Frank Novak (American football)
Encyclopedia
Frank Novak is a retired American football
coach. He is best known for coaching special teams in the National Football League
.
, and attended Leominster High School
. He later played football at Northern Michigan University
, where he earned Division II All American honors as a quarterback
in 1961. After college, Novak spent the 1962 training camp
with the Toronto Argonauts
of the Canadian Football League
.
and Iron Mountain, Michigan
. He then returned to NMU in 1966 under head coach Rollie Dotsch
, where he spent 6 years as a coach including the final 2 seasons as offensive coordinator. During this time, one of his players was future Michigan
head coach Lloyd Carr
. Also on the NMU staff were notable coaches Jerry Glanville
and Carl Reese
, both of whom Novak would coach alongside later in their careers. Over the next 10 seasons he coached offensive backs or served as offensive coordinator at various colleges and universities, including stints with head coach Sonny Randle
at East Carolina and Virginia.
In 1984 Novak coached running backs for the Oklahoma Outlaws of the United States Football League
under head coach Woody Widenhofer
. The following season he coached wide receivers for the USFL Birmingham Stallions
under Rollie Dotsch
, reuniting him with his former boss at NMU. Dostch had originally recommended Novak to Widenhofer, whom he had coached with on the Pittsburgh Steelers
.
Novak returned to the NCAA ranks for the 1988 season to coach running backs at Missouri
, who were coached by Woody Widenhofer after the dissolution of the USFL.
. Novak and Glanville had previously served as assistant coaches together at Northern Michigan University. In 1990, Jack Pardee
was named coach of the Oilers and retained Novak, and in 1994 he was named special teams coordinator. Novak also served as special teams coordinator with the Detroit Lions
for 1996-1996, San Diego Chargers
1997-1998, and the Green Bay Packers
from 2000-2005. Novak had joined the Chargers when friend Kevin Gilbride
was hired as head coach, and resigned when Gilbride was fired after the 1998 season.
During the 2000 season, Novak was pantsed by quarterback Brett Favre
as a practical joke.
Current Tennessee Titans
kicker Rob Bironas
credits Novak with helping find a kicking job in the NFL. Bironas had been cut by the Green Bay Packers in 2002 after signing as an undrafted free agent.
Novak was associated with the Run and shoot offense
during his time in the USFL and with the Oilers and Chargers.
. He now serves as a motivational speaker
and consultant.
His son, Jason, is an assistant strength and conditioning coach
with the Tennessee Titans
.
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. He is best known for coaching special teams 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...
.
Early career
Novak was born in Leominster, MassachusettsLeominster, Massachusetts
Leominster is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 40,759 at the 2010 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and west of Boston. Both Route 2 and Route 12 pass through Leominster. Interstate 190,...
, and attended Leominster High School
Leominster High School
Leominster High School is a public high school located in Leominster, Massachusetts. It is the only secondary educational institution found in Leominster. It is situated in the western area of Leominster...
. He later played football at Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University is a four-year college public university established in 1899 located in Marquette, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With a population of nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Northern Michigan University is the Upper Peninsula's largest...
, where he earned Division II All American honors as a quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
in 1961. After college, Novak spent the 1962 training camp
Training camp
A training camp is a place, usually with an army-camp-type environment, where people go to learn skills, usually skills involving physical action rather than book subjects, usually for an armed force or an action sport...
with the 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...
of 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....
.
Coaching career
Novak coached high school football in New London, ConnecticutNew London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
and Iron Mountain, Michigan
Iron Mountain, Michigan
Iron Mountain is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,154. It is the county seat of Dickinson County, in the state's Upper Peninsula....
. He then returned to NMU in 1966 under head coach Rollie Dotsch
Rollie Dotsch
Rollie Dotsch was a football coach who served primarily in an assistant capacity before becoming the first coach of the United States Football League's Birmingham Stallions on September 2, 1982....
, where he spent 6 years as a coach including the final 2 seasons as offensive coordinator. During this time, one of his players was future Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
head coach Lloyd Carr
Lloyd Carr
Lloyd H. Carr is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season. Under Carr, the Wolverines compiled a record of 122–40 and won or shared five Big Ten Conference titles...
. Also on the NMU staff were notable coaches Jerry Glanville
Jerry Glanville
Jerry Glanville is a former American football player and current head coach of the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League, former NASCAR driver and owner, and sportscaster in the United States. He served the head coach of the Houston Oilers from 1986 to 1990 and the Atlanta Falcons from...
and Carl Reese
Carl Reese
Carl Reese is an American football coach. Regarded as a defensive mastermind, Reese served as defensive coordinator for 31 years at six different schools and one USFL team. Following the 2003 season, Reese retired from coaching. In 2009, he accepted the defensive cooordinator position at Miami ,...
, both of whom Novak would coach alongside later in their careers. Over the next 10 seasons he coached offensive backs or served as offensive coordinator at various colleges and universities, including stints with head coach Sonny Randle
Sonny Randle
-References:...
at East Carolina and Virginia.
In 1984 Novak coached running backs for the Oklahoma Outlaws of the United States Football League
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
under head coach Woody Widenhofer
Woody Widenhofer
-External links:* *...
. The following season he coached wide receivers for the USFL Birmingham Stallions
Birmingham Stallions
The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their home games at Birmingham, Alabama's Legion Field...
under Rollie Dotsch
Rollie Dotsch
Rollie Dotsch was a football coach who served primarily in an assistant capacity before becoming the first coach of the United States Football League's Birmingham Stallions on September 2, 1982....
, reuniting him with his former boss at NMU. Dostch had originally recommended Novak to Widenhofer, whom he had coached with on the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
.
Novak returned to the NCAA ranks for the 1988 season to coach running backs at Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
, who were coached by Woody Widenhofer after the dissolution of the USFL.
NFL Coaching Career
Novak began coaching running backs in the NFL in 1989 with the Houston Oilers under head coach Jerry GlanvilleJerry Glanville
Jerry Glanville is a former American football player and current head coach of the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League, former NASCAR driver and owner, and sportscaster in the United States. He served the head coach of the Houston Oilers from 1986 to 1990 and the Atlanta Falcons from...
. Novak and Glanville had previously served as assistant coaches together at Northern Michigan University. In 1990, Jack Pardee
Jack Pardee
-NFL:-External links:...
was named coach of the Oilers and retained Novak, and in 1994 he was named special teams coordinator. Novak also served as special teams coordinator with the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
for 1996-1996, 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...
1997-1998, 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...
from 2000-2005. Novak had joined the Chargers when friend Kevin Gilbride
Kevin Gilbride
Kevin Gilbride is an American football coach. Gilbride served as the San Diego Chargers head coach from 1997-1998. He went to Southern Connecticut State University, where he played both quarterback and tight end. He would later coach at his alma mater for five seasons starting in 1980 and compiled...
was hired as head coach, and resigned when Gilbride was fired after the 1998 season.
During the 2000 season, Novak was pantsed by quarterback Brett Favre
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
as a practical joke.
Current Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
kicker Rob Bironas
Rob Bironas
James Robert Douglas "Rob" Bironas is an American football placekicker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at Auburn University and Georgia Southern.Bironas was an All-Pro...
credits Novak with helping find a kicking job in the NFL. Bironas had been cut by the Green Bay Packers in 2002 after signing as an undrafted free agent.
Novak was associated with the Run and shoot offense
Run and shoot offense
The run and shoot offense is an offensive system for American football which emphasizes receiver motion and on-the-fly adjustments of receivers' routes in response to different defenses...
during his time in the USFL and with the Oilers and Chargers.
Personal
Novak is currently retired from coaching and resides in Lake Orion, MichiganLake Orion, Michigan
Lake Orion is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" is often used to describe both the village and the much larger Orion Township, of which the village is a part....
. He now serves as a motivational speaker
Motivational speaker
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
and consultant.
His son, Jason, is an assistant strength and conditioning coach
Strength and conditioning coach
A Strength and conditioning coach is a fitness professional who uses exercise prescription specifically to improve performance in athletic competition...
with the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
.