Paul David Wiggin (born November 18, 1934) 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 who currently serves as the senior consultant for pro personnel with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

. After graduating from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

in 1957,Traditions – Stanford University Official Athletic Site
he spent his entire 11-year playing career as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

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 Conferenc ...

until his retirement following the

1967 NFL season The 1967 NFL season was the 48th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 16 teams with the addition of the New Orleans Saints. The two 8-team conferences were split into two divisions each: the Eastern Conference ...

. Twice earning Pro Bowl honors, Wiggin was a key member of the team's defensive line when it won the 1964

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 majo ...

title with a 27–0 shutout of the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

. He was named an assistant coach with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

on February 14, 1968, spending the next seven seasons with the team until being hired as head coach of 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 t ...

on January 23, 1975. After compiling an 11–24 mark in less than three seasons, Wiggin was fired following a 44–7 loss against his old team, the Browns, on October 30, 1977. After Dick Nolan was named as head coach of 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 1978, he once again hired Wiggin as the team's defensive coordinator. Spending two years in the position, Wiggin then was hired as head coach at his alma mater, Stanford, on February 1, 1980. Despite the presence of quarterback

John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American professional football executive and former quarterback who is the president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Elway played college fo ...

on the team during his first three years, Wiggin was unable to lead Stanford to a bowl game during his tenure and was dismissed following the 1983 season with a 16–28 record over four years. Wiggin's efforts to reach a bowl game had come agonizingly close in 1982, when his team fell victim to what simply became known as The Play on November 20. In an incredible finish against the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of Califor ...

, the school's arch-rival, Cal lateraled five times in the closing seconds to score the winning touchdown.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiggin, Paul 1934 births Living people American football defensive ends Cleveland Browns players Kansas City Chiefs head coaches Minnesota Vikings executives New Orleans Saints coaches San Francisco 49ers coaches Stanford Cardinal football players National Football League defensive coordinators College Football Hall of Fame inductees Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Sportspeople from Modesto, California People from San Joaquin County, California Players of American football from California