Jim Criner (born March 30, 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 wi ...

player and coach. He was the head coach at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding ...

from 1976 to 1982 and at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

from 1983 to 1986, compiling a career record of as a college football head coach. Criner was also the head coach of the NFL Europe's Scottish Claymores from 1995 to 2000, and the short-lived XFL's Las Vegas Outlaws in 2001. Criner's 1980 Boise State team won the NCAA Division I-AA Championship and his Scottish Claymores squad won World Bowl IV in 1996. He was later a scout for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

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) under head coach Dick Vermeil, whom he assisted at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

from 1974 to 1975.

Early life and playing career

Born in Lurton, Arkansas, Criner was a four-sport athlete in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

at Coachella Valley High School in

Thermal A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

. He attended Palo Verde Junior College, then transferred to Cal Poly in

San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...

, where he played fullback.

Coaching career

High school football and college assistant coaching

Criner began his career as an assistant to

Jim Hanifan James Martin Michael Hanifan (September 21, 1933 – November 24, 2020) was an American professional football player and coach. He served as the head coach for the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1980 to 1985 and a ...

Charter Oak High School Charter Oak High School is a four-year comprehensive secondary school in the Charter Oak Unified School District. It is located in the City of Covina, California, in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles. The school serves 9th, 10th, 11th ...

(1963), and then was an assistant under head coach Leonard Cohn at Claremont High School (1964) and then was head coach at Clovis High School. He became a college assistant coach in 1967 at

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 ...

, serving two seasons as the offensive line coach. In 1969, he became the defensive coordinator at

Cal State Hayward California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the 23-campus California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 post ...

. In

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

, he became the secondary coach at

for two seasons, and in 1972 moved to

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

for a season. He was the offensive line coach in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

under

Pepper Rodgers Franklin Cullen "Pepper" Rodgers (October 8, 1931 – May 14, 2020) was an American football player and coach. As a college football player, he led the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to an undefeated season in 1952 and later became their head ...

and continued under Dick Vermeil in 1974; he moved to linebackers coach in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, when UCLA won the Pac-8 title and upset top-ranked

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

23–10 in the Rose Bowl.

Boise State

Following UCLA's Rose Bowl victory over Ohio State in January 1976, Criner was hired as the head coach at replacing

Tony Knap Anthony Joseph Knap (December 8, 1914 – September 24, 2011) was an American football coach. He was the head coach at Utah State University (1963–1966), Boise State University (1968–1975), and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1976–19 ...

, who had departed At the time, Boise State was a strong Division II program in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eig ...

, and had won three consecutive conference titles. Criner's first contract at BSU was for one year at $24,200. The Broncos won the conference title again in his second season in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, and the conference moved up to the newly formed

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

in 1978. Boise State went undefeated in conference in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, but were ineligible for the Big Sky title or the they had been placed on probation for improper scouting late in the 1978 season. Off of probation in 1980, Boise State won the Big Sky title with a conference record, and advanced to the four-team I-AA playoffs, and defeated

Grambling Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Heritag ...

in the first round (semifinals) in a fog The following week they traveled to

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

and defeated defending champion

Eastern Kentucky Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

for the Division I-AA Championship. Boise State again went 6–1 in conference in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, and tied for first with Idaho State in the Big Sky; both co-champions were invited to the expanded eight-team I-AA playoffs. The Broncos defeated Jackson State on the road, but were defeated at home in the semifinals by Eastern Kentucky. Idaho State won the 1981 national title, defeating EKU the following week in Texas. In Criner's seven seasons at the Broncos were in conference, and overall.

Iowa State

Following the 1982 season at BSU, Criner became the 27th head coach at

of the Big Eight Conference. He had a five-year contract for $58,000 but lasted only four seasons in

Ames Ames may refer to: Places United States * Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas * Ames, Colorado * Ames, Illinois * Ames, Indiana * Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name * Ames, Kansas * Ames, Nebraska * Ames, New York * Ames, Ok ...

. His record with the Cyclones was in conference and overall, ranking him 14th at ISU in total wins and 19th in winning percentage.Iowa State Coaching Records
He was fired from this position in when the school announced the organization had made 34 allegations of wrongdoing in the football program. Allegations included coaches giving players cash as well as giving recruits rides and meals.

Amiens Spartiates (Spartans), France

2012 1st Division Champion with the Amiens Spartans, France

Personal life

Criner has three brothers and two sisters; all three of his brothers had prominent sports careers. His son

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

was his defensive coordinator in the XFL for the Las Vegas Outlaws and went on to coach at Cincinnati, Minnesota, and Middle Tennessee State among others. Grandson Calin Criner (b.1997) is a defensive back at Eastern Washington University

Head coaching record

College

XFL

References

External links

Photos of Jim Criner from Boise State Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Criner, Jim 1940 births Living people American football fullbacks American football linebackers BYU Cougars football coaches Boise State Broncos football coaches California Golden Bears football players Cal Poly Mustangs football players Cal State Hayward Pioneers football coaches Iowa State Cyclones football coaches Kansas City Chiefs scouts Sacramento Surge coaches Scottish Claymores coaches UCLA Bruins football coaches Utah Utes football coaches Las Vegas Outlaws (XFL) coaches High school football coaches in California People from Newton County, Arkansas Sportspeople from Riverside County, California Players of American football from California