Lawrence Patrick Hill (born December 17, 1951) is 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, former player, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach at

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

from 1997 until his dismissal following the 2011 season. In 15 seasons as head coach as Fresno State, he led the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

appearances, and a share of the 1999

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

title.

Early positions

Hill attended

Rim of the World High School Rim of the World High School is a public secondary school located in Lake Arrowhead, California, at the top of the mountain overlooking the San Bernardino Valley. It is part of the Rim of the World Unified School District and is the only compreh ...

Lake Arrowhead, California Lake Arrowhead is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) in the San Bernardino Mountains of San Bernardino County, California, surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest, and surrounding the eponymous Lake Arrowhe ...

, graduating in 1970. A 1973 graduate of, and an offensive lineman for the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

, Hill was the offensive line coach at Los Angeles Valley College from 1974 to 1976. In 1977, he became the offensive line coach at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, where he would stay through 1980. This was followed by short stints at

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

in 1981 and 1982, and a one-year stay in 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 ...

with the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

in 1983. After an assistant coaching job at Fresno State, Hill went on to become the offensive coordinator at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

from 1990 to 1991. He then went to coach 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 ...

with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

(under

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...

) and the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

, where he served as the tight ends and offensive line coach for both teams.

Fresno State

Hill took on the head coaching job at Fresno State in 1997, where he had previously served as the offensive line coach from 1984 to 1989. Coming into the 2005 season, Hill had compiled a 64-38 win–loss record, including a 44-19

mark, one WAC title, and a 10-8 record against BCS AQ conference teams, the most by any BCS non-AQ conference team. Under Hill Fresno State routinely scheduled—and defeated—highly ranked opponents from power conferences. Taking his cue from how

Bobby Bowden Robert Cleckler Bowden (; November 8, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was an American college football coach. Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009 and is considered one of the greatest college ...

turned

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

into a powerhouse, Hill let it be known soon after arriving in Fresno that his Bulldogs would play "anybody, anywhere, anytime." Hill currently has 18 wins over BCS automatic qualifying conference teams, which is tied for the most wins for any non-automatic qualifier with

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. In 2001, when Fresno State went 11-3, they reeled off wins over Colorado, #22 Oregon State, and #23 Wisconsin in 3 of their first 4 games. In 2002 they beat #25 Colorado State. In 2004 they beat #13 Kansas State. During his tenure, Hill also went 4-7 in bowl games. On December 4, 2011, Hill was let go by Fresno State, despite his achievements for such a location. During his tenure, he coached a number of NFL players including: QB

Tom Brandstater Thomas Brandstater (born October 21, 1984) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. He played college football for the Fresno State Bulldogs. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2009 NF ...

, QB David Carr, QB

Derek Carr Derek Dallas Carr (born March 28, 1991) is an American football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Fresno State, where he twice received first-team All- MWC honors, and w ...

, QB

Billy Volek John William Volek (born April 28, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League. He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2000 and also played for the San Diego Chargers ...

, RB Ryan Mathews, RB Lonyae Miller, RB Michael Pittman, RB Bryson Sumlin, RB

Derrick Ward Derrick LaRon Ward (born August 30, 1980) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the New York Jets in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft and played for the New York Giants, Tampa ...

, RB

Dwayne Wright Dwayne Wright (born June 2, 1983) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Wright was a member of the New York Gia ...

, WR

Seyi Ajirotutu Oluseyi Ajirotutu (born June 12, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver and special teamer. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Fresno State. He is of Nigerian or ...

, WR

Bernard Berrian Bernard Berrian (born December 27, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Berrian also played for the Minnes ...

, WR Paul Williams, WR Devon Wylie, TE

Bear Pascoe McKenna Sean "Bear" Pascoe (born February 23, 1986) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Early life Born and r ...

, OT Chris Conrad, OG

Logan Mankins Logan Lee Mankins (born March 10, 1982) is a former American football guard who played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New England Patriots. After playing college football at Fresno State, he was drafte ...

, OG Ryan Wendell, LB

Orlando Huff Orlando Huff (born August 14, 1978) is a former American Football linebacker. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Huff was also a member of the Seattle Sea ...

, CB

Vernon Fox Vernon Lee Fox, III (born October 9, 1979) is a retired American football safety. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent after the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Fox is currently an or ...

, CB Richard Marshall, CB Will Middleton, S

Tyrone Culver Lanell Tyrone Culver (born July 6, 1983) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Early years Culver attended Palmdale ...

, S

Cory Hall Cory Hall (born December 5, 1976) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Edison High School in Fresno, California. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft. ...

, and S James Sanders.

Atlanta Falcons

On January 28, 2012, Hill agreed to be the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

' offensive line coach. He left the team after the 2013 season.

Broadcasting career

Hill joined 940 ESPN as color commentator for Fresno State football broadcasts effective in the 2015 season.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Pat 1951 births Living people American football offensive linemen American sports radio personalities Arizona Wildcats football coaches Baltimore Ravens coaches College football announcers Calgary Stampeders coaches Cleveland Browns coaches Fresno State Bulldogs football coaches UC Riverside Highlanders football players Utah Utes football coaches UNLV Rebels football coaches Junior college football coaches in the United States Sportspeople from Los Angeles Sportspeople from San Bernardino County, California Players of American football from Los Angeles Coaches of American football from California Sports coaches from Los Angeles