Gene Stallings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gene Stallings (born March 2, 1935) is a former college and professional football coach. Stallings is a native of Powderly, an unincorporated community in Lamar County near Paris in northeastern Texas. He received his bachelor of science degree from Texas A&M University in College Station in 1957. Stallings played football for Texas A&M from 1954 to 1956.
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[edit] Coaching Career
At the age of 29, Stallings was named the head coach of the Texas Aggies. He coached the Aggies for seven seasons compiling a record of 27-45-1.
In 1972, Stallings joined the staff of the Dallas Cowboys under head coach Tom Landry. He remained with the Cowboys for 14 seasons as an assistant.
In 1986, Stallings was named the head coach of the St. Louis Football Cardinals. In three losing seasons, Stallings compiled a 23-34-1 record with the Cardinals and was the head coach during the franchise's move to Arizona. With five games remaining in the 1989 season, Stallings announced that he would resign at the end of the season, but instead he was immediately released by the Cardinals.
Stallings was hired by the University of Alabama in 1990, his team finishing with a 7-5 record[1], including a 34-7 loss to the University of Louisville in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl.
In 1991, Stallings finished the season with an 11-1[1]record, including a 30-25[2] victory over the University of Colorado in the 1991 Blockbuster Bowl.
In 1992, his experienced defensive unit led the team to an undefeated regular season, and a berth in the first SEC Championship Game. Alabama defeated the University of Florida 28-21 in this Championship Game, giving Stallings his first SEC title, and the school's twentieth SEC title.[1] Following a 34-13 victory over the University of Miami in the 1993 Sugar Bowl, Stallings' 1992 team won the Associated Press and Coaches' Poll national championship.[3] The 1992 defense is widely considered to be his best ever.
Prior to the 1995 season, NCAA investigators found four major violations of NCAA rules. Stallings was implicated (along with athletic director Hootie Ingram) in falsifying the eligibility of Alabama player Antonio Langham during the 1993 season. Alabama's football program was then placed on probation. In addition to scholarship cuts and a one-year ban on postseason play, Alabama forfeited eight wins and one tie from the eleven 1993 games in which Langham participated (two other games, against LSU and Auburn, were losses on the field), resulting in an official 1-12 record for that season. [4]
In 1994, Stallings' team finished the regular season with a record of 11-0, and an 8-0 record in the SEC, which was sufficient to win the regular season SEC title, but lost the SEC Championship Game to the University of Florida.[3]. Stallings' Alabama team finished the 1994 season with a 12-1 record, including a 24-17 Citrus Bowl victory over Ohio State University .[1]
In 1996, Stallings team won 10 games and earned a berth in the SEC Championship Game where they lost to the University of Florida. Stallings resigned as head coach on November 23, 1996. He completed his tenure as the coach at the University of Alabama with a 17-14 win over the University of Michigan in the Outback Bowl on January 1, 1997.[1]
Gene Stallings compiled an official record at Alabama of 62-25[1], his "on the field" record of 70-16-1 [1] having been diminished due to the aforementioned NCAA sanctions.
[edit] Motivational Leader
Mr. Stallings serves on many boards including President George W. Bush’s Commission on Intellectual Disability and he was formerly a member of the board of Abilene Christian University. Other boards include the Tandy Brand Corporation, People’s National Bank of Paris, Paris Regional Medical Center, Disability Resources, the Texas Rangers Law Enforcement Association, the Great Southern Wood Corporation, and the Boys and Girls Club of Paris, Texas.
Mr. Stallings was appointed to the Texas A&M Board of Regents by Governor Rick Perry in 2005. He serves on the Committee on Audit and the Committee on Academic and Student Affairs. Mr. Stallings is chair of the Policy Review Committee and is a member of the Special Committee on Educational Access. His term expires February 1, 2011.
Stallings is also the author of a book, Another Season, which describes the love he has for his son who was born with Down Syndrome.
[edit] Awards
Stallings has received many awards including National Coach of the Year and was the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year two times. In 2000, Coach Stallings was awarded Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M University. He was awarded the Legends Award from the All Sports Association in Dallas in 2001. Mr. Stallings has also received many humanitarian awards, including the Arthritis Humanitarian Award of Alabama, National Boys Club Alumni of the Year, Dallas Father of the Year, Humanitarian Award of the Lion’s Club of Alabama, and Paris Boys Club Wall of Honor.
Stallings has been inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, Texas Sports Hall of Fame, Texas A&M Hall of Fame, Gator Bowl Hall of Fame and Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame. He also received an honorary doctorate degree from Harding University.
| Preceded by Hank Foldberg |
Texas A&M Head Coach 1965–1971 |
Succeeded by Emory Bellard |
| Preceded by Jim Hanifan |
St. Louis Cardinals Head Coaches 1986–1987 |
Succeeded by Last Coach |
| Preceded by First coach |
Phoenix Cardinals Head Coaches 1988–1989 |
Succeeded by Hank Kuhlmann (interim); Joe Bugel |
| Preceded by Bill Curry |
University of Alabama Head Football Coach 1990–1996 |
Succeeded by Mike DuBose |
| Preceded by Don James |
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award 1992 |
Succeeded by Terry Bowden |
| Preceded by Bobby Bowden |
Walter Camp Coach of the Year 1992 |
Succeeded by Terry Bowden |
| Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals Head Coaches |
|---|
| Driscoll • Horween • Barry • Chamberlin • Gillies • Scanlon • Nevers • Andrews • Chevigny • Schissler • Creighton • Nevers • Conzelman • Handler • Conzelman • Lambeau • Handler • Kuharich • Stydahar • Richards • Ivy • Lemm • Winner • Hollway • Coryell • Wilkinson • Wilson • Hanifan • Stallings • Kuhlmann • Bugel • Ryan • Tobin • McGinnis • Green • Whisenhunt |
[edit] External link
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g 2006 Alabama Football Media Guide, Published by Ebsco Industries, Birmingham, AL, Pages 172 and 200 (PDF).
- ^ The Official Site of the University of Alabama Athletics (html).
- ^ a b ial 2006 Divisions I-A and I-AA Football Records Book, National Poll Champions, Page 79 (PDF).
- ^ NCAA Public Report on Infractions at Alabama (HTML).
Categories: Texas A&M Aggies football coaches | Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches | 1935 births | Living people | American football tight ends | Texas A&M Aggies football players | Dallas Cowboys coaches | St. Louis Cardinals (football) coaches | Phoenix Cardinals coaches | People from Paris, Texas
