Richard E. Anderson (born July 29, 1941) 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

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

from 1984 to 1989, compiling a record of 28–33–4. His highlight victory during that span was 21–16 win over Penn State in 1988—

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

' first win over the Nittany Lions in 70 years. He played

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 ...

at Penn State, and served there as an assistant football coach for many years under

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

Playing career

Anderson, a native of

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

, played

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. Like ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

at Penn State for coach

Rip Engle Charles A. "Rip" Engle (March 26, 1906 – March 7, 1983) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Brown University from 1944 to 1949 and at Pennsylvania State University fro ...

from 1960 to 1962. He played in the 1961 and 1962

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...

s and also captained the Nittany Lions

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team. Anderson earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in physical education from Penn State in 1963. He was drafted by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

in the 29th round of the

1963 American Football League Draft The 1963 American Football League draft was held in Dallas on Saturday, December 1, 1962. The Kansas City Chiefs drafted as the Dallas Texans, as their relocation would take place a few months later. With the first overall selection, they took B ...

and by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in the 17th round of the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

, but Anderson opted to remain at Penn State as a graduate assistant while earning his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

and playing for the semi-pro Newark Bears on the weekends.

Coaching career

Anderson's first full-time coaching job was as an assistant at

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

under future

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

General Manager

Harry Gamble Harry T. Gamble (December 26, 1930 – January 28, 2014) was an American football coach and executive. He was the head coach at the Lafayette College and University of Pennsylvania and general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles. Early life and ...

, whom he then followed to the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1970. He returned to Penn State in 1973 at the invitation of head coach

. In his next 11 seasons as the Nittany Lions' offensive line coach, Anderson established himself as one of college football's best. Five of his players were named

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

John Nessel John Steve Nessel (born 1952) is a former professional American football player. Nessel was an All-American guard at Penn State in 1974 and was the 4th-round draft pick (#81 overall) of the Atlanta Falcons in the 1975 NFL draft. Nessel earne ...

Tom Rafferty Thomas Michael Rafferty (born August 2, 1954) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for head coach Joe Paterno at Penn State University. Early years ...

Keith Dorney Keith Robert Dorney (born December 3, 1957) is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons in the 1970s and 1980s. He played college football for Pe ...

Bill Dugan William H. Dugan (born June 5, 1959) is an American former professional American football offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, and the New York Giants. Dugan played college football a ...

, and Sean Farrell; and a steady stream of Nittany Lion linemen went on to the NFL, including

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

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 ...

. In 1984, he accepted the head coaching job at Rutgers where his six-year on-field record was 27–34–4. His best season was 1984, when the Scarlet Knights finished 7–3. Anderson was relieved of his duties at Rutgers in 1990 and returned to Penn State to resume duties as the team's offensive line coach. In 1993 Anderson moved to quarterbacks coach, following Jim Caldwell's departure to accept the head coaching job at Wake Forest. He returned to coaching the offensive line when Jay Paterno became coach of quarterbacks in 1999. Anderson was not retained after the arrival of new coach Bill O'Brien.

Relationship with Jerry Sandusky

Anderson maintains a close personal relationship with former Penn State defensive coordinator

Jerry Sandusky Gerald Arthur Sandusky (born January 26, 1944) is an American retired college football coach and convicted serial child molester. Sandusky served as an assistant coach for his entire career, mostly at Pennsylvania State University under Joe Pa ...

. He testified at Sandusky's

child sex abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (wheth ...

trial that it was not uncommon for assistant coaches and minors to be in the showers at the same time at the Lasch Football Complex.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Dick 1941 births Living people Lafayette Leopards football coaches Penn Quakers football coaches Rutgers Scarlet Knights football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions baseball players Penn State Nittany Lions football players Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches Sportspeople from Queens, New York Players of American football from New York City