionary, 1920–2011.McFarland. pp. 79–.ISBN 978-0-7864-9295-4.
^Bill Block (2009).Trojans 1972: An Immortal Team of Mortal Men.Xlibris Corporation. pp. 70–.ISBN 978-1-4415-4778-1.
^Bill Gutman (September 9, 2009).Parcells: A Biography.Da Capo Press. pp. 65–.ISBN 978-0-7867-5181-5.
^White, Gordon S. (January 30, 1982)."Erhardt To Direct Offense Of Giants".The New York Times.RetrievedDecember 1,2013.
^Ron Erhardt Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks - Pro-Football-Reference.com

[1] "Ron Erhardt".Mandanhistory.org.RetrievedDecember 1,2013.

[2] Goldstein, Richard (March 22, 2012)."Ron Erhardt, Super Bowl-Winning Offensive Coach, Dies at 81".The New York Times.

[Maxymuk2012-3] John Maxymuk (2012).NFL Head Coaches: A Biographical Dictionary, 1920–2011.McFarland. pp. 79–.ISBN 978-0-7864-9295-4.

[Block2009-4] Bill Block (2009).Trojans 1972: An Immortal Team of Mortal Men.Xlibris Corporation. pp. 70–.ISBN 978-1-4415-4778-1.

[Gutman2009-5] Bill Gutman (September 9, 2009).Parcells: A Biography.Da Capo Press. pp. 65–.ISBN 978-0-7867-5181-5.

[6] White, Gordon S. (January 30, 1982)."Erhardt To Direct Offense Of Giants".The New York Times.RetrievedDecember 1,2013.

[7] Ron Erhardt Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks - Pro-Football-Reference.com

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