Earl Chester "Chet" Fuhrman is a strength and conditioning coach who has worked at the professional level with the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

's Pittsburgh Steelers. He was the strength and

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

s coach for the

Virginia Destroyers The Virginia Destroyers were a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They began play in the United Football League (UFL) in the 2011 season. They played their home games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The tea ...

of the United Football League (UFL). He has also worked at the collegiate level and high school levels.

Early life

Fuhrman was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where he attended John Harris High School (renamed Harrisburg High School in 1971). In high school, he participated in football and track and developed an interest in

weight training Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength, size of skeletal muscles and maintenance of strength.Keogh, Justin W, and Paul W Winwood. “Report for: The Epidemiology of Injuries Across the Weight-Trai ...

. He matriculated at the

University of Central Oklahoma The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO or Central State) is a public university in Edmond, Oklahoma. It is the third largest university in Oklahoma, with more than 17,000 students and approximately 434 full-time and 400 adjunct faculty. Founde ...

where he earned a degree in

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

in 1973.

Coaching career

Fuhrman began his career as a strength coach and assistant

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 wi ...

coach at his alma mater Harrisburg High School and then at

Steelton-Highspire High School The Steelton-Highspire School District is a diminutive, urban public school district located in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses the boroughs of Steelton and Highspire, both industrial suburbs of the City of Harrisburg. The distri ...

in his native Pennsylvania. In 1979, he took a position as the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). Two years later, Fuhrman left Penn State to become the first head strength and conditioning coach at

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

in Ogden, Utah. He returned to Penn State the following year when the head strength and conditioning coach position opened up there. He spent the next eleven years at Penn State where he coached such athletes as

Steve Wisniewski Steve Wisniewski (born April 7, 1967), nicknamed "the Wiz", is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, and later serve ...

, Blair Thomas,

Mike Munchak Michael Anthony Munchak (born March 5, 1960) is an American professional football coach and former player. A graduate of Penn State, Munchak played left guard for the Houston Oilers from 1982 until 1993 and was a nine-time selection to the Pro B ...

and

Andre Collins Andre Pierre Collins (born May 4, 1968) is a former American football outside linebacker who played ten seasons in the National Football League. He started in Super Bowl XXVI for the Washington Redskins. Collins currently serves as Director o ...

When

Bill Cowher William Laird Cowher (born May 8, 1957) is an American sports analyst, former football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the NFL for 15 se ...

replaced

Chuck Noll Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * C ...

as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers he brought in Fuhrman to replace

Jon Kolb Jon Kolb (born August 30, 1947) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle and center for 13 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He was also an occasional stro ...

as the team's conditioning coordinator. In 2005, Fuhman was voted by his peers in the league as the NFL Strength Coach of the Year. The Steelers won the Super Bowl in the same season Fuhrman remained with the Steelers during Cowher's full tenure of fifteen seasons. He was not retained by new head coach

Mike Tomlin Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led the team to ten playoff runs, s ...

in 2007. In 2009 Fuhrman became the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

Avonworth School District The Avonworth School District is a small, suburban, public school district located in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Avonworth School District encompasses approximately 11 square miles. The district serves the Boroughs of Ben Avon, Ben Avon ...

which is just northwest of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. He resigned from the position less than a year later. In May 2011, Furhman was hired as assistant coach for the UFL's

(formerly the

Florida Tuskers Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to th ...

) under head coach and general manager

Marty Schottenheimer Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1984 to 2006. He was the head coach of the Kansas City ...

. He was responsible for coaching the team's tight ends as well as performing as the strength coach but retired after a single year of coaching. Furhman was a ninth grade football coaches at North Allegheny School District (Pittsburgh) in the 2015 season. He also is a substitute teacher at the North Allegheny schools.

Personal life

Fuhrman and his wife, Lisa, have three children — Erica, Michael, and Maria. He also has one grandchild — Giovanni Steele.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuhrman, Chet 1951 births American strength and conditioning coaches Living people Sportspeople from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches Pittsburgh Steelers coaches Virginia Destroyers coaches University of Central Oklahoma alumni