Hudson Houck (born January 7, 1943) is an American

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 and college player who was an

offensive line coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators. Common ...

for a six teams 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 ...

(NFL) over a 40-year coaching career. Houck retired on January 10, 2012.

Playing career and coaching beginnings

Houck attended and graduated from Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles. In 1960 he was selected first string All City Center. Houck was a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for the Trojans of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

from 1962 to 1964. He won a national championship as a member of the 1962 team. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach for

Crescenta Valley High School Crescenta Valley High School is a high school in La Crescenta, California. Around 2500 students attend the school, which serves North Glendale, unincorporated La Crescenta and Montrose, as well as a municipal neighborhood on the western boundary o ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Following two years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, Houck resumed his role at Crescenta Valley. In 1970 Houck coached the freshmen team at Southern California, and after two years he became the

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

. There he coached the first Stanford 2-time All-Pac-8 offensive guard and Hall of Famer, Alex Karakozoff and sent several players to the NFL including Gary Anderson, Bill Reid and tutoring eventual All-American and first round NFL draft pick Gordon King. Houck returned to his alma mater in 1976, coaching the offensive line at Southern California. During this time, he helped send numerous Trojans to the

including

Marvin Powell Marvin Powell Jr. (August 30, 1955 – September 30, 2022) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football ...

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, Chris Foote, Roy Foster, Bruce Matthews,

Don Mosebar Donald Howard Mosebar (born September 11, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a center for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. He played college football for the USC Trojans ...

and

Tony Slaton Anthony Tyrone Slaton (born April 12, 1961) is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons during the 1980s and early 1990s. Slaton played college ...

, among others. This group helped lead the way for

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

-winning running backs Charles White and

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, in addition to another USC great, Ricky Bell, an NFL first-round draft choice in 1977.

Pro coaching career

Houck's first pro coaching experience came with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

, where he coached the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

from

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

. Houck spent one season as offensive line coach for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

. Seahawks running back Chris Warren logged the first 1,000-yard rushing season of his career with Houck tutoring his blockers. Houck spent the next nine years coaching the

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. At times during Houck's tenure the Cowboys' line was one of the most dominant in the history of the game. The 203 sacks they allowed in nine years under Houck were the fewest of any NFL team in that span. Six offensive linemen earned 22 trips to the

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 ...

under Houck, including

Larry Allen Larry Christopher Allen Sr. (born November 27, 1971) is an American former football guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Sonoma State and ...

(7),

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(5),

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(4),

Ray Donaldson Raymond Canute Donaldson (born May 18, 1958) is a former American football Center in the National Football League for the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Georgia. ...

(2),

Mark Stepnoski Mark Matthew Stepnoski (born January 20, 1967) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL). He attended Cathedral Preparatory School in Erie, Pennsylvania, and went on ...

(2) and

Mark Tuinei Mark Pulemau Tuinei (March 31, 1960 – May 6, 1999) was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. Known as a "gentle giant", his career lasted for 15 years (1983–1997) and his ability ...

(2). Hall of Fame running back

Emmitt Smith Emmitt James Smith III (born May 15, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Among other accolades, he is the lea ...

earned a pair of rushing titles during Houck's tenure, and rushed for over 1,000 yards every season. He was also the assistant head coach from 1994 to 1997. After the firing of

Chan Gailey Thomas Chandler Gailey Jr. (born January 5, 1952) is a former American football coach. Most recently in 2020, he was the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Gailey has previously served as the head ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, he was considered as one of the candidates to take over the head coaching duties of the

, which eventually went to

Dave Campo David Cross Campo (born July 18, 1947) is an American football coach and former player. Campo served as the head coach for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) from 2000 to 2002, compiling a record of 15 wins and 33 losses. He ...

. With the

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 ...

from

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, Houck transformed one of the league's worst offensive lines to one of the best.

Running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

LaDainian Tomlinson LaDainian Tarshane Tomlinson (born June 23, 1979) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. After a successful college career with the TCU Horned Frogs, the San Diego Chargers se ...

rushed for more than 1,300 yards in each of Houck's three seasons with the team. With five new starters on the line in 2004, the Chargers ranked tenth in total offense and sixth in rushing. The Chargers allowed fewer than 25 sacks per season under Houck. Houck was hired to work for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

head coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

. During his first year with the Dolphins in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, Houck's

ranked fourth in the NFL in fewest sacks allowed. In

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, Houck was reunited with then Dolphins head coach

Cam Cameron Malcolm "Cam" Cameron (born February 6, 1961) is an American football coach. He is the former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the LSU Tigers football program. Cameron attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and playe ...

. Houck and Cameron worked together in San Diego when Cameron was

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 ...

for the Chargers. After the Dolphins' 1-15 2007 season, Houck was fired along with most of the Dolphins' coaching staff by incoming Vice President of Football Operations

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 1983 ...

Jerry Jones Jerral Wayne Jones (born October 13, 1942) is an American businessman who has been the owner, president, and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) since February 1989. Early life Jones was born in Los Ange ...

re-hired Houck when Parcells hired Cowboys line coach Tony Sparano to serve as the Dolphins' head coach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houck, Hudson 1943 births Living people Dallas Cowboys coaches Los Angeles Rams coaches Miami Dolphins coaches San Diego Chargers coaches Seattle Seahawks coaches Stanford Cardinal football coaches USC Trojans football coaches USC Trojans football players High school football coaches in California Players of American football from Los Angeles Coaches of American football from California Sports coaches from Los Angeles