Joseph T. Gardi (March 2, 1939 – June 2, 2010) was 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

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

for 16 seasons, from 1990 to 2005, compiling a record of 119–62–2.Joe Gardi Records by Year
, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved February 12, 2009.Joe Gardi
, Hofstra University, 2002.

Early life

Gardi was raised in

Harrison, New Jersey Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey, and is located from New York City. As of the 202 ...

where he attended

Harrison High School Harrison High School may refer to: in the United States ''(by state)'' *Harrison High School (Harrison, Arkansas), listed on the National Register of Historic Places * Harrison High School (Colorado Springs) — Colorado Springs, Colorado * Har ...

. Durso, Joseph
"Walton to Call Plays a Jets' Coach"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', February 11, 1983. Accessed October 30, 2017. "Gardi, the new assistant head coach, was born in Newark 43 years ago and started playing football at Harrison High School in New Jersey, where he was an all-state tackle." While there, he was named a first-team all-state

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

as a senior in 1955. He attended 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 ...

, where he played football from 1959 to 1960 as an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He served as a team co-captain and received the Unsung Hero Award. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in business administration. In 1960, he was signed by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

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). He played in two pre-season games before being released. In 1961, he attended camp with the

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

, but did not make the team.

Coaching career

High school

In 1964, he was hired as the head football coach for the

Oratory Preparatory School Oratory Preparatory School, commonly known as Oratory Prep, is a Roman Catholic college preparatory day school for boys in grades 7-12, located in Summit, in Union County, New Jersey, United States, approximately west of Manhattan. The scho ...

Summit, New Jersey Summit is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city is located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. At the 2010 United Sta ...

. The team had lost 37 consecutive games prior to Gardi's arrival. In his first season, they again recorded a winless season with a 0–9 record. The following years he compiled 6–3 and 5–4 seasons, for a combined 11–16 record. In 1967, he took over as head coach at

Roselle Park High School Roselle Park High School is a four-year public high school located in Roselle Park, in Union County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Roselle Park School District. Since 2007, Roselle Park High School s ...

. That team had not secured a winning season in the previous decade. In his first season Gardi's team compiled a 2–7 record, followed by 6–3 and 9–0 records. In 1969, he coached the team to the New Jersey state championship.

Maryland

In 1970, Gardi returned to his alma mater to assume the roles of assistant head coach for the freshman team and recruiting coordinator. That year, he was responsible for recruiting future star quarterback,

Bob Avellini Robert Hayden Avellini (born August 28, 1953) is a former National Football League quarterback. For most of his career, he played for the Chicago Bears before finishing with the New York Jets. His nickname was "Slow-Mo." Professional career Ave ...

. In 1972, he was promoted to the

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 ...

. In 1973, after new head coach

Jerry Claiborne Jerry David Claiborne (August 26, 1928 – September 24, 2000) was an American college football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Virginia Tech (1961–1970), the University of Maryland, College Park (1972–1981), and his alma m ...

took over at Maryland, he retained Gardi and moved him to

wide receivers 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 ...

Professional football

In 1974, Gardi began a tenure in the short-lived

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

. He served as a

running backs 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 ...

, special teams coach, and interim head coach for the

Philadelphia Bell The Philadelphia Bell was a franchise in the World Football League, which operated in 1974 and a portion of a season in 1975. The Bell played their home games in 1974 at JFK Stadium in South Philadelphia. The team logo was a representation of th ...

. In 1975, he served as head coach for the

Portland Thunder The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...

for three games before the league disbanded. Gardi then served from 1976 to 1984 as an assistant coach for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

in the NFL. In 1976, he was special teams and

tight ends 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 ...

under head coach

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former football player, coach, and analyst. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the New York ...

. Gardi served as special teams and

linebackers 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 ...

from 1977 to 1980. In 1981 and 1982, he was the defensive coordinator under head coach

Walt Michaels Walter Edward Michaels (originally Majka) (October 16, 1929 – July 10, 2019) was a professional American football player and coach who was best remembered for his six-year tenure as head coach of the NFL's New York Jets from 1977 to 1982. In 1 ...

. In his first year running the defense, the Jets allowed 304 yards per game, a conference best, and posted 66 tackles, the highest in the NFL. The following season, the Jets participated in the AFC Championship Game, where they lost to 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 ...

. In 1983, Gardi was also named assistant head coach to

Joe Walton Joseph Frank Walton (December 15, 1935 – August 15, 2021) was an American football player and coach who retired after 20 years as the head coach and creator of the football program at Robert Morris University. Walton played eight seasons in t ...

. From 1985 to 1990, Gardi served as an NFL assistant supervisor of officials, which included training and supervision of the league's officiating staff.

Hofstra

He returned to coaching in 1990 when he took the head position at

. In his first season, he led his team to a 10–0 regular season and advanced to the

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

playoffs, where they lost in the semifinals. In 1991, Hofstra began the transition process to

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

competition, and played six I-AA opponents and recorded an 8–2 record. The following season they played seven I-AA opponents and compiled a 4–6 record. The 1993 season was Hofstra's first as a full-fledged Division I team, and Gardi's team posted a 6–3–1 record. In 1994, they finished 8–1–1 and were ranked 22nd in the nation. In 1995, Hofstra lost in the first round of the playoffs to finish with a 10–2 record and a number-ten national ranking. In both 1998 and 1999, Hofstra again advanced to the I-AA quarterfinals, and finished with a fifth and seventh ranking, respectively. Hofstra was an

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

co-championship and top-ten ranked team in 2001. The 2005 season was Gardi's last and he finished his career at Hofstra having compiled a 119–62–2 record.

Later life

Gardi was inducted into the

Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame The Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is an American sports hall of fame based in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. The non-profit was established during 1990 to honor outstanding people, living or deceased, who have gained prominence and made ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

in the Basketball Category with the Class of 2000. He retired from coaching for good after the 2005 season. Gardi died on June 3, 2010 from complications related to an earlier stroke. During his coaching career, he had helped develop future NFL players such as

Wayne Chrebet Wayne Chrebet (born August 14, 1973) is a former American football wide receiver who played 11 seasons for the New York Jets of the National Football League from 1995 to 2005. High school and college career Chrebet grew up in Garfield, New J ...

, Lance Schulters,

Marques Colston Marques E. Colston ( born June 5, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Hofstra University, and was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He helped the Saints ac ...

, Willie Colon, and Raheem Morris.Former Pride coach Gardi dies
ESPN, June 3, 2010, retrieved June 4, 2010.

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardi, Joe 1939 births 2010 deaths American football linebackers American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Buffalo Bills players Hofstra Pride football coaches Maryland Terrapins football coaches Maryland Terrapins football players National Football League defensive coordinators New York Jets coaches Philadelphia Bell coaches Portland Thunder (WFL) coaches Washington Redskins players High school football coaches in New Jersey People from Harrison, New Jersey Sportspeople from Hudson County, New Jersey Coaches of American football from New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey American people of Italian descent