Douglas Graber (born September 26, 1944) 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 ...

coach. He graduated from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

(1966) in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. He began his coaching career at St. Frances Cabrini Elementary School and High School in

Allen Park, Michigan Allen Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 28,638. Ford Motor Company is an integral part of the community. Many of the company's offices and facilities lie within the city limit ...

. He served as the head football coach at

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...

in 1982 and at

Rutgers University – New Brunswick 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 ...

from 1990 to 1995, 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 35–41–1. Graber was also the head coach of the

Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

from 2001 to 2003. He led the Galaxy to an overall record of 16–15, including a

World Bowl XI World Bowl XI was NFL Europe's 2003 championship game. It was played at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland on June 14, 2003. The crowd were entertained pre-match by Scottish rock legend Fish performing a rousing rendition of “Caledonia”. Hal ...

championship.

Coaching career

Montana State

Graber got his first collegiate head coaching job on December 16, 1981, when he was hired by

. During his only season in

Bozeman Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

, he led the Bobcats to a 6–5 overall record and a tie for the first place in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

with a 5–2 league record. He left the school in February 1983 to become an assistant coach with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

of 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 ...

National Football League

Graber was a member of the Chiefs' staff for four seasons, working for head coach

John Mackovic John Mackovic (born October 1, 1943) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach of the Italy national American football team, which was formed to compete in the EFAF European Championship. Previously, Mackovic served as the ...

. He handled defensive quality control duties during his first year, while also helping defensive coordinator

Bud Carson Leon H. "Bud" Carson (April 28, 1930 – December 7, 2005) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1967 to 1971, compiling a record of 27–27. Carson then coa ...

coach the defensive backs. In August 1984, Carson resigned and Graber took over coaching the secondary.

Frankfurt Galaxy

After a five-year hiatus from coaching, Graber was hired as the head coach of

on September 18, 2000. He became the fourth coach in team history, succeeding

Jack Elway Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

(1991–1992),

Ernie Stautner Ernest Alfred Stautner (April 20, 1925 – February 16, 2006) was a German-American professional American football coach and defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also served as a coach for the Pittsburg ...

(1995–1997) and

Dick Curl Richard Curl (born May 4, 1940) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Trenton State College in 1974, compiling a record of 5–4–1. Curl also was the head coach for the Frankfurt Galaxy of NF ...

(1998–2000). In his first year at the helm, the Galaxy finished sixth in the league with a record of 3–7.

Head coaching record

College

Professional

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graber, Doug 1944 births Living people Ball State Cardinals football coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles football coaches Frankfurt Galaxy coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches Michigan Tech Huskies football coaches Montana State Bobcats football coaches New York Jets coaches Rutgers Scarlet Knights football coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Wisconsin Badgers football coaches High school football coaches in Michigan Sportspeople from Detroit