| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | (1948-08-08)August 8, 1948 Springfield, Missouri, U.S. | ||
| Died: | August 21, 2021(2021-08-21) (aged 73) Brentwood, Tennessee, U.S. | ||
| Career information | |||
| College: | UCLA | ||
| Undrafted: | 1970 | ||
| Career history | |||
As a player: | |||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||
As a coach: | |||
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As a staff member / executive: | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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| Coaching profile atPro Football Reference | |||
Floyd Reese (August 8, 1948 – August 21, 2021)[1] was an American professionalfootball coach and executive in theNational Football League (NFL). From 1994 to 2006, he held the position of general manager of theTennessee Titans. Reese then served as an analyst onESPN'sNFL Live, and as a writer onESPN.com before joining theNew England Patriots as a senior football advisor.
As a general manager, Reese drafted threeNFL Rookie of the Year Award winners among his 11 first round draft choices: running backEddie George in1996, defensive endJevon Kearse in1999, and quarterbackVince Young in2006. Reese also draftedNFL co-MVP quarterbackSteve McNair.
Reese was a three-year letterman and three-year starter (making 28 of 30 starts) for theUniversity of California, Los Angeles.[2] He was voted UCLA rookie of the year in 1967.
Reese was part of a Bruins defense that gave up only 103 points (ninth best in school history) and posted an 8-1-1 record his senior year. Reese was anAll-American in 1969. He was voted the team co-MVP in 1969 (along with quarterback Dennis Dummit) making him the only defensive player ever to win the award. Reese was also one of UCLA's tri-captains as well as All-Pac-8. He was voted to theLos Angeles Times All-Time UCLA team in 1970. Reese played in theHula Bowl after his senior season and was voted the game's outstanding lineman.
Reese played one season in theCanadian Football League (1970) for theMontreal Alouettes. He signed with theToronto Argonauts in 1971 but did not play and decided to move into coaching that same year.
Reese was an assistant coach at UCLA from 1971 to 1973 and withGeorgia Tech in 1974. He was in charge of theDetroit Lions' strength and conditioning with head coachesRick Forzano andTommy Hudspeth from 1975 until the latter's dismissal with his entire staff on January 9, 1978.[3] He moved to theSan Francisco 49ers as strength and conditioning coach in 1978. Reese became theMinnesota Vikings' linebacker coach and special teams from 1979 though 1983 and was the Vikings' defensive coordinator in 1984. He returned to the post of linebacker coach in 1985. The next season, Reese began a four-year stint as linebacker coach for theHouston Oilers.
In 1990, Reese was promoted to the position of assistant general manager for the Oilers following an offer fromJerry Glanville, then head coach of theAtlanta Falcons, to join the Falcons as assistant head coach.Bud Adams wanted to keep Reese with the Oilers so he offered Reese the position of assistant general manager and the opportunity to one day replaceMike Holovak, then-Oilers general manager. Reese held that position until 1993.
In 1994, Reese was promoted to executive vice president and general manager, where he stayed while the Oilers moved toNashville, Tennessee, first as the Tennessee Oilers, then as the Tennessee Titans. He added the role of director of football operations in 2001. After disputes with Adams and coachJeff Fisher about the direction of the team (Fisher wanted more control in drafts),[citation needed] and realizing that Adams was not likely to offer him a new contract,[citation needed] Reese resigned his position with the Titans following the 2006 season, despite amassing the most wins (111) of any Oilers/Titans general manager.
Following his departure from the Titans, Reese joinedESPN as an NFL analyst and writer forESPN.com.
On January 27, 2009, Reese was hired by theNew England Patriots as a senior football advisor following Patriots vice president of player personnelScott Pioli leaving to become general manager of theKansas City Chiefs. Following the2009 season, Reese was a finalist for theSeattle Seahawks general manager position,[4] one that was eventually filled byJohn Schneider. Reese left the Patriots after the 2012 season.[5]