Richard Alvin Petitbon (born April 18, 1938) is am American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player and coach in 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 majo ...

(NFL). Petitbon first attended

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name of the Jesuit founder, Saint Igna ...

on a track and field scholarship and left after his freshman year to attend

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

. After playing

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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

as a

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 Am ...

at Tulane, he played

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly di ...

for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

from 1959 to 1968, the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

in 1969 and 1970, and 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) ...

in 1971 and 1972. Petitbon recorded the second most interceptions in Bears history with 38 during his career, trailing

Gary Fencik John Gary Fencik (born June 11, 1954) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Chicago Bears. He played college football at Yale University and joined Chi ...

. Petitbon also holds the Bears record for the longest interception return, after scoring on a 101-yard return against the Rams in 1962. , he also holds the Bears record for the most interceptions in a game (3 against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

in 1967) and most interception return yards in a season (212 in 1962). He returned to the Redskins in 1978 as secondary coach under

Jack Pardee John Perry Pardee (April 19, 1936 – April 1, 2013) was an American football linebacker and the only head coach to helm a team in college football, the National Football League (NFL), the United States Football League (USFL), the World Footbal ...

. From 1981 to 1992, he was the Redskins' defensive coordinator 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 ...

, either alone or sharing the job with Larry Peccatiello. During this time period, Petitbon was considered one of the top coordinators in football. When Gibbs initially retired in 1993, Petitbon was named his successor. He did not find the same success as a head coach, lasting only one season. Aging and underachieving, the team finished 4-12 and Petibon was dismissed by Redskins owner

Jack Kent Cooke Jack Kent Cooke (October 25, 1912 – April 6, 1997) was a Canadian-American businessman in broadcasting and professional sports. Starting in sales, Cooke was very successful, eventually becoming a partner in a network of radio stations and news ...

in favor of archrival

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

offensive coordinator

Norv Turner Norval Turner (born May 17, 1952) is an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL). An offensive assistant for the majority of his coaching career, he came to prominence as the Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator during the ...

. Following his firing, Petitbon never took another job in the NFL. His brother,

John Petitbon John Petitbon (June 4, 1931 – November 11, 2006) was an American football player. A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Petitbon was a three-sport star in baseball, basketball, and football at Jesuit High School. He was named the Louisiana All- ...

, also played in the NFL. Both Petitbon brothers are members of the

Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame is located in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame & Northwest Louisiana History Museum – Natchitoches in a new facility in the downtown historic district in Natchitoches, Louisiana. After years of planning and con ...

and the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame.NOLA.com
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Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Petitbon, Richie 1938 births Living people American football safeties Chicago Bears players Los Angeles Rams players Tulane Green Wave football players Washington Redskins players Washington Redskins coaches Washington Redskins head coaches Western Conference Pro Bowl players Coaches of American football from Louisiana Players of American football from New Orleans