Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Seeig Deion Sanders as a head coach at Jackson State, I was thinking (off the top of my head) some NFL players who became longtime college head coaches:

Alex Agase (6 seasons AAFC-NFL player, 13 seasons college coach)
JIm Ostenfdarp( 2 seasons NFL player, 33 seasons college coach)
Forrest Gregg (16 seasons NFL player, 11 seasons NFL coach, 2 seasons college coach)
Jack Pardee (16 seasons NFL player, 11 seasons NFL coach, 3 seasons college coach)
Joe Walton (7 seasons NFL player, 7 seasons NFL coach, 20 seasons college coach)
Joe Morrison (14 seasons NFL player, 16 seasons college coach)
Maxie Baughan (12 seasons NFL player, 6 seasons college coach)
Billy Joe (7 seasons AFL player, 27 seasons college coach)
Warren Powers (6 seasons AFL player, 8 seasons college coach)
Bill Curry (10 seasons NFL player. 22 seasons college coach)
Ray Perkins (5 seasons NFL player, 8 seasons NFL coach, 8 seasons college coach)
Steve Spurrier (10 seasons NFL player, 2 seasons NFL coach, 26 seasons college coach)
Harold Jackson (16 seasons NFL player, 2 seasons college coach)
Sam Wyche (8 seasons NFL player, 12 seasons NFL coach, 1 season college coach)
Ken Riley (15 seasons AFL-NFL player, 8 seasons college coach)
John Bunting (11 seasons NFL player, 6 seasons college coach)
Guy Morriss (15 seasons NFL player, 11 seasons college coach)
Don Strock (16 seasons NFL player, 5 seasons college coach)
Mike Kruczek (5 seasons NFL player, 6 seasons college coach)
Herman Edwards (10 seasons NFL player, 8 seasons NFL coach, 3 seasons college coach)
Doug Williams (10 seasons NFL player, 9 seasons college coach)
Steve Wilson (10 seasons NFL player, 17 seasons college coach)
Jim Harbaugh (15 seasons NFL player, 4 seasons NFL coach, 13 seasons college coach)

Do you remember others?

Jim Harbaugh played 15 years in the NFL and has spent 10 years coaching in college.

Forrest Gregg helped his alma mater SMU for a couple seasons after they came back from the death penalty. Joe Kapp spent most of his career in the CFL, but he coached Cal for 5 seasons.

Steve Spurrier is an obvious one. Ten years in the NFL and collegiately HC at Duke from 1987 to 1989, Florida from 1990 to 2001 and SC from 2005 to 2015.
Alex Agase, five years in the AAFC and NFL, HC at Northwestern from 1964 to 1972 and Purdue from 1973 to 1976.

Thank you all! How could I forget Spurrier and Harbaugh?

Teo wrote:Seeig Deion Sanders as a head coach at Jackson State, I was thinking (off the top of my head) some NFL players who became longtime college head coaches:

Joe Walton (7 seasons NFL player, 7 seasons NFL coach, 20 seasons college coach)
Joe Morrison (14 seasons NFL player, 16 seasons college coach)
Maxie Baughan (12 seasons, 6 seasons college coach)
Bill Curry (10 seasons NFL player. 22 seasons college coach)
Ray Perkins (5 seasons NFL player, 8 seasons NFL coach, 8 seasons college coach)
Ken Riley (15 seasons AFL-NFL player, 8 seasons college coach)
John Bunting (11 seasons NFL player, 6 seasons college coach)
Guy Morriss (15 seasons NFL player, 11 seasons college coach)
Don Strock (16 seasons NFL player, 5 seasons college coach)
Doug Williams (10 seasons NFL player, 9 seasons college coach)

There are other players like Jack Pardee, Sam Wyche and Harold Jackson who were college coaches for three seasons or less. Do you remember others?

Herm Edwards. 10 NFL season as player and 3 currently at Arizona State.

An interesting one (although not a former player) is Bill O'Brien (not the former Texans coach), who was a back judge in the NFL from 1967 to 1983, officiating Super Bowl X, the Ghost to the Post playoff game and the Epic in Miami playoff game. O'Brien was the head coach of his alma mater, Southern Illinois, from 1952-1954.

Jim Ostendarp did not have a long career as a pro player with the NY Giants and Montreal Alouettes, then had a long and very successful run as a college coach at Amherst College.

Billy Joe played 7 seasons in the AFL. He was head coach at Cheyney (1972 to 1978), Central State (1981 to 1993), Florida A&M (1994 to 2004) and Miles (2008 to 2010).

Warren Powers spent six seasons with Oakland in the AFL from 1963-1968. From 1977-1984, Powers was the HC at Washington State and Missouri.