Howard Leslie Schnellenberger (March 16, 1934 – March 27, 2021)[1] was an American football coach with long service at both the professional and college levels. He held head coaching positions with the National Football League (NFL)'s Baltimore Colts and in college for the University of Miami, University of Oklahoma, University of Louisville, and Florida Atlantic University. He won a national championship with Miami in 1983.
Schnellenberger worked extensively as an assistant coach at the college and professional levels, including as part of the staff of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins. He was responsible for recruiting Joe Namath to Alabama for Bear Bryant in 1961.[2]
Early life and education
Schnellenberger was born March 16, 1934, in Saint Meinrad, Indiana, to German American parents, Leslie and Rosena (Hoffman) Schnellenberger.[3] He graduated from Flaget High School in Louisville, Kentucky, where he played football, basketball, and baseball and earned a scholarship to the University of Kentucky.[4]
Schnellenberger played college football as an end for the Kentucky Wildcats, and was named a 1955 All-American by the Associated Press and Newspaper Enterprise Association.[5][6] He then played professionally for 2 seasons with the CFL Toronto Argonauts.[7][8] He subsequently worked as an assistant coach at Kentucky under head coach Blanton Collier in 1959 and 1960.[9]
In January 1961, Schnellenberger joined the coaching staff of the Alabama Crimson Tide as an assistant to head coach Bear Bryant.[10] While on Bryant's staff, Schnellenberger helped recruit quarterbacks Joe Namath and Ken Stabler,[11] and helped coach Alabama to three national championships (1961, 1964, and 1965) in five seasons. Schnellenberger left Alabama in early 1966 to take a job in the National Football League (NFL) as offensive ends coach of the Los Angeles Rams under George Allen.[12] After four seasons with the Rams, Schnellenberger was hired by Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins in early 1970.[13] Initially named as wide receivers coach,[13] Schnellenberger was the Dolphins' offensive coordinator by July.[14] He helped coach the Dolphins to their undefeated 1972 season and victory in Super Bowl VII.[15]
Baltimore Colts
Schnellenberger signed a three-year contract to succeed John Sandusky as head coach of the Baltimore Colts on February 14, 1973. He was reunited with general manager Joe Thomas, both of whom had been colleagues while with the Miami Dolphins. He joined a team in the midst of an influx of younger players.[16]
University of Miami
Schnellenberger (right) as University of Miami head coach in 1981
In 1979, Schnellenberger arrived to a University of Miami program that was struggling. The program was nearly dropped by the university just a few years earlier. Drawing from the boot camp methodology learned from mentors Bryant and Shula and a pro-style pass-oriented playbook not yet the norm in college football, Schnellenberger introduced a passing game at Miami that gave them advantage over teams not equipped to defend such an aggressive offensive passing attack. By his third season at Miami, the team had twice finished the season in the AP Poll's Top 25, something that had not happened for Miami since 1966.
Schnellenberger revolutionized recruiting South Florida high school talent by building a metaphorical "fence around South Florida" and recruiting only the "State of Miami." His eye for talent in this area led to many programs around the nation paying greater attention to South Florida high school prospects. Under his "State of Miami" plan, Schnellenberger's teams took the best from the three-county area around the city, went after the state's best, then aimed at targets among the nation's elite recruits; it became a model of how to recruit in college football.[20][21][22]
He coached Miami to its first national championship in 1983, defeating Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Following the season, Schnellenberger resigned to become part-owner, president, general manager and head coach of The Spirit of Miami of the United States Football League, a relocated Washington Federals franchise. In August, however, the USFL announced that it would shift to a fall schedule. The owner-to-be for the Federals backed out of the deal, knowing he could not hope to compete head-to-head with the Miami Dolphins. A new backer moved the team to Orlando as the Renegades, but Schnellenberger opted not to follow the team to Central Florida.[23] Schnellenberger was replaced as head coach of the Hurricanes by Jimmy Johnson.
Schnellenberger was interviewed about his time at the University of Miami for the documentary The U, which premiered December 12, 2009, on ESPN.
Schnellenberger received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1984.[24]
Schnellenberger was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.
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