| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1944 (age 80–81) |
| Playing career | |
| 1963–65 | Miami (OH) |
| Position | Tight end |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1969–72 | Chillicothe High School |
| 1973 | Miami Redskins (Asst.) |
| 1974–78 | Colorado Buffaloes (OL Coach) |
| 1979 | Illinois Fighting Illini (Asst.) |
| 1980–83 | Northern Illinois Huskies (OC) |
| 1984–85 | Montreal Concordes (OL Coach) |
| 1985–86 | Montreal Concordes/Alouettes |
| 1987–90 | Edmonton Eskimos (OL Coach) |
| 1991–94 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (OC/OL) |
| 1995–1996 | Edmonton Huskies |
| 1997 | Edmonton Eskimos(OL Coach) |
| 2002–2010 | Edmonton Wildcats |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 6-14 (CFL) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| 2006 Norm Kimball Coach of the Year Award | |
Gary Durchik (born 1944) is aCanadian football coach.
A Hall of Fame athlete atMentor High School, he was atight end atMiami University from 1963 to 1965. He got his first head coaching job in 1969 at the young age of 25. He coached theChillicothe High School Cavaliers for four seasons before returning to theMiami RedHawks in 1973 as an assistant. In his only season with the RedHawks, the team had an undefeated 11–0 season. Miami finished the year with the 17th overall ranking and defeated theFlorida Gators 16–7 in theTangerine Bowl. This season also began an 11-year relationship between head coachBill Mallory and Durchik.
From 1974 to 1978 Durchik was Mallory'soffensive line coach with theColorado Buffaloes[1]. In five seasons atBoulder the Buffaloes had a 35–21–1 record, appearing in two bowl games, both losses. He was an assistant coach for Gary Moeller for one year 1979 at theUniversity of Illinois before joining forces again with Coach Mallory atNorthern Illinois, where he was theHuskiesoffensive coordinator from 1980 to 1983. After a brief stint as interim head coach during the off-season between the 1983 and 1984 college football seasons, he was a finalist for the head coaching Job atNIU but decided to head to theCanadian Football League whenLee Corso got the head coaching job.
Durchik's next coaching position was as the offensive line coach forMontreal Concordes. Durchik replaced head coachJoe Galat for the final two games of the1985 season, winning both. He defeated theOttawa Rough Riders 30–20 in the East Semi-Final. He returned to coach the team (which restored the Alouettes name) to a 4–14 season the following year. The team would disband shortly after the start of the 1987 CFL season.[2][permanent dead link]
From1987–1990 he was offensive line coach for theEdmonton Eskimos. In 1987, the Eskimos defeated theToronto Argonauts 38–26 in the75th Grey Cup. Durchik's second Grey Cup appearance as a coach was a 50–11 loss to theWinnipeg Blue Bombers in the78th Grey Cup.
Next, Durchik was the OL coach and offensive coordinator for theHamilton Tiger-Cats from1991–1994. The team made the conference Semi-Finals in1992 and1993, both times losing to theWinnipeg Blue Bombers.
In 1995 Durchik became the head coach of the Edmonton Huskies (CJFL), whom he coached for the 1995 and 1996 seasons.
He returned to theEdmonton Eskimos in 1997 for one season as an offensive assistant.
In 2002, he was named head coach of theEdmonton Wildcats. In 2006, he led the team to theCanadian Bowl but lost to theVancouver Island Raiders by two points due to a late field goal. He also received theNorm Kimball Coach of the Year award fromFootball Alberta in March 2007. In 2009, Durchik and the Wildcats made a return to theCanadian Bowl but lost to theVancouver Island Raiders again. Durchik resigned from the Wildcats in November 2010.
Durchik has three grown children (Matt, Jennifer, and Lindsay) and four grandchildren (Kira, Jaxon, Colin and Elena).