Joe Krivak
Encyclopedia
Joe Krivak is an American former football coach. He served as head coach for the Maryland Terrapins
football team from 1987 to 1991, where he compiled a 20–34–2 record. He also served as an assistant coach at Maryland, Syracuse
, Navy
, and Virginia
. As a coach at Maryland, Krivak mentored future NFL
quarterback
s Boomer Esiason
, Neil O'Donnell
, Frank Reich
, Stan Gelbaugh
, and Scott Zolak
.
in Weirton, West Virginia
, where he spent 11 seasons. He then served as an assistant coach at Syracuse
for five years under head coach Ben Schwartzwalder
. From 1974 to 1976, he served as an assistant coach at Maryland
under head coach Jerry Claiborne
. He then spent five years coaching at Navy
under George Welsh.
In 1982, he returned to Maryland to join Bobby Ross
's staff as the quarterbacks coach
. Krivak was also responsible for the wide receivers
and had a significant role in running the offense. At Maryland, Krivak tutored several future NFL quarterbacks: Boomer Esiason
, Neil O'Donnell
, Frank Reich
, Stan Gelbaugh
, and Scott Zolak
. Later as Maryland head coach and Virginia quarterbacks coach respectively, he would also add Scott Milanovich
and Aaron Brooks to his list of pupils.
, in which Maryland tied Louisiana Tech
, 34–34. One of Krivak's most notable accomplishments at Maryland was a tie game. In 1989, Maryland tied Penn State
, 13–13, with a last-minute field goal. When the game was last played in 1993, the all-time series record stood at 35 Maryland losses, one win, and one tie. The tie game broke the Terrapins' 24-game losing streak
against Penn State.
Krivak tendered his resignation after posting a 2–9 record in 1991. After the season, athletic director Andy Geiger
had initiated a review of the program, which included interviews with the players, some of whom directly criticized Krivak to Geiger. With his resignation, Krivak cited a loss of credibility in the face of the criticism from his players.
was interested in hiring Krivak after his dismissal, but was dissuaded by general manager Bobby Beathard
, who wanted someone with NFL coaching experience. In 1995, Krivak took over as quarterbacks coach for Virginia
under George Welsh, his former boss at Navy. In 1996, Virginia offensive coordinator
Tom O'Brien left to take the head coaching position at Boston College
, and during the Carquest Bowl, Krivak called the offensive plays in the interim. Virginia lost to Miami
, 31–21. Some observers expected Krivak to be promoted to the position full-time, but in February 1997, Welsh said he was considering calling plays himself without an offensive coordinator. Krivak resigned from the staff shortly afterward. Krivak now runs football camps for youth players in the Mid-Atlantic
area.
Maryland Terrapins football
The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
football team from 1987 to 1991, where he compiled a 20–34–2 record. He also served as an assistant coach at Maryland, Syracuse
Syracuse Orange football
The Syracuse Orange football program is a college football team that represents Syracuse University. The team is a member of the Big East Conference, which is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I conference that is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision...
, Navy
Navy Midshipmen football
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...
, and Virginia
Virginia Cavaliers football
Virginia Cavaliers football is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I-FBS and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
. As a coach at Maryland, Krivak mentored future NFL
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...
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...
s Boomer Esiason
Boomer Esiason
Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason is a former American football quarterback and current network color commentator. He played for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals before working as an analyst for ABC and HBO...
, Neil O'Donnell
Neil O'Donnell
Neil Kennedy O'Donnell is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, and Tennessee Titans...
, Frank Reich
Frank Reich
Frank Michael Reich, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and the Detroit Lions. For a time, he had the distinction of having led his team to the biggest comeback victory ever in both the collegiate...
, Stan Gelbaugh
Stan Gelbaugh
Stanley Morris Gelbaugh is a former professional American football quarterback. Although he played several seasons in the National Football League, he attained his greatest success in the World League of American Football with the London Monarchs, where he was the league's Offensive Most Valuable...
, and Scott Zolak
Scott Zolak
Scott David Zolak is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for nine seasons...
.
Assistant coach
Krivak's first head coaching experience came at Madonna High SchoolMadonna High School (Weirton, West Virginia)
Weirton Madonna High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Weirton, West Virginia. It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston....
in Weirton, West Virginia
Weirton, West Virginia
Weirton is a city located in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, United States. Most of the city is in Hancock County, with the remainder in Brooke County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 20,411...
, where he spent 11 seasons. He then served as an assistant coach at Syracuse
Syracuse Orange football
The Syracuse Orange football program is a college football team that represents Syracuse University. The team is a member of the Big East Conference, which is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I conference that is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision...
for five years under head coach Ben Schwartzwalder
Ben Schwartzwalder
Floyd B. "Ben" Schwartzwalder was a Hall of Fame football coach at Syracuse University, where he trained such future National Football League stars as Jim Brown, as well as the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy, Ernie Davis.Schwartzwalder played center at West Virginia University,...
. From 1974 to 1976, he served as an assistant coach at Maryland
Maryland Terrapins football
The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
under head coach Jerry Claiborne
Jerry Claiborne
Jerry Claiborne was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Virginia Tech , the University of Maryland, College Park , and his alma mater, the University of Kentucky , compiling a career college football record of 179–122–8...
. He then spent five years coaching at Navy
Navy Midshipmen football
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...
under George Welsh.
In 1982, he returned to Maryland to join Bobby Ross
Bobby Ross
Robert Joseph Ross is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at The Citadel , the University of Maryland, College Park , the Georgia Institute of Technology , and the United States Military Academy , compiling a career college football record of 103–101–2...
's staff as the quarterbacks coach
Quarterbacks coach
A quarterbacks coach is a coach in charge of the quarterbacks in gridiron football. The quarterbacks coach typically operates under the offensive coordinator on a team's coaching staff....
. Krivak was also responsible for the wide receivers
Wide receivers coach
A wide receivers coach is a coach in charge of the wide receivers in gridiron football. The wide receivers coach typically operates under a team's offensive coordinator. This coach also typically resides in the coach's box on gameday, often accompanied by or in place of the offensive coordinator....
and had a significant role in running the offense. At Maryland, Krivak tutored several future NFL quarterbacks: Boomer Esiason
Boomer Esiason
Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason is a former American football quarterback and current network color commentator. He played for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals before working as an analyst for ABC and HBO...
, Neil O'Donnell
Neil O'Donnell
Neil Kennedy O'Donnell is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, and Tennessee Titans...
, Frank Reich
Frank Reich
Frank Michael Reich, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and the Detroit Lions. For a time, he had the distinction of having led his team to the biggest comeback victory ever in both the collegiate...
, Stan Gelbaugh
Stan Gelbaugh
Stanley Morris Gelbaugh is a former professional American football quarterback. Although he played several seasons in the National Football League, he attained his greatest success in the World League of American Football with the London Monarchs, where he was the league's Offensive Most Valuable...
, and Scott Zolak
Scott Zolak
Scott David Zolak is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for nine seasons...
. Later as Maryland head coach and Virginia quarterbacks coach respectively, he would also add Scott Milanovich
Scott Milanovich
Scott Milanovich is a Canadian football coach and former professional quarterback. He is currently the head coach of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.-Early years:...
and Aaron Brooks to his list of pupils.
Maryland
After the 1986 season, he was chosen to be the successor to Ross and promoted to Maryland head coach at the age of 51. Krivak had previously been a finalist for a head coaching position during his tenure at both Syracuse and Navy, and in 1982 when Maryland hired Ross. As head coach, Krivak accumulated a 20–34–2 record and one minor bowl game appearance, the 1991 Independence BowlIndependence Bowl
The Independence Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, so named because it was inaugurated in the United States bicentennial year, 1976....
, in which Maryland tied Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football program represents Louisiana Tech University in Western Athletic Conference. The team currently competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. Since the Bulldogs first season in 1901, Louisiana Tech has compiled an all-time record of 554 wins, 422...
, 34–34. One of Krivak's most notable accomplishments at Maryland was a tie game. In 1989, Maryland tied Penn State
Penn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
, 13–13, with a last-minute field goal. When the game was last played in 1993, the all-time series record stood at 35 Maryland losses, one win, and one tie. The tie game broke the Terrapins' 24-game losing streak
Most consecutive wins over one opponent (NCAA football)
The following is a list of the all-time leading NCAA Division I FBS college football single-opponent winning streaks. Teams are ranked by the number of consecutive wins they've posted against a specific opponent. All streaks of at least 20 games are in the list.† Active Streak...
against Penn State.
Krivak tendered his resignation after posting a 2–9 record in 1991. After the season, athletic director Andy Geiger
Andy Geiger
Andy Geiger was the director of athletics at five institutions over his career most notably holding that position for 11 years at The Ohio State University which contained the largest athletics department in the country....
had initiated a review of the program, which included interviews with the players, some of whom directly criticized Krivak to Geiger. With his resignation, Krivak cited a loss of credibility in the face of the criticism from his players.
Return to assistant coaching
In 1993, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that Bobby Ross, then head coach of 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...
was interested in hiring Krivak after his dismissal, but was dissuaded by general manager Bobby Beathard
Bobby Beathard
Bobby Beathard is a former general manager in the National Football League. Over the course of his 38 years in the NFL, his teams competed in seven Super Bowls , beginning with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1966, Miami Dolphins in 1972 and 1973, Washington Redskins in 1982, 1983, and 1987, and the San...
, who wanted someone with NFL coaching experience. In 1995, Krivak took over as quarterbacks coach for Virginia
Virginia Cavaliers football
Virginia Cavaliers football is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I-FBS and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
under George Welsh, his former boss at Navy. In 1996, Virginia offensive coordinator
Offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
Tom O'Brien left to take the head coaching position at Boston College
Boston College Eagles football
The Boston College Eagles football team is the collegiate football program of Boston College. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a Division I Bowl Subdivision league governed by the NCAA. Within the ACC, the Eagles are one of six teams in the Atlantic Division...
, and during the Carquest Bowl, Krivak called the offensive plays in the interim. Virginia lost to Miami
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
, 31–21. Some observers expected Krivak to be promoted to the position full-time, but in February 1997, Welsh said he was considering calling plays himself without an offensive coordinator. Krivak resigned from the staff shortly afterward. Krivak now runs football camps for youth players in the Mid-Atlantic
Mid-Atlantic States
The Mid-Atlantic states, also called middle Atlantic states or simply the mid Atlantic, form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
area.