Elliot Uzelac (born July 24, 1941) is an
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 served as the head football coach at
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...
from 1975 to 1981 and the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
from 1987 to 1989, 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 ...
coaching record of 46–64. In June 2018, Uzelac resigned as head football coach at
Benton Harbor High School
Benton Harbor High School is a high school in Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States, and is part of the Benton Harbor Area Schools.
History
In 2009, the school received a $52,000 grant from the U.S. federal government's stimulus program to upgrad ...
in
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is 46 miles southwest of Kalamazoo and 71 miles southwest of Grand Rapids. According to the 2020 census, its population was 9,103. It is the smaller, by population, of ...
. In January 2020, Uzelac returned from retirement to become the head coach at
Berrien Springs High School.
Playing career
A native of
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...
, Uzelac played high school football at
Tolleston High School
Tolleston is a neighborhood and former town in west-central Gary, Indiana. It is situated south of Ambridge, west of Midtown, east of Westside and north of Black Oak. Tolleston is the site of two large city parks (MC Bennett Park and Tolleston P ...
. He graduated from
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...
in 1964 with a degree in physical education. A knee injury ended his football playing career before he could letter at Western Michigan, but he was
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...
outdoor
shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
champion as a senior.
College coaching career
Before St. Joseph, Uzelac coached at
Bowling Green University
Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...
, the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
,
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
,
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
, the
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...
, the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...
, the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
, the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
, and the
NFL
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 major ...
's
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 ( ...
. Most stops were for one or two years, while the longest he stayed at any one school was his seven-year tenure as head coach at Western Michigan University. Along the way he has coached under or alongside
Bo Schembechler
Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of ...
,
Lloyd Carr
Lloyd Henry Carr Jr. (born July 30, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season. Under Carr, the Michigan Wolverines compiled a record ...
,
John Cooper,
Bill McCartney
William Paul McCartney (born August 22, 1940) is a former American football player and coach and the founder of the Promise Keepers men's ministry. He was the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder for thirteen seasons (1982–1994), ...
,
Don Nehlen
Donald Eugene Nehlen (born January 1, 1936) is a former American football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University (1968–1976) and at West Virginia University (1980–2000). Nehlen retired from coaching ...
,
Bill Mallory
William Guy Mallory (May 30, 1935 – May 25, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Miami University (1969–1973), the University of Colorado at Boulder (1974–1978), Northern Illinois Universi ...
,
Les Miles
Leslie Edwin Miles (born November 10, 1953) is a former American football coach. He most recently served as the head coach at Kansas. His head coaching career began with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, where he coached from 2001 to 2004. Following t ...
, and
Bill Belichick
William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...
.
While head coach at Navy, Uzelac had several notable assistants, including
Tom Amstutz
Tom Amstutz (born August 30, 1955) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Toledo from 2001 to 2008, compiling a 58–41 record, including a 39–24 mark in conference play. Known ...
,
Chuck Bresnahan
Charles Evans Bresnahan (pronounced "BREZ-nuh-han"; born September 8, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He is the Defensive Line and Outside Linebackers coach for the Vegas Vipers. He was the defensive coordinator of the Oakl ...
,
Steve Belichick
Stephen Nickolas Belichick (January 7, 1919 – November 19, 2005) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played college football at Western Reserve University, now known as Case Western Reserve University, from 1938 to 1940 and ...
,
Dean Pees
Russell Dean Pees (born September 4, 1949) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the New England Patrio ...
, and
Carl Reese. Some assistants had connections to the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
as either past or future coaches, including
Fred Jackson,
Greg Mattison
Greg Mattison (born November 15, 1949) is a former American football coach, and former player. He spent most of his career in college football as a defensive coach. Mattison coached at Michigan for eleven years, at Notre Dame for seven years, a ...
, and
Mike Trgovac
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...
.
While Uzelac has had number of stints in
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 ...
as a head coach and as an assistant, his most famous incident occurred in 1991 while he was the
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
Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
. Uzelac encouraged and pressured players to skip class so they could make practice. This prioritization of football over academics did not sit well with
Robert Smith, future
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
running back, who spoke up about the issue. As a result, Smith sat out the season. The next season Uzelac was fired and Smith returned to the team.
High school coaching career
Uzelac began his coaching career as an assistant at
Chesterton High School
Chesterton High School is a public high school serving grades 9-12 located in Chesterton, Indiana. It is the only high school in the Duneland School Corporation.
History
In 1833, Jesse Morgan, the area's first postmaster, opened the first educa ...
in
Chesterton, Indiana
Chesterton is a town in Westchester, Jackson and Liberty townships in Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 14,241 at the 2020 Census. The three towns of Chesterton, Burns Harbor, and Porter are known as the Duneland a ...
in 1964. He was head coach at
Logan High School in
Logan, West Virginia
Logan is a city in Logan County, West Virginia, United States, along the Guyandotte River. The population was 1,438 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Logan County.
History
What is now Logan was initially called "Islands of the Guyandot" ...
from 1966 to 1967, compiling a 16–4 record and winning a league championship.
From 2002 to 2003, Uzelac was head football coach at
St. John's College High School in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
In April 2006, Uzelac returned to the state of Michigan to coach at
St. Joseph High School St. Joseph's School, St. Joseph's Catholic School, St Joseph's School, St Joseph's Catholic School, and variants are frequently used school names, and may refer to:
Africa
* St Joseph's School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Asia
* St Joseph Higher Secon ...
. Uzelac led the Bears to a 6–5 record in 2006 after the team went 0–9 the previous season. During the 2007 season, Uzelac led the Bears to a 9–0 regular season record and the Final Four of Michigan high school football. The team won the Big 16 Conference and was named the West Division champions, Division 3 district champions, and Division 3 regional champions. Uzelac was also named 2007 High School Coach of the Year by the Michigan Associated Press. In 2008, Uzelac led the Bears to another 9–0 season and another Big 16 Conference title. The team was ranked #1 in the state for their undefeated season in Division 3.
Uzelac resigned as head coach at. St. Joseph on June 29, 2011, with a record of 45–13.
In 2015, Uzelac became head football coach at
Benton Harbor High School
Benton Harbor High School is a high school in Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States, and is part of the Benton Harbor Area Schools.
History
In 2009, the school received a $52,000 grant from the U.S. federal government's stimulus program to upgrad ...
in
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is 46 miles southwest of Kalamazoo and 71 miles southwest of Grand Rapids. According to the 2020 census, its population was 9,103. It is the smaller, by population, of ...
. The team had not won a game since 2012 and had a record of 4–68 in the previous eight years. In 2015, his first season there, he led the Tigers to their first winning record since 1989, their first playoff appearance, and their first victory in a playoff game. In his second season, he led the Tigers to an undefeated 9–0 regular season.
Personal life
Uzelac is known for his temper and intensity and has had a history of coronary artery disease that has led to multiple surgical procedures.
Head coaching record
College
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uzelac, Elliot
1941 births
Living people
American male shot putters
Bowling Green Falcons football coaches
Colorado Buffaloes football coaches
Georgetown Hoyas football coaches
Indiana Hoosiers football coaches
Kentucky Wildcats football coaches
Maryland Terrapins football coaches
Michigan Wolverines football coaches
Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches
Navy Midshipmen football coaches
Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches
Western Michigan Broncos football coaches
College men's track and field athletes in the United States
High school football coaches in Indiana
High school football coaches in Michigan
High school football coaches in Washington, D.C.
High school football coaches in West Virginia
Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana
American people of Serbian descent