Forrest Gregg
Encyclopedia
Alvis Forrest Gregg is a former American football
player and coach in the National Football League
. During a Pro Football Hall of Fame
playing career, he was a part of six championships, five of them with the Green Bay Packers
before closing out his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys
with a win in Super Bowl VI
. He went on to serve as head coach of three teams: the Cleveland Browns
, the Cincinnati Bengals
and the Green Bay Packers
.
s in the 1960s. Gregg earned an "iron-man" tag by playing in a then-league record 188 consecutive games from 1956 until 1971. He also won All-NFL acclaim eight straight years from 1960 through 1967 and was selected to play in nine Pro Bowl
s.
Gregg closed his career with the Dallas Cowboys
, as did his Packer teammate, cornerback Herb Adderley
. They both helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl VI
, making them the only players (along with former teammate Fred Thurston
, who was on the Baltimore Colts world championship team in 1958) in professional football history to play on six teams that won World Championships.
Vince Lombardi
, the famed head coach of the Packers in the 1960s, claimed "Forrest Gregg is the finest player I ever coached!" in his book Run to Daylight. In 1999, he was ranked number 28 on The Sporting News
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, ranking him second behind Ray Nitschke
among players coached by Lombardi, second behind Anthony Munoz
(whom he coached) among offensive tackles, and third behind Munoz and John Hannah among all offensive linemen.
in 1973, he took a similar position the following year with the Browns. After head coach Nick Skorich
was dismissed at the conclusion of the 1974 NFL season
, Gregg took over as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns
, a position he held until 1977.
After sitting out the 1978 season, Gregg returned to coaching in 1979 with the Canadian Football League
's Toronto Argonauts
. In 1980 he became the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals
and remained until 1983. Gregg's most successful season as a head coach was in 1981, when he coached the Bengals to a 12–4 regular season record and they went on to defeat the San Diego Chargers
27–7 in the AFC championship game (known as the Freezer Bowl
), earning them a trip to the Super Bowl. They lost to the San Francisco 49ers
in Super Bowl XVI
26–21.
He finished his NFL coaching career with his old team, the Packers, from 1984–1987. Gregg's overall record as an NFL coach was 75 wins, 85 losses, and one tie. He also won two and lost two playoff games. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/GregFo0.htm
After coaching in the NFL, Gregg went on to coach for two years at Southern Methodist University
, his alma mater
, during the 1989 and 1990 seasons. He was brought in to revive the Mustang football program after it received the "death penalty" from the NCAA for serious institutional infractions
. Although the NCAA had only canceled the 1987 season, school officials later opted to cancel the 1988 season as well due to concerns it wouldn't be able to field a competitive team. As it turned out, when Gregg arrived, he was presented with a severely undersized and underweight roster composed mostly of freshmen. Gregg was taller and heavier than nearly the entire team, and had to make several wide receivers bulk up so they could become offensive linemen. By nearly all accounts, it would have been unthinkable for the Mustangs to attempt to play the 1988 season under such conditions. In 1989, the Mustangs went 2-9, including a 95-21 thrashing by Houston
--the second-worst loss in school history. After the season, he was named athletic director. The Mustangs went 1-10 in 1990, and after the season Gregg resigned as coach to focus on his duties as athletic director. Gregg's coaching record at SMU was 3 wins and 19 losses. He served as athletic director until 1994.
He returned to the CFL with the Shreveport Pirates
in 1994–95, during that league's brief attempt at expansion
to the United States. Gregg's overall record as a CFL coach was 13 wins and 39 losses.
When former Shreveport Pirate owner Bernard Glieberman
bought a stake in the Ottawa Renegades
in May 2005, Gregg was appointed as Vice President of Football Operations.
In October 2011, Gregg was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, thought to be caused by years of concussions from playing 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...
player and coach in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. During a Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
playing career, he was a part of six championships, five of them with the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
before closing out his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
with a win in Super Bowl VI
Super Bowl VI
Super Bowl VI was an American football game played on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1971 regular season...
. He went on to serve as head coach of three teams: the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
and the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
.
Professional career
Gregg was a key player on the Packers dynasty that won five NFL championships and two Super BowlSuper Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s in the 1960s. Gregg earned an "iron-man" tag by playing in a then-league record 188 consecutive games from 1956 until 1971. He also won All-NFL acclaim eight straight years from 1960 through 1967 and was selected to play in nine Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s.
Gregg closed his career with the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, as did his Packer teammate, cornerback Herb Adderley
Herb Adderley
Herbert Allen Adderley is a former American football cornerback who played for the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League....
. They both helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl VI
Super Bowl VI
Super Bowl VI was an American football game played on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1971 regular season...
, making them the only players (along with former teammate Fred Thurston
Fred Thurston
Frederick Charles "Fuzzy" Thurston is a former American football guard in the National Football League who played for the Baltimore Colts and Green Bay Packers...
, who was on the Baltimore Colts world championship team in 1958) in professional football history to play on six teams that won World Championships.
Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...
, the famed head coach of the Packers in the 1960s, claimed "Forrest Gregg is the finest player I ever coached!" in his book Run to Daylight. In 1999, he was ranked number 28 on The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, ranking him second behind Ray Nitschke
Ray Nitschke
Raymond Ernest "Ray" Nitschke was a professional football player who played his entire career as a middle linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the NFL. Wearing #66, he played fifteen seasons, from 1958-72....
among players coached by Lombardi, second behind Anthony Munoz
Anthony Muñoz
Michael Anthony Muñoz , is a Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive tackle who played most of his career for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals...
(whom he coached) among offensive tackles, and third behind Munoz and John Hannah among all offensive linemen.
Coaching career
After serving as an assistant with the San Diego ChargersSan Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1973, he took a similar position the following year with the Browns. After head coach Nick Skorich
Nick Skorich
Nicholas Leonard Skorich was an American football offensive lineman and coach.Skorich played guard at Bellaire High School and the University of Cincinnati before joining the Navy in 1943. After the end of World War II, he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had drafted him in 1943...
was dismissed at the conclusion of the 1974 NFL season
1974 NFL season
The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings...
, Gregg took over as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, a position he held until 1977.
After sitting out the 1978 season, Gregg returned to coaching in 1979 with the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
's Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
. In 1980 he became the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
and remained until 1983. Gregg's most successful season as a head coach was in 1981, when he coached the Bengals to a 12–4 regular season record and they went on to defeat the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
27–7 in the AFC championship game (known as the Freezer Bowl
Freezer Bowl
In NFL lore, the Freezer Bowl was the 1981 AFC Championship Game between the San Diego Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals. The game was played in the coldest temperature in NFL history in terms of wind chill...
), earning them a trip to the Super Bowl. They lost to the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
in Super Bowl XVI
Super Bowl XVI
Super Bowl XVI was an American football game played on January 24, 1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan to decide the National Football League champion following the 1981 regular season. It marked the first time that a Super Bowl was held at a cold-weather city...
26–21.
He finished his NFL coaching career with his old team, the Packers, from 1984–1987. Gregg's overall record as an NFL coach was 75 wins, 85 losses, and one tie. He also won two and lost two playoff games. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/GregFo0.htm
After coaching in the NFL, Gregg went on to coach for two years at Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
, his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
, during the 1989 and 1990 seasons. He was brought in to revive the Mustang football program after it received the "death penalty" from the NCAA for serious institutional infractions
Southern Methodist University football scandal
The Southern Methodist University football scandal was an incident in which the football program at Southern Methodist University was investigated and punished for massive violations of NCAA rules and regulations. The most serious violation was the maintenance of a slush fund used for "under the...
. Although the NCAA had only canceled the 1987 season, school officials later opted to cancel the 1988 season as well due to concerns it wouldn't be able to field a competitive team. As it turned out, when Gregg arrived, he was presented with a severely undersized and underweight roster composed mostly of freshmen. Gregg was taller and heavier than nearly the entire team, and had to make several wide receivers bulk up so they could become offensive linemen. By nearly all accounts, it would have been unthinkable for the Mustangs to attempt to play the 1988 season under such conditions. In 1989, the Mustangs went 2-9, including a 95-21 thrashing by Houston
Houston Cougars football
The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" . The UH football program is currently a member of the Conference USA intercollegiate athletic conference, and is coached by...
--the second-worst loss in school history. After the season, he was named athletic director. The Mustangs went 1-10 in 1990, and after the season Gregg resigned as coach to focus on his duties as athletic director. Gregg's coaching record at SMU was 3 wins and 19 losses. He served as athletic director until 1994.
He returned to the CFL with the Shreveport Pirates
Shreveport Pirates
The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA, in 1994 and 1995....
in 1994–95, during that league's brief attempt at expansion
CFL USA
The term CFL USA refers to the abortive expansion of the Canadian Football League into the United States in the early-to-mid 1990s. The 1993 CFL season saw the addition of the first American team to the league, the Sacramento Gold Miners...
to the United States. Gregg's overall record as a CFL coach was 13 wins and 39 losses.
When former Shreveport Pirate owner Bernard Glieberman
Bernard Glieberman
Bernard "Bernie" Glieberman is an American real estate mogul and the president of Crosswinds Communities. Despite having made his fortune in real estate, Glieberman was perhaps best known for, with his son Lonie, making several unsuccessful and controversial forays into sports team ownership and...
bought a stake in the Ottawa Renegades
Ottawa Renegades
Ottawa Renegades was the most recent name of a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, seven years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded...
in May 2005, Gregg was appointed as Vice President of Football Operations.
In October 2011, Gregg was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, thought to be caused by years of concussions from playing football.
External links
- Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
- Vintage Football Card Gallery: Forrest Gregg football cards