James Martin Michael Hanifan (September 21, 1933 – November 24, 2020) was an American 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 c ...

player and coach. He served as the head coach for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

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) from 1980 to 1985 and as interim head coach for the NFL's

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

for four games in 1989, compiling a record of 39–53–1. Hanifan played

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 rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

with the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

. He played one season professionally with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the

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) before being drafted into the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. After getting out of the service, he was an assistant coach in college and the NFL before becoming a head coach.

Playing career

Hanifan played

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, where he was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n and led the nation in receiving in 1954. He played professionally for one season with the

of the

. He was then drafted into the

Coaching career

From 1959 to 1965, he coached at the high school (Charter Oak High School) and junior college level, he developed a reputation as an outstanding teacher and an offensive line guru. He was an assistant coach 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 ...

from 1966 to 1969,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

from 1970 to 1971, and

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

in 1972. During this time Hanifan joined the NFL in 1973, serving as offensive line coach for the

until 1978. He was recognized as the NFL's Assistant Coach of the Year in 1977. After one year with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, Hanifan returned to the Cardinals and was their head coach from 1980 to 1985. Hanifan went 39–49–1 in his six seasons with the Cardinals, leading St. Louis to the 16-team playoff tournament during the strike-shortened 1982 season. The "Gridbirds" went 8–7–1 in 1983 with a victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...

, and in 1984, St. Louis was in position to win the

NFC East The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys ...

championship with a victory in the season finale against 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) N ...

. But Cardinal kicker

Neil O'Donoghue Cornelius Joseph Connor Dennis "Neil" O'Donoghue (born 18 January 1953) is a former American football placekicker. He played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1977 to 1985 with the Buffalo Bills, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the St. ...

missed a game-winning field goal attempt, giving the Redskins a 29–27 victory and the division title, while St. Louis was left out of the playoffs despite a 9–7 record. In 1985, St. Louis started the year 3–1 but won only two of its final 12 games and finished at 5–11. Hanifan was fired that year by having the locks to his office changed during halftime of the final game of the year, against the Redskins. Hanifan is tied with

Jimmy Conzelman James Gleason Dunn Conzelman (March 6, 1898 – July 31, 1970) was an American football player and coach, baseball executive, and advertising executive. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964 and was selected in 1969 as a qua ...

and

Ken Whisenhunt Kenneth Moore Whisenhunt (born February 28, 1962) is an American football coach and former tight end who is currently an offensive analyst for Penn State. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was drafted in the twelfth round of the 198 ...

as the longest-serving head coaches in Cardinals history, with a mere six years of service. Conzelman coached the team on two separate occasions, while Hanifan's and Whisenhunt's tenures were consecutive. His 39 wins are the fourth-most in Cardinals history behind

Bruce Arians Bruce Charles Arians (born October 3, 1952) is an American football executive and former coach in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2022, he has been a senior football consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians was previously the he ...

(50), Ken Whisenhunt (49) and

Don Coryell Donald David Coryell (October 17, 1924 – July 1, 2010) was an American football coach, who coached in the National Football League (NFL) first with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1973 to 1977 and then the San Diego Chargers from 1978 to 1986. W ...

(42). Hanifan resumed his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Falcons (1987–1989), and he served as the interim head coach when

Marion Campbell Francis Marion Campbell (May 25, 1929 – July 13, 2016) was an American football defensive lineman and coach. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs from 1949 until 1951, where he was appropriately nicknamed " Swamp Fox" because of ...

was fired. He spent seven seasons as offensive line coach for the Washington Redskins (1990–1996) and

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 ...

(1997–2003) before retiring.

Head coaching record

Commentator career

From 2004 to 2008, Hanifan was a

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...

for the Rams radio broadcast team and hosted a weekly show on St. Louis station KLOU. During his time in the booth, Hanifan was known for praising and critiquing players, a style that was described as a "refreshing, straight-from-the-gut manner rarely heard anymore". Effective for the Rams' 2009 move to 101 ESPN, Hanifan has been replaced as the lead color commentator by former Super Bowl champion

D'Marco Farr D'Marco Marcellus Farr (born June 9, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Rams from 1994 to 2000 and reco ...

, and has been relegated to the analyst role on the pregame and postgame shows. The move has caused quite a stir among St. Louisans, inspiring several negatively toned articles by

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...

columnist Dan Caesar, begging the Rams to reinstate Hanifan to the broadcast booth, his argument being that Rams fans will not listen to the broadcasts if Hanifan is not there. In August 2011, Hanifan's role was reduced further to a Thursday evening piece and a taped preview played during the pre-game.

Autobiography

Hanifan wrote an autobiography recounting his career titled "Beyond X's and O's: My Thirty Years in Football." He also produced a series of instructional videos on offensive line play.

Death

Hanifan died on November 24, 2020, in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

at age 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanifan, Jim 1933 births 2020 deaths Atlanta Falcons coaches Atlanta Falcons head coaches California Golden Bears football coaches California Golden Bears football players High school football coaches in California Glendale Vaqueros football coaches Players of American football from Compton, California San Diego Chargers coaches San Diego State Aztecs football coaches Sportspeople from Compton, California Sportswriters from California St. Louis Cardinals (football) coaches St. Louis Rams announcers St. Louis Rams coaches Toronto Argonauts players Utah Utes football coaches Washington Redskins coaches St. Louis Cardinals (football) head coaches

Playing career

Coaching career

Head coaching record

Commentator career

Autobiography

Death

See also

References