Frank Novak (born c. 1940) is an American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach who is best known for coaching

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

in 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 ...

(NFL).

Early career

Novak was born in

Leominster, Massachusetts Leominster ( ) is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 43,782 at the 2020 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and northwest of Boston. Both ...

, and attended

Leominster High School Leominster High School (also known as Leominster High or LHS) is a public high school located in Leominster, Massachusetts, United States. It is the only secondary educational institution found in Leominster. It is situated in a mixed-industrial-r ...

. He later played football at Northern Michigan University,FootballYearlyLeaders , Wildcat Football at Northern Michigan University
. Webb.nmu.edu. Retrieved on 2010-11-22. where he earned

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

All-America 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 ...

n honors as a

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 ...

in 1961. After college, Novak spent the 1962 training camp with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

.About Frank
. Frank-novak.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-22.

Coaching career

Novak coached high school football in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

and Iron Mountain, Michigan. He then returned to NMU in 1966 under head coach Rollie Dotsch, where he spent 6 years as a coach including the final 2 seasons as offensive coordinator. During this time, one of his players was future

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

head coach Lloyd Carr. Also on the NMU staff were notable coaches Jerry Glanville and Carl Reese, both of whom Novak would coach alongside later in their careers. Over the next 10 seasons he coached offensive backs or served as offensive coordinator at various colleges and universities, including stints with head coach

Sonny Randle Ulmo Shannon "Sonny" Randle Jr. (January 6, 1936 – May 23, 2017) was an American sportscaster and football player and coach. He played wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Cardinals/St. Louis Cardinals, San Fran ...

at East Carolina and Virginia. In 1984 Novak coached running backs for the

Oklahoma Outlaws Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

under head coach Woody Widenhofer. The following season, he coached wide receivers for the USFL Birmingham Stallions under Rollie Dotsch, reuniting him with his former boss at NMU. Dostch had originally recommended Novak to Widenhofer, whom he had coached with on the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. Novak returned to the NCAA ranks for the 1988 season to coach running backs at

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, who were coached by Woody Widenhofer after the dissolution of the USFL.

NFL Coaching Career

Novak began coaching running backs in the NFL in 1989 with the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

under head coach Jerry Glanville. Novak and Glanville had previously served as assistant coaches together at Northern Michigan University. In 1990, Jack Pardee was named coach of the Oilers and retained Novak, and in 1994 he was named special teams coordinator. Novak also served as special teams coordinator with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

for 1995-1996,

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

1997-1998, and the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

from 2000-2005. Novak had joined the Chargers when friend

Kevin Gilbride Kevin Bernard Gilbride (born August 27, 1951) is an American football head coach. He was a coach for twenty years in the NFL, spending seven of them as the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, with whom he earned two Super Bowl rin ...

was hired as head coach, and resigned when Gilbride was fired after the 1998 season. During the 2000 season, Novak was

pantsed Pantsing, also known as depantsing, debagging, dacking, flagging, sharking, and scanting is the pulling down of a person's trousers and sometimes also underpants, usually against their wishes, and typically as a practical joke or a form of bul ...

during practice by quarterback

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 20 ...

as a practical joke.

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

kicker Rob Bironas credits Novak with helping find another kicking job in the NFL. Bironas had been cut by the Green Bay Packers in 2002 after signing as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. Novak was associated with the Run and shoot offense during his time in the USFL and with the Oilers and Chargers.

Personal life

Novak is currently retired from professional coaching and resides in

Oxford, Michigan Oxford is a village in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,436 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. The village is located within Oxford Charter Township, Michigan, Oxford Towns ...

. He serves as a

motivational speaker A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk. Motivational speakers ca ...

and also volunteers as a high school football coach at

and Lake Orion High School. In 2012, Frank married noted

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

realtor Suzanne Fodor. Novak has five grown children from a previous marriage. One of his sons, Jason, is currently head

strength and conditioning coach A strength and conditioning coach (also known as an S&C coach) is a physical performance professional who uses exercise prescription to improve the performance of competitive athletes or athletic teams. This is achieved through the combination of ...

with the

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. Jason had previously served as head strength and condition coach at Central Michigan University,

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

and

Alabama State Alabama State University (ASU) is a public historically black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, ASU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History Alabama State University was founded in 1867 as the Lin ...

. Novak is also the maternal grandfather to former American Professional Baseball Relief Pitcher Matt Picucci

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Novak, Frank Living people 1940s births American football quarterbacks Detroit Lions coaches East Carolina Pirates football coaches Green Bay Packers coaches Holy Cross Crusaders football coaches Houston Oilers coaches Missouri Tigers football coaches Northern Michigan Wildcats football coaches Northern Michigan Wildcats football players San Diego Chargers coaches United States Football League coaches Virginia Cavaliers football coaches Western Illinois Leathernecks football coaches High school football coaches in Connecticut High school football coaches in Michigan People from Oxford, Michigan Sportspeople from Oakland County, Michigan People from Leominster, Massachusetts Players of American football from Worcester County, Massachusetts