Robert "Woody" Widenhofer (January 20, 1943 – March 22, 2020) was a

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 ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

and longtime assistant 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 ...

(NFL). Widenhofer is best known for helping the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

Steel Curtain The Steel Curtain was the defensive line of the 1970s American football team Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). The line was the backbone of the Steelers dynasty, which won four Super Bowls ( IX, X, XIII, and XIV) in si ...

" defense that won four

Super Bowls The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

in the 1970s. He later served unsuccessful tenures as head coach at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

and

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. Widenhofer attended Riverview High School in

Riverview, Michigan Riverview is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,486 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Riverview is a suburb of Metro Detroit about south of the southern border of Detr ...

, and played

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 ...

at Missouri from 1961 to 1964 under coach

Dan Devine Daniel John Devine (December 23, 1924 – May 9, 2002) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the Univers ...

. He went on to receive a master's degree at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

Coaching career

Widenhofer began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

where he coached the defensive line. Widenhofer then moved to

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

where he served as linebackers coach. After several years as a college assistant, Widenhofer was hired to coach linebackers for the Steelers in 1973. He was promoted to

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

in 1979. By the time he left after the 1983 season, Widenhofer had won four Super Bowls and made the postseason nine times. He spent one year as head coach of the short-lived

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 ...

team, the

Oklahoma Outlaws Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

, before landing an opportunity at his alma mater, bolstered by a much-remembered ad campaign that urged Tigers fans to "climb on Woody's Wagon". While Widenhofer's team showed slow improvements, he only managed a 12–33–1 record in four seasons at Missouri from 1985 to 1988. Widenhofer returned to the NFL for six years as an assistant coach, serving as

for the

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 ...

under head coach

Wayne Fontes Wayne Fontes (; born February 2, 1940) is a former American football coach and college and professional football player who was the head coach of the National Football League's Detroit Lions from 1988 to 1996. His 67 wins and 71 losses are each t ...

, followed by two years as linebackers coach 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 head coach

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 ...

. He then joined friend

Rod Dowhower Rodney Douglas Dowhower (born April 15, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Stanford Cardinal football, Stanford University and Vanderbilt Commodores football, Vanderbilt University; in between he was the ...

's staff at Vanderbilt to serve as defensive coordinator. When Dowhower was fired after the 1996 season, Widenhofer was promoted to head coach. In 1997, his Vanderbilt team led the SEC in total defense. However, his second tenure as head coach was no easier than the first, as Widenhofer compiled only a 15–37 record in five seasons at the helm for VU. Widenhofer resigned in 2001. While unsuccessful on the field, the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

announced that Vanderbilt led the nation in football graduation percentage with a perfect 100% the year he left. Widenhofer considered retiring, but ultimately joined friend

Hal Mumme Hal Clay Mumme (born March 29, 1952) is a former American football coach and former player. He most recently served as an offensive advisor for the Dallas Renegades of the XFL. Previously, Mumme served as the head football coach at Iowa Wesleyan C ...

as an assistant at

Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it becam ...

and later

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

. Widenhofer announced he was retiring from coaching following the season finale game against

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 ...

on November 30, 2007. In January 2009 he was announced as the head coach of the

Alabama Blackbirds The United National Gridiron League (UNGL) was a proposed professional american football minor league. The league was formed in August 2007 and was originally called the ''United National Football League''. The league's inaugural draft took plac ...

of the

United National Gridiron League The United National Gridiron League (UNGL) was a proposed professional american football minor league. The league was formed in August 2007 and was originally called the ''United National Football League''. The league's inaugural draft took plac ...

, a new minor league that was scheduled to begin play in February 2009. The league's debut was repeatedly postponed due to financing issues, and in 2010 it suspended operations.

Personal life

Widenhofer had five children: Kim, Stacy, Ryan, Ross, Katlyn and grandchildren Addison, Mia, Jackson, and Sophie. After his recent retirement from football, Widenhofer resided in Florida with his wife Sabrina. After leaving the Vanderbilt campus in 2001, Woody worked in a toll booth in

Destin, Florida Destin is a city located in Okaloosa County, Florida. It is a principal city of the Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin, Florida, metropolitan area. Located on Florida's Emerald Coast, Destin is known for its white beaches and emerald green ...

for three years. Woody stated that he didn't have anything else to do and enjoyed meeting people. However, his wife Sabrina, who works for Spirit Airlines, got transferred to Dallas, TX. Woody did not return to the Vanderbilt campus since his departure. He died on March 22, 2020, aged 77.

Head coaching record

USFL

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widenhofer, Woody 1943 births 2020 deaths Cleveland Browns coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles football coaches Michigan State Spartans football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Missouri Tigers football coaches Missouri Tigers football players New Mexico State Aggies football coaches Pittsburgh Steelers coaches Southeastern Louisiana Lions football coaches Sportspeople from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches United States Football League coaches Michigan State University alumni University of Missouri faculty People from Butler, Pennsylvania People from Riverview, Michigan Players of American football from Pennsylvania National Football League defensive coordinators