Ernest Edward Hefferle (January 12, 1915 – August 8, 2000) 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 wi ...

player and coach. He served as head football coach at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classified ...

from 1960 to 1961 and as the interim head coach for 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

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(NFL) in 1975. A football star at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Gh ...

, Hefferle pulled in a fourth quarter bomb from Boyd Brombaugh to win the 1937 Orange Bowl for the Dukes. He served as a high school coach in South Huntingdon, Pennsylvania and

Tarentum, Pennsylvania Tarentum is a borough in Allegheny County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is northeast of Downtown Pittsburgh, along the Allegheny River. Tarentum was an industrial center where plate glass and bottles were manufactured; bricks, lumber, ...

from 1947 to 1950. From 1951 to 1958, he was assistant coach at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

. In 1959, he was an assistant under

Mike Nixon Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

with the

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. He was head coach of the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

from 1960 to 1961, where he had a 7–12–1 record. On December 21, 1961 he resigned his position as head coach. From 1962 to 1964 and from 1970 to 1971, he was again and assistant at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1965, he served under former boss Mike Nixon on 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 ...

coaching staff. In 1975 Hefferle, then the Saints' director of pro personnel was hired as interim head after the firing of John North. He had a record 1–7 in his one half season as the Saints interim head coach.

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hefferle, Ernie 1915 births 2000 deaths Boston College Eagles football coaches Duquesne Dukes football players Miami Dolphins coaches New Orleans Saints coaches New Orleans Saints executives Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Pittsburgh Steelers coaches Washington Redskins coaches High school football coaches in Pennsylvania People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania New Orleans Saints head coaches