John Roland "Big John" Huard (born March 9, 1944) is an American business executive and a former

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

player and coach. After playing

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 ...

at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

, he played professionally as a

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 ...

with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) from 1967 to 1969, with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

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) in 1971, with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

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 ...

(CFL) in 1973, and with the CFL's

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 ...

from 1973 to 1975. Huard served as the head football coach at the

Maine Maritime Academy Maine Maritime Academy (Maine Maritime or MMA) is a public college focused on maritime training and located in Castine, Maine. The academy was established by the 90th Maine Legislature on March 21, 1941. Unlike federal service academies, a congr ...

from 1987 to 1993. He was the head coach of the CFL's

Shreveport Pirates The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, in 1994 and 1995. Despite a relatively strong fan base, they were one of the least successful of the CFL's A ...

in 1994 and the Toronto Argonauts in 2000.

Playing career

Huard played

at the

for Black Bears from 1963 to 1966. He was drafted by the

in the fifth round of the 1967 American Football League Draft. He played three seasons for the Broncos before sitting out the

1970 NFL season The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the consummation of the AFL–NFL merger. The merged league realigned into two conferences: all 10 of the former American Football League, ...

. In 1971 he returned to the NFL for the

. After missing all of the 1972 season, Huard signed a five-year contract with the CFL's

. He was waived during the

1973 CFL season The 1973 CFL season is considered to be the 20th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 16th Canadian Football League season. CFL News in 1973 Both the Western and Eastern Conferences adopt the same playoff procedu ...

and claimed by the

. He remained in Toronto until his retirement in 1975. In 2003, Huard was the first player inducted into the "Ring of Honor" at Alfond Stadium and he was elected to the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 2014.

Coaching career

Huard began coaching in 1974 under Walter Abbott at Maine. He then became head coach of the

Acadia Axemen The Acadia Axemen and Axewomen are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. The on-campus sports facilities used by Axemen teams include Raymond Field for various field sports and An ...

, winning the

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup (french: Coupe Vanier) is the championship of Canadian university football. It is organized by U Sports football and is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. It is named after Georges Vanier, ...

in 1979 and 1981. Before the 1984 season he was hired by

J. I. Albrecht J. I. Albrecht (February 15, 1931 – March 11, 2008) was an American-Canadian executive who worked in college and professional sports for 53 years, notably as a general manager and several key director spots in the CFL. He also worked in NFL, NCA ...

to coach the

Atlantic Schooners The Atlantic Schooners were a conditional Canadian Football League (CFL) expansion team that was to begin play in 1984 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. However, team ownership could not secure funding for a stadium and the franchise application was w ...

expansion franchise. However, the team never played a game and Huard remained at Acadia for one more season before becoming the

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 ...

coach of the

Chicago Blitz The Chicago Blitz was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Team history The Blitz were one of the twelve charter franchis ...

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 ...

(USFL). In 1987, Huard was hired as head football coach of the

. Huard coached the Mariners until 1994 when he was hired by former boss J. I. Albrecht to coach the CFL's expansion

. That June he was fired by Pirates President Lonie Glieberman, citing "philosophical differences", and replaced by SMU

Athletic Director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

Forrest Gregg Alvis Forrest Gregg (October 18, 1933 – April 12, 2019) was an American professional American football, football player and coach. A Pro Football Hall of Fame Tackle (gridiron football position), offensive tackle for 16 seasons in the Nationa ...

before coaching a single game. Huard and Albrecht later sued the Pirates. Quarterback

Billy Joe Tolliver Billy Joe Tolliver (born February 7, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) for twelve seasons with the San Diego Chargers, Atlanta ...

and the City of

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

also brought legal action against the team in separate suits. He then served on the coaching staff at Maine's

Kents Hill School Kents Hill School (also known as Kents Hill or KHS) is a co-educational, independent college-preparatory school for boarding and day students. Kents Hill is located in Kents Hill, Maine, 12 miles west of the state capital of Augusta. It is the 30 ...

. In

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 hired by Albrecht again, this time as head coach of the

. His tenure lasted eight games with a record of 1–6–1. He resigned after a 51–4 home loss to the

British Columbia Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

. Huard is now the CEO of Northeast Turf in

South Portland, Maine South Portland is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, and is the fourth-largest city in the state, incorporated in 1898. At the 2020 census, the city population was 26,498. Known for its working waterfront, South Portland is sit ...

and the northeast representative of FieldTurf. He has donated turf to

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

Raymond Field Raymond Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. It is the home of the Acadia University Axemen football and soccer teams as well as the Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeaster ...

and

's Mahaney Dome. He oversaw the installation of FieldTurf at

Gillette Stadium Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Footb ...

during the

2006 NFL season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006. The season began with the reigning Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh defeating the Miami in t ...

Head coaching record

College

CFL

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Huard, John 1944 births Living people American football linebackers American players of Canadian football American sports businesspeople Canadian football linebackers Acadia Axemen football coaches Denver Broncos (AFL) players Maine Black Bears football coaches Maine Black Bears football players Maine Maritime Mariners football coaches Montreal Alouettes players New Orleans Saints players Shreveport Pirates coaches Toronto Argonauts coaches Toronto Argonauts players United States Football League coaches College Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Waterville, Maine Businesspeople from Maine Coaches of American football from Maine Players of American football from Maine