Paul T. Boudreau (born December 30, 1949) is 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 ...

coach who is currently the special teams coordinator for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

. Prior to the bombers he last served as offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams 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). He has served as the offensive line coach for eight different NFL teams, one

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) team, and four college teams. No offensive line coach in the NFL has more experience as an assistant at the professional level than Boudreau, who entered his 29th season in 2015. Boudreau's offensive lines over the years have blocked for five running backs who crossed the 10,000-yard career rushing mark, including

Barry Sanders Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL), from 1989 to 1998 for the Detroit Lions. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and ...

Curtis Martin Curtis James Martin Jr. (born May 1, 1973) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He spent his first three seasons with the New England Patrio ...

Thurman Thomas Thurman Lee Thomas (born May 16, 1966) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He was selected by the Bills in the second round of th ...

, Fred Taylor and Steven Jackson.

Biography

Early years

Raised in

Arlington, Massachusetts Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The town is six miles (10 km) northwest of Boston, and its population was 46,308 at the 2020 census. History European colonists settled the Town of Arlington in 1635 as a village w ...

, Boudreau played

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

at Arlington High School. Boudreau attended

Bordentown Military Institute The Bordentown Military Institute was a private high school in Bordentown, New Jersey, United States, from 1881 to 1973. History The institute was created in 1881, when Reverend William Bowen (minister), William Bowen purchased the Spring Villa Fem ...

Bordentown, New Jersey Bordentown is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 3,924.offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

and defensive tackle. He received All-Prep honors from the Newark Star Ledger for the 1968 season, and graduated in 1969. Boudreau was widely recruited, but returned to Massachusetts and played for Boston College under coach

Joe Yukica Joseph M. Yukica (May 27, 1931 – January 22, 2022) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of New Hampshire (1966–1967), Boston College (1968–1977), and Dartmouth College ...

as an offensive lineman from 1971 until his graduation in 1973.

Coaching career

Boudreau began his coaching career as an assistant at Oxford High School in

Oxford, Massachusetts Oxford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,347 as of the 2020 United States Census. History Oxford was first settled in 1687 and was officially incorporated in 1713. It was the birthplace of Clara ...

. He then joined his alma mater where he specialized as the offensive line coach from 1974–1975. He continued as the offensive line coach at other colleges including the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...

(1976–78),

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

(1979–81), and the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

(1982). He then joined the Edmonton Eskimos staff in the

and was the offensive line coordinator from 1983–1986. Boudreau's first position in the NFL was with 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 ...

. In his seven seasons with the Saints, his offensive line placed in the top three in fewest sacks allowed on four occasions. In 1992, the Saints allowed a league-low 15 sacks. He then joined the Detroit Lions, 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 ...

, where his offensive line helped

rush for over 1,500 yards each season, and almost 5,000 yards total over three seasons. In the 1997 and 1998 seasons, Boudreau coached the offensive line for the New England Patriots under head coach

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC from ...

. Jimmy Johnson brought Boudreau to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

for the 1999 season. Johnson eventually resigned in January 2000 and was replaced by assistant head coach and defensive coordinator

Dave Wannstedt David Wannstedt (born May 21, 1952) is a former American football coach. He has been the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He was also the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh foot ...

, but Boudreau remained on the staff. In July, at the age of 50, Boudreau took a short medical leave of absence for kidney surgery. When he returned for the 2000 season, his offensive line allowed only 28 sacks, the fourth best in the NFL. In January 2001, Boudreau joined the

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. ...

, whose previous offensive line coach Tony Wise coincidentally accepted Boudreau's job in Miami. The Panthers had previously allowed a season high 69 sacks. For the 2001 season, Boudreau's offensive line set a club record of 31 sacks, which ranked 11th in the NFL, although the Panthers still finished with a 1-15 record. In 2002, the offensive line allowed 44 sacks, and the team finished 7-9. When Panthers defensive coordinator

Jack Del Rio Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. (born April 4, 1963) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a linebacker at the University of South ...

became the head coach of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

, Boudreau followed and served as the offensive line coach from 2003–2005; he also reunited with offensive coordinator and former Saints colleague Carl Smith. In 2003, his offensive line set a franchise record of 28 sacks allowed, ninth in the NFL, and running back Fred Taylor set a team rushing record of 1,572 yards.

Scott Linehan Scott Thomas Linehan (born September 17, 1963) is an American football coach who currently works as an offensive analyst for Missouri. He was most recently the passing game coordinator for LSU. He was previously the head coach of the St. Louis ...

brought Boudreau in as offensive line coach for the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

for the 2006 and 2007 seasons. In 2006, his offensive line allowed running back Steven Jackson to rush a career best 1,528 yards. In 2008, Boudreau became the offensive line coach for the Atlanta Falcons under head coach Mike Smith. The Falcons drafted highly touted and former fellow Boston College Eagle, Matt Ryan. Boudreau's line assisted running back Michael Turner in attaining a career high 1,699 rushing yards. Although the Falcons had winning records of 11-5, 9-7, 13-3, and 10-6 respectively, they failed to win a playoff game during this period, and Boudreau was released. For the 2012 season, Paul Boudreau returned to St. Louis as the offensive line coach, but under a new head coach,

Jeff Fisher Jeffrey Michael Fisher (born February 25, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach and general manager for the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League (USFL). He is a former cornerback and return specialist. He ...

. The Rams finished the 2012 season with a record of 7-8-1, with the tie coming against the eventual NFC champions and division rival, San Francisco 49ers. The 2013 season saw the Rams finish the season with a 7-9 record. In 2014, the Rams used their number 2 overall pick on offensive lineman, Greg Robinson, of Auburn. The Rams finished the season with a 6-10 record despite losing starting quarterback

Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings. He was also a member of the ...

to injury and splitting time between backups

Shaun Hill Shaun Christopher Hill (born January 9, 1980) is a former American football quarterback who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college fo ...

and Austin Davis. In 2015, the Rams allowed the fewest sacks in the league (18) and finished seventh in the NFL in rushing yards per game.

Personal life

Paul Boudreau met his wife Joan in Boston College. They have two children. Paul F. Boudreau (aka Paul Boudreau, Jr.) attended Boston College, and is a former assistant special teams coach for the St. Louis Rams and current assistant coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Jill Boudreau is the mother of four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boudreau, Paul 1949 births Living people Bordentown Military Institute alumni Detroit Lions coaches People from Arlington, Massachusetts People from Destrehan, Louisiana St. Louis Rams coaches Boston College Eagles football players Boston College Eagles football coaches Maine Black Bears football coaches Dartmouth Big Green football coaches Navy Midshipmen football coaches Edmonton Elks coaches New Orleans Saints coaches New England Patriots coaches Miami Dolphins coaches Carolina Panthers coaches Jacksonville Jaguars coaches Atlanta Falcons coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches Coaches of American football from Massachusetts Arlington High School (Massachusetts) alumni Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts