Joe Moore (February 19, 1932 − July 3, 2003) 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 coached at Pitt from 1977 to 1985, developing All-Americans and Hall of Fame linemen

Bill Fralic William P. Fralic Jr. ( ) (October 31, 1962 – December 13, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a guard for the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1985 to 1993. He played colle ...

Mark May Mark Eric May (born November 2, 1959) is a former American college and professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. May played college football for the University ...

Russ Grimm Russell Scott Grimm (born May 2, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a guard for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He has also served as an assistant coach for the Redskins, Pittsburgh St ...

and

Jimbo Covert James Paul "Jimbo" Covert (born March 22, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons during the 1980s and early 1990s. Covert played college foot ...

before moving on to coach at

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

from 1986 to 1987 and Notre Dame from 1988 to 1996. Moore stayed nine seasons in South Bend, sending all but two of his starting offensive linemen to the NFL, including Aaron Taylor,

Andy Heck Andrew Robert Heck (born January 1, 1967) is an American football coach and former player. He is the offensive line coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. He played tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. He was drafted in the ...

and Tim Ruddy. He earned a reputation as one of the best line coaches in college football history. Moore was the namesake of the

Joe Moore Award The Joe Moore Award is awarded annually to the best college football offensive line unit. The award is presented by the Joe Moore Foundation for Teamwork and they state that "The Joe Moore Award for the Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit will a ...

, awarded annually to the best collegiate football offensive line unit. In 1996 Moore was fired by Notre Dame head coach Bob Davie. Moore contended that it was illegal for

Davie Davie is a surname and a form of the masculine given name David. It can refer to: Surname * Alan Davie (1920-2014), Scottish painter and musician * Alexander Edmund Batson Davie (1847-1889), Canadian politician and eighth Premier of British Col ...

to use age as a reason for firing him and a jury agreed, awarding Moore $150,000 in pay and almost $400,000 in legal fees in 1998. Prior to joining the Pitt staff in 1977, Moore was head coach at Upper St. Clair High School in suburban Pittsburgh. From 1972-1975 Moore's USC teams were a combined 32-6-2. In 1974 and 1975 USC finished as WPIAL Co-Champions, tying Gateway High School 6-6 in 1974 and Newcastle High School 0-0 in 1975. The Defensive Captain of Moore's first USC team in 1972 was

Kirk Ferentz Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the current head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the ...

who is currently the Head Football Coach at the University of Iowa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Joe 1932 births 2003 deaths Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Temple Owls football coaches Sportspeople from Pittsburgh