Hudson Houck

Last updated

Hudson Houck
Retired
Position:(gridiron football)
Personal information
Born: (1943-01-07) January 7, 1943 (age 80)
Los Angeles, California
Career information
College: USC
Career history
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards

Hudson Houck (born January 7, 1943) is an American football coach and college player who was an offensive line coach for a six teams of the National Football League (NFL) over a 40-year coaching career. Houck retired on January 10, 2012. [1]

Contents

Playing career and coaching beginnings

Houck attended and graduated from Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles. In 1960 he was selected first string All City Center.

Houck was a center for the Trojans of Southern California from 1962 to 1964. He won a national championship as a member of the 1962 team.

He began his coaching career as an assistant coach for Crescenta Valley High School in California. Following two years in the United States Army, Houck resumed his role at Crescenta Valley.

In 1970 Houck coached the freshmen team at Southern California, and after two years he became the offensive line coach at Stanford. There he coached the first Stanford 2-time All-Pac-8 offensive guard and Hall of Famer, Alex Karakozoff and sent several players to the NFL including Gary Anderson, Bill Reid and tutoring eventual All-American and first round NFL draft pick Gordon King.

Houck returned to his alma mater in 1976, coaching the offensive line at Southern California. During this time, he helped send numerous Trojans to the National Football League including Marvin Powell, Pat Howell, Brad Budde, Anthony Muñoz, Keith Van Horne, Chris Foote, Roy Foster, Bruce Matthews, Don Mosebar and Tony Slaton, among others. This group helped lead the way for Heisman Trophy-winning running backs Charles White and Marcus Allen, in addition to another USC great, Ricky Bell, an NFL first-round draft choice in 1977.

Pro coaching career

Houck's first pro coaching experience came with the Los Angeles Rams, where he coached the offensive line from 1983 to 1991.

Over that time with the Rams, there were seven different individual 1,000-yard rushing seasons and four individual league rushing titles, including an NFL-record 2,105 yards by Eric Dickerson in 1984. Over that stretch, five different Rams offensive linemen were voted to a combined 21 Pro Bowls, including Jackie Slater (7 trips), Doug Smith (6), Kent Hill (3), Dennis Harrah (3) and Tom Newberry (2). In the final three years of Houck’s tenure with the Rams, quarterback Jim Everett passed for more yards than any other signal caller over this span, and he also did not miss a start from 1988-91 in part due to the pass protection by Houck's blockers.

Houck spent one season as offensive line coach for the Seattle Seahawks in 1992. Seahawks running back Chris Warren logged the first 1,000-yard rushing season of his career with Houck tutoring his blockers.

Houck spent the next nine years coaching the offensive line for the Dallas Cowboys. At times during Houck's tenure the Cowboys' line was one of the most dominant in the history of the game. The 203 sacks they allowed in nine years under Houck were the fewest of any NFL team in that span. Six offensive linemen earned 22 trips to the Pro Bowl under Houck, including Larry Allen (7), Nate Newton (5), Erik Williams (4), Ray Donaldson (2), Mark Stepnoski (2) and Mark Tuinei (2). Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith earned a pair of rushing titles during Houck's tenure, and rushed for over 1,000 yards every season. He was also the assistant head coach from 1994 to 1997.

After the firing of Chan Gailey in 2000, he was considered as one of the candidates to take over the head coaching duties of the Dallas Cowboys, which eventually went to Dave Campo. [2]

With the San Diego Chargers from 2002 to 2004, Houck transformed one of the league's worst offensive lines to one of the best. Running back LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for more than 1,300 yards in each of Houck's three seasons with the team. With five new starters on the line in 2004, the Chargers ranked tenth in total offense and sixth in rushing. The Chargers allowed fewer than 25 sacks per season under Houck.

Houck was hired to work for the Miami Dolphins head coach Nick Saban. During his first year with the Dolphins in 2005, Houck's offensive line ranked fourth in the NFL in fewest sacks allowed. In 2007, Houck was reunited[ vague ] with then Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron. Houck and Cameron worked together in San Diego when Cameron was offensive coordinator for the Chargers.

After the Dolphins' 1-15 2007 season, Houck was fired along with most of the Dolphins' coaching staff by incoming Vice President of Football Operations Bill Parcells.[ citation needed ] Jerry Jones re-hired Houck when Parcells hired Cowboys line coach Tony Sparano to serve as the Dolphins' head coach.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Allen</span> American football player (born 1971)

Larry Christopher Allen Sr. is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Sonoma State and was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft. Allen is regarded as one of the NFL's physically strongest players ever while also capable of using his speed against defenders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norv Turner</span> American football coach (born 1952)

Norval Turner is an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL). An offensive assistant for the majority of his coaching career, he came to prominence as the Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator during their consecutive Super Bowl victories in Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII. In addition to his assistant coaching, Turner served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins from 1994 to 2000, the Oakland Raiders from 2004 to 2005, and the San Diego Chargers from 2007 to 2012. Turner compiled 118 wins during his head coaching tenure, which are the most for an NFL head coach with a losing record. He is also the only NFL head coach with 100 wins to have a losing record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Spears (defensive end)</span> American football player (born 1983)

Marcus Rayshon Spears, nicknamed Swagu, is an American former college and professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for Louisiana State University (LSU), and earned consensus All-American honors. The Dallas Cowboys drafted him in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft, and he also played for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Colombo</span> American football player and coach (born 1978)

Marc Edward Colombo is a former American football offensive tackle and coach who was most recently the offensive line coach for the New York Giants. He played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins. He played college football at Boston College. He also served as offensive line coach for the Cowboys and Giants.

Brian Cornelius Schottenheimer is an American football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, St. Louis Rams and the University of Georgia and also served as an assistant coach for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers, Indianapolis Colts, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Lawrence Lee Brooks Sr. is a former American football defensive tackle. Brooks was drafted in the 14th round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams after playing college football at Virginia State University. He was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.

L. J. Shelton is a former American football offensive tackle who played 10 seasons in the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Arizona Cardinals 21st overall in the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at Eastern Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 Dallas Cowboys season</span> NFL team season

The 2005 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 46th in the National Football League (NFL), their 17th under the ownership of Jerry Jones, their 34th playing their home games at Texas Stadium, and their third season under head coach Bill Parcells. Despite the Cowboys being 7–3 by Week 11 and tying the Giants for first in the NFC East, the Cowboys suffered a season collapse going 2–4 during the last six games. The Cowboys missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season after the Washington Redskins beat the Philadelphia Eagles. However, the Cowboys were able to improve on their 6–10 record from last season and finished the season at 9–7.

The New England Patriots generally run a modified Erhardt-Perkins offensive system and a Fairbanks-Bullough 3–4 defensive system, though they have also used a 4–3 defense and increased their use of the nickel defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Lynn</span> American football player and coach (born 1968)

Anthony Ray Lynn is an American football coach and former running back who is the assistant head coach and running backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in the NFL for six seasons, primarily with the Denver Broncos. Utilized in a reserve role, Lynn was a member of the Broncos teams that won two consecutive Super Bowls in Super Bowl XXXII and Super Bowl XXXIII. After retiring as a player, he served as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers from 2017 to 2020. He was also the interim head coach for the Buffalo Bills in 2016.

Harry Hiestand is a former American football coach who last was the offensive line coach at the University of Notre Dame. Hiestand earned his bachelor's degree in health and physical education from East Stroudsburg University in 1983. He and his wife, Terri, have three sons, Michael, Matthew and Mark, and one daughter, Sarah.

The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football franchise which competes in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team's headquarters, stadium and training facilities are all co-located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Dolphins' team was founded by attorney-politician Joe Robbie and actor-comedian Danny Thomas. The Dolphins began play in the American Football League (AFL) in 1966. South Florida had not had a professional football team since the days of the Miami Seahawks, who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) East Division in 1946 before becoming the first incarnation of the Baltimore Colts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Ireland</span> American football executive (born 1970)

Jeff Ireland is an American football executive who is the assistant general manager and college scouting director for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the general manager of the Miami Dolphins from 2008 to 2014 and also served for the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs in various executive roles. Before his career as a football executive, Ireland was an assistant football coach at the University of North Texas, and a player at Baylor University. Ireland was also a childhood ball boy for the Chicago Bears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Miami Dolphins season</span> 43rd season in franchise history; greatest single-season turnaround in NFL history

The 2008 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 39th season in the National Football League, the 43rd overall and the first under new head coach Tony Sparano. During the regular season the Dolphins completed the greatest single-season turnaround in NFL history, going from a 1–15 regular season record in 2007 to an 11–5 record in 2008. The previous record for most improved team one year after a 1–15 season belonged to the 1997 New York Jets, who went 9–7. The 1999 Indianapolis Colts were the only other team to accomplish a 10-game turnaround, winning 13 games after winning 3 in 1998, which was also the first year of the Peyton Manning era. Additionally, Miami won the AFC East, becoming the first team in NFL history to win their division after only having one win the previous season. The division title also snapped the Patriots' 5-year streak of winning the AFC East. Their season would come to an end in the Wild Card round when they were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens, which coincidentally, was also the only team they beat last season in overtime to save the Dolphins from suffering a winless season. With their 11–5 record and division title, the Dolphins had hopes of achieving their first playoff victory since 2000, or to possibly become the first team ever to make the Super Bowl after winning only one game the previous season, similar to how the Carolina Panthers went 1–15 in 2001 and made Super Bowl XXXVIII just two seasons later.

Solomon Page is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at West Virginia University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Boudreau</span> American gridiron football coach (born 1949)

Paul T. Boudreau is an American football coach who is currently the special teams coordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Prior to the bombers he last served as offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the offensive line coach for eight different NFL teams, one Canadian Football League (CFL) team, and four college teams. No offensive line coach in the NFL has more experience as an assistant at the professional level than Boudreau, who entered his 29th season in 2015. Boudreau's offensive lines over the years have blocked for five running backs who crossed the 10,000-yard career rushing mark, including Barry Sanders, Curtis Martin, Thurman Thomas, Fred Taylor and Steven Jackson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrell Williams</span> American football player and coach (born 1974)

Terrell Williams is an American football coach and former player who is the assistant head coach and defensive line coach for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Los Angeles Rams season</span> 84th season in franchise history

The 2020 season was the Los Angeles Rams' 83rd season in the National Football League, their 84th overall, their 54th in the Greater Los Angeles Area, and their fourth under head coach Sean McVay. It also marks the team's first season playing their home games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which the team shares with the Los Angeles Chargers. This was the first season in which the Rams would share the same venue as the Chargers since 1960. They improved on their 9–7 season from the previous year after a Week 17 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, returning to the playoffs after missing out last season. The Rams' strong defense finished the year with just 296 points allowed, the fewest in the league.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Los Angeles Rams season</span> 86th season in franchise history, first losing season since 2016

The 2022 season was the Los Angeles Rams' 85th in the National Football League (NFL), their 86th overall, their 56th in the Greater Los Angeles Area, the third playing their home games at SoFi Stadium, their sixth under head coach Sean McVay, and eleventh under general manager Les Snead.

References

  1. Cowboys replace Hudson Houck
  2. Jaime Aron (January 27, 2000). "Cowboys Name Dave Campo as New Head Coach". Lakeland Ledger.