Dennis Fryzel was the last head football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 coach at the University of Tampa

University of Tampa

The University of Tampa , is a private, co-educational university in Downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 2006, the University celebrated its 75th anniversary...

. He was the captain of the football team at Garfield Heights High School

Garfield Heights High School

Garfield Heights High School is a public high school located in Garfield Heights, Ohio, about 10 miles southeast of downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It is part of the Garfield Heights City School District. The school currently contains approximately 1500 students. The mascot is the Bulldog and the school...

, where he lost his teeth to on-the-field injuries. He attended Denison University

Denison University

Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...

, where he played football and ran track. Although offered a tryout by the Boston Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

, he was unable to bulk up enough to accept. He entered the coaching ranks with jobs at his former high school, Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

, and Williams College

Williams College

Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...

, before being offered the defensive coordinator

Defensive coordinator

A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...

 position by Tampa head coach Earle Bruce

Earle Bruce

Earle Bruce is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Tampa , Iowa State University , Ohio State University , the University of Northern Iowa , and Colorado State University , compiling a career college football record of 154–90–2...

. Fryzel took over the head coaching position when Bruce was offered a job at Iowa State University

Iowa State University

Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...

 the next year. Fryzel coached for two years at the University of Tampa, before the program was disbanded. Ironically, Fryzel, who had become the fourth UT head coach in as many years, had given assurances on his hiring that he intended to serve out his three-year contract, and not use it to serve as a springboard to a higher-profile job. Fryzel then took the position of special teams coordinator with the expansion NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

. After one year, he returned to the college ranks and served as defensive coordinator at Syracuse University

Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...

 and Air Force

Air Force Falcons football

The Air Force Falcons are a college football team from the United States Air Force Academy, located just outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the NCAA Division I and the Mountain West Conference.-Style:...

, before rejoining Bruce at Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

. After being fired (along with Nick Saban

Nick Saban

Nicholas Lou "Nick" Saban is the head coach of the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide football team. Saban has previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins and three other NCAA universities: LSU, Michigan State and Toledo...

 and Steve Szabo) following the 1981 Liberty Bowl, Fryzel retired from coaching. Saban, who calls Fryzel a "great mentor" and included him on the sideline at Alabama games, credits him with helping him to make up his mind to leave the Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and take the University of Alabama

University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....

 coaching job. He died in July 2009 of renal cancer

Kidney cancer

Kidney cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the cells in the kidney.The two most common types of kidney cancer are renal cell carcinoma and urothelial cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis...

.