Al Kincaid (born July 26, 1947) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

from 1981 to 1985 and at

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

from 1990 to 1991, compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 33–46–1.

Playing career

Kincaid is a native of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and was the star

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. He was the starter for the 1967 and 1968 seasons, and in 1968, he took the team to a 7-4 record, including a Liberty Bowl appearance against Mississippi. However, he lost the starting job in the second game of the 1969 season, after playing well in the season opener against Alabama. His career record was 122 completions in 261 attempts for 1,202 yards and five touchdowns. He was intercepted 13 times. He also rushed for 499 yards and two touchdowns.

Coaching career

High school and college assistant coaching

Kincaid and his family relocated to

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

after he completed his college degree. He had planned to go into business there, but his offer to help coach a local

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

team soon earned him a full-time job instead. The couple moved to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, where he coached a rural high school team in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. Kincaid moved on to coaching positions at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

under

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

and at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

Wyoming

Kincaid became

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

at Wyoming under

Pat Dye Patrick Fain Dye (November 6, 1939 – June 1, 2020) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at East Carolina University (1974–1979), the University of Wyoming (1980), ...

, and succeeded him as head coach after the 1980 season. He signed a three-year contract at $45,000 per year, agreeing to have 20% of the salary withheld in interest-bearing escrow and forfeited if he broke his contract. In 1983, he was courted by

Memphis State University } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

after head coach

Rex Dockery Rex may refer to: * Rex (title) (Latin: king, ruler, monarch), a royal title ** King of Rome (Latin: Rex Romae), chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom People * Rex (given name), for people with the given name * Rex (surname), for people with t ...

died in a plane crash, but he withdrew his name from consideration, deciding to remain at Wyoming. In his five years leading Wyoming, he compiled a record of 29–29. Following a 3–8 season in 1985, he was fired and was succeeded by

Dennis Erickson Dennis Brian Erickson (born March 24, 1947) is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football league. He was also the head coach at the University of Idaho ( ...

Arkansas State

Kincaid went on to be the 22nd head coach at

for the 1990 and 1991 seasons. He accumulated a record of 4–17–1.College Football Data Warehouse
Arkansas State University head coaching records

Personal life

Kincaid worked as a sports consultant in

Decatur, Alabama Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake ...

, and then returned to Tuscaloosa and coaching, again serving as an assistant at the University of Alabama. From there, he went on to become head coach at Arkansas State. In 1992, Kincaid's 23-year marriage ended in divorce. His ex-wife,

Nanci Kincaid Nanci Pierce Kincaid (born September 5, 1950) is an American novelist who wrote a short story collection titled ''Pretending the Bed Is a Raft'' (1997), as well as novels ''Crossing Blood'' (1991), ''Balls'' (1999), ''Verbena'' (2002), and ''As Hot ...

, married

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

head coach

Dick Tomey Richard Hastings Tomey (June 20, 1938 – May 10, 2019) was an American football coach and player. Tomey served as the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (1977–1986), University of Arizona (1987–2000), and San Jose State ...

in 1997. However, the couple remained close, and as a writer in North Carolina, she still was assisting him in player recruiting in 1998 when he was an assistant head football coach and offensive coordinator at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kincaid, Al 1947 births Living people American football quarterbacks Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Arkansas State Red Wolves football coaches East Carolina Pirates football coaches Temple Owls football coaches Virginia Tech Hokies football players Wyoming Cowboys football coaches High school football coaches in Virginia Sportspeople from Tuscaloosa, Alabama Coaches of American football from Alabama Players of American football from Alabama