Donald Carl Breaux (born August 3, 1940) is a former

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 ...

player and coach. He played

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 ...

McNeese State College McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...

and in 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). He served two stints as an assistant coach under head coach

Joe Gibbs Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is an American auto racing team owner and former professional football coach. In football, he was head coach for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1992, and a ...

with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

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).

Playing career

Breaux attended

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...

and was a standout

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. He led the team in passing all four years from 1958 to 1961, was a three time All-

Gulf States Conference The Gulf States Conference (GSC) was an College athletics, intercollegiate athletic college football, football conference that existed from 1948 to 1971. The league had members in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Many of the league's members f ...

selection, led the league in total offense in 1960, and was the team's MVP in 1961 when they won the conference championship. In four seasons, he compiled 159 completions on 304 attempts for 2,279 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was inducted into the McNeese State Hall of Fame in 1984. He played professionally in the AFL for 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 ...

in 1963, where he was one of four quarterbacks and lost both his starts. He compiled 70 completions on 138 attempts for 935 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions; in a Nov 3 loss to Buffalo, he had 239 yards and 4 touchdowns which remains tied for the Broncos rookie record. He also appeared in seven games for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

in 1965, though he only reached 10 attempts in two of them, and logged two touchdowns to four interceptions on the season.

Coaching career

Breaux was an assistant coach at

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 ...

from 1966 to 1967, where he worked with

under

Bill Peterson William E. Peterson (May 15, 1920 – August 5, 1993) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. His career included head coaching stops at Florida State University, Rice University and with the Houston Oilers of ...

, men who would have a major impact on the rest of his career. Peterson had attended Chargers training camp to develop an advanced pass system, and hired Breaux as a natural fit. Gibbs and Breaux reunited in 1971 at

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, where they became close friends after Breaux's "dramatic spiritual redirection." He was hired to his first NFL coaching job with the Houston Oilers in 1972, once again under their new coach Bill Peterson. He remained a professional coach for 27 years. Breaux is most remembered for his 17 seasons in two stints under

, from 1981 to 1993 and again as offensive coordinator from 2004 to 2007. Gibbs credits Breaux with inventing the H-back position, revolutionizing the passing game, and being an instrumental part of three

Super Bowl 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 ...

victories. Gibbs described Breaux as a born coach, and Breaux once said "I don't recall ever wanting to do anything else." Between jobs with Gibbs, Breaux was on the coaching staff of the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

in 1994, and

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

from 1995 to 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breaux, Don 1940 births Living people American football quarterbacks Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Carolina Panthers coaches Denver Broncos (AFL) players Florida Gators football coaches Florida State Seminoles football coaches Houston Oilers coaches McNeese State Cowboys football players National Football League offensive coordinators New York Jets coaches San Diego Chargers players Texas Longhorns football coaches Washington Redskins coaches People from Jennings, Louisiana Players of American football from Louisiana American Football League players

Playing career

Coaching career

See also

References