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F r o m W i k i p e d i a , t h e f r e e e n c y c l o p e d i a
American football player and coach (born 1936)
(1936-01-01 ) January 1, 1936 (age 88 ) Mansfield, Ohio , U.S.
Bowling Green
Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Cincinnati (assistant)
Bowling Green (assistant)
Bowling Green
Michigan (QB )
West Virginia
202–128–8
4–9
Accomplishments and honors
Donald Eugene Nehlen (born January 1, 1936) is a former American football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University (1968–1976[1] ) and at West Virginia University (1980–2000). Nehlen retired from coaching college football in 2001 with a career record of 202–128–8 and as the 17th winningest coach in college football history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005 and has served as a president of the American Football Coaches Association .
Nehlen was a multi-sport athlete at Lincoln High School (Canton, Ohio) where he excelled in football, basketball, and baseball.
Nehlen played quarterback at Bowling Green (1955–1957) and led the team to a Mid-American Conference championship in 1956. He began his coaching career in 1958 at Mansfield Senior High School and then served as head coach at Canton South High School and Canton McKinley High School . Nehlen was later an assistant coach at the University of Cincinnati , Bowling Green, and the University of Michigan .
Since his retirement from coaching, Nehlen has been a spokesman for the coal industry. Nehlen received the 2002 Distinguished West Virginian Award from the West Virginia Broadcasters Association.[2] In 2006, Nehlen published a book called Don Nehlen's Tales from the West Virginia Sideline , an autobiographical account recalling his 21-year tenure as the head football coach at West Virginia.
In 2017 the AFCA presented Nehlen the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award , given to the "individual, group or institution whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football."[3]
At West Virginia
[ edit ]
Nehlen during his tenure at WVU
Nehlen served as the quarterbacks coach at the University of Michigan under Bo Schembechler from 1977 to 1979 before taking the head coaching job at West Virginia. Nehlen became West Virginia's 29th head football coach on December 7, 1979, replacing Frank Cignetti , who had posted four straight losing seasons.
Nehlen first hired Gary Tranquill as the offensive coach. In an effort to emulate the Michigan defense, Nehlen hired Dennis Brown away from the Wolverines. Nehlen hired a number of coaches he worked with at Bowling Green. Nehlen also retained Donnie Young, Cignetti's former assistant head coach, as his recruiting coach. Tranquill left West Virginia after three seasons to become head coach at Navy , taking graduate assistant Steve Dunlap with him. Dunlap later returned to serve as West Virginia's defensive coach. One of Nehlen's most famed assistants was Doc Holliday , who served the assistant head coach and recruiting coach for almost 20 years before leaving for North Carolina State University . Holliday was sent to Florida every year to find recruits and found many talented players there, including linebacker Steve Grant . When Nehlen arrived at West Virginia, he introduced the Mountaineers' first "home and away uniforms" and a new helmet logo, "The Flying WV," which became the official logo of West Virginia athletics and, eventually, the university itself.
In 1980, Nehlen's first season at West Virginia, the Mountaineers went 6–6. In 1981, led by quarterback and future WVU athletic director Oliver Luck , West Virginia went 9–3 and upset the Florida Gators in the Peach Bowl , 26–6. In 1982, led by quarterback Jeff Hostetler (who ended up marrying Nehlen's daughter, Vicky), West Virginia started the season with an upset over the #9 Oklahoma Sooners . In 1984, Nehlen's squad posted wins against Boston College , led by eventual Heisman Trophy winner, Doug Flutie , and over Penn State for the Mountaineers' first defeat of the Nittany Lions since 1955.
The 1987 season marked the beginning of the Major Harris era at West Virginia. In Harris' sophomore season, 1988, the Mountaineers went undefeated in the regular season and faced top-ranked Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl . Harris was injured on the third play of the game and West Virginia lost, 34–21. Notre Dame was crowned as national champions .
In 1993, Nehlen led West Virginia to another undefeated regular season and a Big East Conference title, but the Florida Gators exacted revenge in the Sugar Bowl , winning 41–7. Nehlen's 1994 team started the season with a 1–4 record, but rebounded to qualify for the Carquest Bowl , where they lost to South Carolina , 24–21.
In 1998, West Virginia featured a number of future National Football League (NFL) players including Marc Bulger , Amos Zereoué , Anthony Becht , Gary Stills , Barrett Green , Solomon Page and John Thornton , to form a strong nucleus on a team that lacked depth on defense. The Mountaineers opened the season with a home loss to Ohio State , but finished the season with an 8–4 record, losing in the Insight Bowl to Missouri , 34–31.
Following a loss to Syracuse in 2000, Nehlen announced that the season would be his final one as head coach. On December 28, he coached his final game against Ole Miss in the Music City Bowl . After winning three of their first four bowl games , Nehlen's West Virginia teams had lost eight straight postseason contests, but his final squad, led by the offensive attack of quarterback Brad Lewis, tailback Avon Cobourne , wide receiver Antonio Brown , and fullback Wes Ours , handled the Rebels, 49–38.
Nehlen completed his tenure at West Virginia with a record of 149–93–4. His 149 victories are the most in school history. With the Mountaineers, Nehlen coached 15 first team All-Americans , 82 All-Big East Conference honorees, and 80 future NFL players. In 1988, Nehlen was recognized with three national coaching awards, the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award , the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award , and the AFCA Coach of the Year . In 1993, he was named the Big East Coach of Year . Nehlen was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Head coaching record
[ edit ]
Overall
Conference
Standing
Bowl/playoffs
Coaches#
AP °
Bowling Green
6–3–1
3–2–1
T–3rd
Bowling Green
6–4
4–2
2nd
Bowling Green
2–6–1
1–4
T–5th
Bowling Green
6–4
4–1
2nd
Bowling Green
6–3–1
3–1–1
2nd
Bowling Green
7–3
2–3
T–3rd
Bowling Green
6–4–1
2–3
T–4th
Bowling Green
8–3
4–2
T–3rd
Bowling Green
6–5
4–3
T–5th
53–35–4
27–21–2
West Virginia
6–6
West Virginia
9–3
W Peach
18
17
West Virginia
9–3
L Gator
19
19
West Virginia
9–3
W Hall of Fame Classic
16
16
West Virginia
8–4
W Astro-Bluebonnet
18
West Virginia
7–3–1
West Virginia
4–7
West Virginia
6–6
L Sun
West Virginia
11–1
L Fiesta
5
5
West Virginia
8–3–1
L Gator
21
West Virginia
4–7
West Virginia
6–5
3–4
4th
West Virginia
5–4–2
2–3–1
5th
West Virginia
11–1
7–0
1st
L Sugar †
6
7
West Virginia
7–6
4–3
T–3rd
L Carquest
West Virginia
5–6
4–3
T–4th
West Virginia
8–4
4–3
4th
L Gator
West Virginia
7–5
4–3
T–3rd
L Carquest
West Virginia
8–4
5–2
T–2nd
L Insight.com
West Virginia
4–7
3–4
T–4th
West Virginia
7–5
3–4
T–5th
W Music City
149–93–4
39–29–1
202–128–8
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth
See also
[ edit ]
References
[ edit ]
^ "Nehlen Presented AFCA's Amos Alonzo Stagg Award" . West Virginia University Athletics . January 10, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2023 .
External links
[ edit ]
Rod Lash (1949)
Rex Simonds (1950–1951)
Bill Lyons (1952)
Bill Bradshaw (1953–1954)
Jim Bryan (1954–1955)
Don Nehlen (1956–1957)
Bob Colburn (1958–1959)
Jim Potts (1960–1961)
Tony Ruggiero (1962)
Jerry Ward (1963–1964)
Dwight Wallace (1965)
P. J. Nyitray (1966–1968)
Vern Wireman (1968–1970)
Don Plusquellic (1970)
Reid Lamport (1971–1973)
Joe Babics (1972)
Mark Miller (1974–1977)
Mike Wright (1978–1979)
Dave Endres (1980)
Greg Taylor (1980–1981)
Dayne Palsgrove (1981–1982)
Brian McClure (1982–1985)
Eric Smith (1986–1988)
Rich Dackin (1986–1989)
Steve Spray (1988)
Erik White (1990–1992)
Pat Gucciardo (1990)
Ryan Henry (1993–1995)
Bob Niemet (1995–1998)
Mark Molk (1996)
Ricky Schneider (1997–1999)
Andy Sahm (1999–2001)
Josh Harris (2000–2003)
Omar Jacobs (2004–2005)
Anthony Turner (2005–2006)
Freddie Barnes (2006)
Tyler Sheehan (2007–2009)
Matt Schilz (2010–2013)
Aaron Pankratz (2010)
Matt Johnson (2013–2015)
James Knapke (2014, 2016)
James Morgan (2016–2017)
Jarret Doege (2017–2018)
Darius Wade (2019)
Grant Loy (2019)
Matt McDonald (2020–2022)
Camden Orth (2022–2023)
Connor Bazelak (2023)
Earl Krieger (1921)
Allen Snyder (1922)
Ray B. McCandless (1923)
Warren Steller (1924–1934)
Harry Ockerman (1935–1940)
Robert Whittaker (1941–1954)
Doyt Perry (1955–1964)
Bob Gibson (1965–1967)
Don Nehlen (1968–1976)
Denny Stolz (1977–1985)
Moe Ankney (1986–1990)
Gary Blackney (1991–2000)
Urban Meyer (2001–2002)
Gregg Brandon (2003–2008)
Dave Clawson (2009–2013)
Adam Scheier # (2013)
Dino Babers (2014–2015)
Brian Ward # (2015)
Mike Jinks (2016–2018)
Carl Pelini # (2018)
Scot Loeffler (2019– )
# denotes interim head coach
F. William Rane (1893–1894)
Harry McCrory (1895)
Thomas Trenchard (1896)
George Krebs (1897)
Harry Anderson (1898)
Lewis Yeager (1899)
John Ethan Hill (1900)
Lewis Yeager (1901)
Harold J. Davall (1902)
Harry E. Trout (1903)
Anthony Chez (1904)
Carl Forkum (1905–1906)
Clarence W. Russell (1907)
Charles Augustus Lueder (1908–1911)
William P. Edmunds (1912)
Edwin Sweetland (1913)
Sol Metzger (1914–1915)
Mont McIntire (1916–1917)
No team (1918)
Mont McIntire (1919–1920)
Clarence Spears (1921–1924)
Ira Rodgers (1925–1930)
Greasy Neale (1931–1933)
Charles Tallman (1934–1936)
Marshall Glenn (1937–1939)
Bill Kern (1940–1942)
Ira Rodgers (1943–1945)
Bill Kern (1946–1947)
Dudley DeGroot (1948–1949)
Art Lewis (1950–1959)
Gene Corum (1960–1965)
Jim Carlen (1966–1969)
Bobby Bowden (1970–1975)
Frank Cignetti Sr. (1976–1979)
Don Nehlen (1980–2000)
Rich Rodriguez (2001–2007)
Bill Stewart (2007–2010)
Dana Holgorsen (2011–2018)
Neal Brown (2019– )
1937: Mylin
1938: Kern
1939: Anderson
1940: Shaughnessy
1941: Leahy
1942: Alexander
1943: Stagg
1944: Widdoes
1945: McMillin
1946: Blaik
1947: Crisler
1948: Oosterbaan
1949: Wilkinson
1950: Caldwell
1951: Taylor
1952: Munn
1953: Tatum
1954: Sanders
1955: Daugherty
1956: Wyatt
1957: Hayes
1958: Dietzel
1959: Schwartzwalder
1960: Warmath
1961: Bryant
1962: McKay
1963: Royal
1964: Broyles & Parseghian
1965: Prothro
1966: Cahill
1967: Pont
1968: Paterno
1969: Schembechler
1970: McClendon & Royal
1971: Bryant
1972: McKay
1973: Bryant
1974: Teaff
1975: Kush
1976: Majors
1977: James
1978: Paterno
1979: Bruce
1980: Dooley
1981: Ford
1982: Paterno
1983: Hatfield
1984: Edwards
1985: DeBerry
1986: Paterno
1987: MacPherson
1988: Nehlen
1989: McCartney
1990: Ross
1991: B. Lewis
1992: Stallings
1993: Alvarez
1994: Osborne
1995: Barnett
1996: Br. Snyder
1997: Carr
1998: Fulmer
1999: Beamer
2000: Stoops
2001: Coker & Friedgen
2002: Tressel
2003: Carroll
2004: Tuberville
2005: Paterno
2006: Grobe
2007: Mangino
2008: Whittingham
2009: Patterson
2010: C. Kelly
2011: Miles
2012: B. Kelly
2013: Cutcliffe
2014: Patterson
2015: Swinney
2016: MacIntyre
2017: Frost
2018: Leach
2019: Orgeron
2020: Allen
2021: Fickell
2022: Dykes
2023: DeBoer
1978: Osborne
1979: Edwards
1980: Bowden
1981: Paterno
1982: G. MacIntyre
1983: Hatfield
1984: Wacker
1985: DeBerry
1986: Sheridan
1987: MacPherson
1988: Nehlen
1989: Curry
1990: Ross
1991: Welsh
1992: Robinson
1993: Alvarez
1994: Goldsmith
1995: Barnett
1996: Sutton
1997: Price
1998: Snyder
1999: Beamer
2000: O'Leary
2001: Friedgen
2002: Tressel
2003: Stoops
2004: Johnson
2005: Paterno
2006: Grobe
2007: Carr
2008: Brown
2009: Patterson
2010: Petersen
2011: Swinney
2012: Snyder
2013: Cutcliffe
2014: Saban
2015: Ferentz
2016: M. MacIntyre
2017: Shaw
2018: Kelly
2019: Whittingham
2020: Fitzgerald
2021: Fickell
2022: Fritz
2023: Norvell
1969: Schembechler
1970: Blackman
1971: Devaney
1972: Paterno
1973: Majors
1974: Switzer
1975: Kush
1976: Burns
1977: Holtz
1978: Powers
1979: Mackovic
1980: Dooley
1981: Sherrill
1982: Stovall
1983: White
1984: Morrison
1985: DeBerry
1986: Johnson
1987: MacPherson
1988: Nehlen
1989: McCartney
1990: Ross
1991: B. Bowden
1992: Stallings
1993: T. Bowden
1994: Paterno
1995: Barnett
1996: Br. Snyder
1997: Carr
1998: Bi. Snyder
1999: Beamer
2000: Stoops
2001: Friedgen
2002: Ferentz
2003: Stoops
2004: Tuberville
2005: Paterno
2006: Schiano
2007: Mangino
2008: Saban
2009: Patterson
2010: C. Kelly
2011: Miles
2012: B. Kelly
2013: Cutcliffe
2014: Patterson
2015: Swinney
2016: MacIntyre
2017: Richt
2018: Saban
2019: Orgeron
2020: Chadwell
2021: Fickell
2022: Dykes
2023: DeBoer
1942–1945 No award given
1946: Rice
1947: Alexander
1948: Dobie , Warner & Zuppke
1949: Harlow
1950 No award given
1951: McLaughry
1952: McMillin
1953: Little
1954: Bible
1955: Tomlin
1956 No award given
1957: Neyland
1958: Bierman
1959: Wilce
1960: Harman
1961: Eliot
1962: Wieman
1963: Kerr
1964: Faurot
1965: Stuhldreher
1966: Moore
1967: Neely
1968: Martin
1969: Engle
1970: Waldorf
1971: Murray
1972: Curtice
1973: Jordan
1974: Gaither
1975: Zornow
1976 No award given
1977: Schwartzwalder
1978: Hamilton
1979: Crisler
1980 No award given
1981: Russell
1982: Robinson
1983: Bryant
1984: Wilkinson
1985: Daugherty
1986: Hayes
1987: Scovell
1988: McCracken
1989: Nelson
1990: Casanova
1991: Blackman
1992: McClendon
1993: Jackson
1994: Devaney
1995: Merritt
1996: Neinas
1997: Parseghian
1998: Reade
1999: Schembechler
2000: Osborne
2001: Dooley
2002: Paterno
2003: Edwards
2004: Schipper
2005: Fry
2006: Teaff
2007: Curry
2008: Walsh
2009: Gagliardi
2010: Royal
2011: Bowden
2012: DeBerry
2013: Westering
2014: Slocum
2015: Hatfield
2016: Cooper
2017: Nehlen
2018: Broyles
2019: Levy
2020: Tomey
2021: No award given
2022: Tjeerdsma
2023: Kidd
2024: Kehres
ISNI
VIAF
WorldCat
United States
R e t r i e v e d f r o m " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don_Nehlen&oldid=1234399262 "
C a t e g o r i e s :
● 1 9 3 6 b i r t h s
● L i v i n g p e o p l e
● A m e r i c a n f o o t b a l l q u a r t e r b a c k s
● B o w l i n g G r e e n F a l c o n s f o o t b a l l p l a y e r s
● C i n c i n n a t i B e a r c a t s f o o t b a l l c o a c h e s
● M i c h i g a n W o l v e r i n e s f o o t b a l l c o a c h e s
● W e s t V i r g i n i a M o u n t a i n e e r s f o o t b a l l c o a c h e s
● C o l l e g e F o o t b a l l H a l l o f F a m e i n d u c t e e s
● K e n t S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y a l u m n i
● S p o r t s p e o p l e f r o m M a n s f i e l d , O h i o
● S i g m a A l p h a E p s i l o n m e m b e r s
● P r e s i d e n t s o f t h e A m e r i c a n F o o t b a l l C o a c h e s A s s o c i a t i o n
H i d d e n c a t e g o r i e s :
● A r t i c l e s w i t h s h o r t d e s c r i p t i o n
● S h o r t d e s c r i p t i o n i s d i f f e r e n t f r o m W i k i d a t a
● U s e m d y d a t e s f r o m J u l y 2 0 2 4
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● T h i s p a g e w a s l a s t e d i t e d o n 1 4 J u l y 2 0 2 4 , a t 0 4 : 3 5 ( U T C ) .
● T e x t i s a v a i l a b l e u n d e r t h e C r e a t i v e C o m m o n s A t t r i b u t i o n - S h a r e A l i k e L i c e n s e 4 . 0 ;
a d d i t i o n a l t e r m s m a y a p p l y . B y u s i n g t h i s s i t e , y o u a g r e e t o t h e T e r m s o f U s e a n d P r i v a c y P o l i c y . W i k i p e d i a ® i s a r e g i s t e r e d t r a d e m a r k o f t h e W i k i m e d i a F o u n d a t i o n , I n c . , a n o n - p r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o n .
● P r i v a c y p o l i c y
● A b o u t W i k i p e d i a
● D i s c l a i m e r s
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● C o d e o f C o n d u c t
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● S t a t i s t i c s
● C o o k i e s t a t e m e n t
● M o b i l e v i e w