Rollie Dotsch
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Rollie Dotsch (died March 16, 1988) was a football coach who served primarily in an assistant capacity before becoming the first coach of the United States Football League's Birmingham Stallions on September 2, 1982.
Dotsch played college football at Michigan State University, helping the 1952 Spartans win the national championship, then started during his senior year on Michigan State's squad that captured both the Big Ten and Rose Bowl championships.
Dotsch first entered the coaching ranks at Escanaba High School in Michigan, then from 1958-1960, served as defensive coordinator at Northern Michigan University. He then went to the University of Colorado as a defensive backs coach in 1962 before moving to another school in the Big Eight Conference at the University of Missouri, where he served as offensive line coach for four years.
He returned to Northern Michigan as head coach before later taking over as athletic director. During his coaching stint, Dotsch's teams compiled a 33-15-1 mark.
When Dan Devine, who had hired him at Missouri, became head coach of the Green Bay Packers, he hired Dotsch as offensive line coach on February 22, 1971. Dotsch remained with the team through four seasons until Devine left to become head coach at the University of Notre Dame at the conclusion of the 1974 NFL season. He moved to coach the New England Patriots linebackers under former college teammate Chuck Fairbanks.
After also coaching with the Detroit Lions, Dotsch was hired by the Steelers, and was on the sidelines for their third and fourth Super Bowl titles. Following two more years with the team, Dotsch resigned to accept the head coaching position with the Stallions of the fledling USFL.
During the three years of the league's existence, Dotsch was 36-18 and reached the 1984 Eastern Conference title game before losing to the league's eventual champion, the Philadelphia Stars.
Dotsch returned to the NFL in 1987 as running backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings. However, just as training camp began, Dotsch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, battling the disease for just over seven months before passing away.
Categories: Orphaned articles from November 2006 | All orphaned articles | 1988 deaths | United States Football League coaches | Green Bay Packers coaches | New England Patriots coaches | Detroit Lions coaches | Pittsburgh Steelers coaches | Minnesota Vikings coaches | Michigan State Spartans football players | Colorado Buffaloes football coaches | Missouri Tigers football coaches
