Woody Widenhofer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Woody Widenhofer (born January 20, 1943 in Butler, Pennsylvania) is a former college football head coach and longtime NFL assistant.
Widenhofer is best known for helping direct the Pittsburgh Steelers "Steel Curtain" defense that won four Super Bowls in the 1970s. He later served unsuccessful tenures as head coach at Missouri and Vanderbilt University.
Widenhofer attended Riverview High School in Riverview, Michigan and played linebacker at Missouri from 1961-1964. After several years as a college assistant, Widenhofer was hired to coach linebackers for the Steelers in 1973. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1977. By the time he left after the 1983 season, Widenhofer had won four Super Bowls and made the postseason nine times.
He spent one year as head coach of the short-lived United States Football League team, the Oklahoma Outlaws, before landing an opportunity at his alma mater. But Widenhofer could only manage a 12-33-1 record in four seasons at Missouri from 1985 to 1988. After returning to the NFL for six years as an assistant coach, Widenhofer joined friend Rod Dowhower's staff at Vanderbilt to serve as defensive coordinator. When Dowhower was fired after the 1996 season, Widenhofer was promoted to head coach. The second time was no easier, as Widenhofer compiled only a 15-37 record in five seasons at the helm for VU.
Widenhofer considered retiring, but ultimately joined friend Hal Mumme as an assistant at Southeastern Louisiana University and later New Mexico State University.
[edit] External links
- Vanderbilt press release
- The Sporting News - Article about Widenhofer's hiring at Southeastern Louisiana
| Preceded by Bud Carson |
Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Coordinators 1978-1983 |
Succeeded by Tony Dungy |
| Preceded by Warren Powers |
University of Missouri Head Football Coach 1985-1988 |
Succeeded by Bob Stull |
| Preceded by Rod Dowhower |
Vanderbilt University Head Football Coach 1997-2001 |
Succeeded by Bobby Johnson |
