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Richard Eugene Forzano (November 20, 1928 – January 10, 2019) 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 at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, most prominently as head coach 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 ...
's
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
from 1974 to 1976.


Early life and career

Forzano was born November 20, 1928, in
Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...
. He played football at
Kenmore High School Kenmore High School was a public high school in Akron, Ohio. It was 1 of 7 high schools in the Akron Public Schools district. The schools mascot was the Cardinals. They were a member of the Akron City Series athletic conference. History The origi ...
until he suffered a detached retina as a sophomore, which ended his playing days. He enlisted in the
Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
but was medically discharged as a result of the injury that left him with 20/400 vision in one eye. He enrolled at
Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...
and began coaching at Akron area high schools. A 1951 stint at
Kenmore High School Kenmore High School was a public high school in Akron, Ohio. It was 1 of 7 high schools in the Akron Public Schools district. The schools mascot was the Cardinals. They were a member of the Akron City Series athletic conference. History The origi ...
was followed one year later by a season at Hower High School. In 1953, he was promoted to head coach at Hower, where he stayed three seasons and compiled a 10–14–1 record. He completed his bachelor's degree in 1951 and his master's degree in 1955.


Coaching career

In 1956, he began his college coaching career an assistant at the
College of Wooster The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Church ...
before spending two seasons as a backfield coach at
Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...
. In 1959, he began a five-year stretch as an assistant with
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
under
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
coach
Wayne Hardin Irving Wayne Hardin (March 23, 1926 – April 12, 2017) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the United States Naval Academy from 1959 to 1964 and at Temple University from 1970 to 1982, compiling a c ...
. As an assistant, he helped recruit
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 ...
winner and
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
quarterback
Roger Staubach Roger Thomas Staubach (, -; , -; born February 5, 1942), nicknamed "Roger the Dodger", "Captain America", and "Captain Comeback", is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for ...
to Navy. Navy went to two college bowl games, the
1961 Orange Bowl The 1961 Orange Bowl was the 27th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Monday, January 2. Part of the 1960–61 bowl game season, the fifth-ranked Missouri Tigers of the Big Eight Conf ...
and the
1964 Cotton Bowl Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
while he was on the staff. Success at Navy led to his first college head coaching position at the
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...
in 1964. Over two years, he compiled a 7-10-1 record for the Huskies, but was named as the
Yankee Conference The Yankee Conference was a collegiate sports conference in the eastern United States. From 1947 to 1976, it sponsored competition in many sports, but was a football-only league from mid-1976 until its dissolution in 1996. It is essentially the an ...
coach of the year in his first season. In 1966, he moved up to become an NFL coach with the first of two seasons as the
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...
' offensive backfield coach. Returning to
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
in 1968, he served one year in that same role as a
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
assistant under
Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Clevela ...
. On January 15, 1969, he then took the head coaching position at the
U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...
. After putting together a 10–33 record with three defeats against rival
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, Forzano resigned on February 1, 1973, to become an assistant coach with the Detroit Lions under
Don McCafferty Donald William McCafferty (March 12, 1921 – July 28, 1974) was an American football player and coach who, in his first year as head coach of the Baltimore Colts, led the team to a victory in Super Bowl V, and became the first rookie head coach ...
, who had worked with him at Kent State in the late 1950s. Forzano became the interim head coach after McCafferty's death from a heart attack on July 28, 1974, just before the start of exhibition play and was named as the coach for the remainder of the season a few days later. After the 1974 season in which the team finished 7-7, the Lions signed him to a three-year contract to coach the team. Forzano gave
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 ...
his first full time coaching job with the Detroit Lions. Forzano and Belichick had known each other for many years, as Forzano coached with his father
Steve Belichick Stephen Nickolas Belichick (January 7, 1919 – November 19, 2005) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played college football at Western Reserve University, now known as Case Western Reserve University, from 1938 to 1940 and ...
at Navy and had briefly lived with the Belichick family in 1959. Forzano was known as a strict disciplinarian. However, Forzano was unable to lead the team to a winning record and was forced to resign on October 4, 1976, after the team lost three of its first four games. Forzano finished his Lions' tenure with a 15–17 record and never returned to coaching, focusing on his own company, Rick Forzano Associates. The company, based in Detroit, serves as a manufacturer's sales representative. Forzano also served as a commentator for
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
football games.


Head coaching record


College


NFL


References


External links


Rick Forzano Associates, Inc. website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forzano, Rick 1928 births 2019 deaths American salespeople Cincinnati Bengals coaches College football announcers Detroit Lions coaches Kent State Golden Flashes football coaches Navy Midshipmen football coaches St. Louis Cardinals (football) coaches UConn Huskies football coaches Wooster Fighting Scots football coaches High school football coaches in Ohio Kent State University alumni United States Marines Sportspeople from Akron, Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Detroit Lions head coaches