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Joe Galat (born April 22, 1939 inPainesville, Ohio) is a formerAmerican football player, coach, general manager, broadcaster, and youth executive.^[1] He is best known as a former college and professional football coach who starred atMiami University (Ohio) as a player. In addition to an extensive college coaching career, Galat coached in theNational Football League as a coach with theNew York Giants andHouston Oilers, as well as in Canada. Galat also worked as a national color commentator for theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Canada.^[1] He is the president ofAmerican Youth Football & Cheer. Established in 1996, the organization currently operates in 50 states and has more than 250,000 documented participants.^[2]

After playing forHarvey High School in Painesville, Ohio, Galat attended Miami University (Ohio) where he captained both the Miami Redskinsfootball andwrestling teams. The university known as the ‘Cradle of Coaches’ remains today a member of theMid-American Conference.^[3] Galat was inducted to the Miami Redhawks Hall of Fame.^[4] After graduation in 1962 Galat's football apprenticing would continue under the legendary coaching trio ofBo Schembechler,Carmen Cozza, andJohn McVay.

Galat was hired by Hall of Fame coachGeorge Allen to rebuild theMontreal Alouettes, who had been reincarnated as the Montreal Concordes. The team underNelson Skalbania had traded away their Canadian players for the rights to NFL free agents. The following year, the NFL players returned to the USA, leaving the team without US or Canadian talent.^[5]

After a tour as an assistant coach in theNCAA atYale University,Miami University, andUniversity of Kentucky, for theMemphis Southmen of theWorld Football League, and for theNew York Giants andHouston Oilers of theNFL, the Painesville native was hired as head coach and general manager of the thenMontreal Concordes in theCanadian Football League by then-owner George Allen.^[6] In the hockey crazed province ofQuebec, Galat hired the first French Canadian coach in CFL history, Jacques Dussault.^[7] Galat and Dussault initiated clinics to teach and motivate people to play the game of football in the province of Quebec.^[8]

Galat is most noted for compiling a quality football staff in Montreal. His staff went on to capture sixGrey Cup Championships.Wally Buono has 3 Grey Cup wins and is the winningest coach in CFL history.^[9]Eric Tillman has 2 Grey Cup wins while Dave Ritchie (football coach) has 1 Grey Cup win. Two others on Galat's staff,Chris Palmer was head coach of the Cleveland Browns and was also the Offensive Coach for the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.Tom Rossley served as offensive coordinator with theGreen Bay Packers.^[10]

Galat's CFL coaching tenure was unsuccessful in terms of results. His Montreal Concordes consistently finished under .500 each year and only made the playoffs once (in 1984). Near the end of the Montreal Concordes 1985 season with the team floundering, Galat, who was also GM of the team, resigned as head coach with two games to go in the season but stayed on as GM. Gary Durchik took over the coaching duties. The following season (1986), in which the Montreal team had returned to its original name of Alouettes, he left the team on August 1 (presidentNorm Kimball assumed the duties of GM for the rest of the season) to join theBC Lions mid-season as General Manager (taking over from the departedBobby Ackles), until the conclusion of the 1989 CFL season. With four straight losses to open the1989 BC Lions season, Galat fired head coach Larry Donovan and named himself interim coach for the final fourteen games. The Lions narrowly missed the postseason to theSaskatchewan Roughriders. Following the disappointing finish, Galat was released as GM of the club and replaced byJoe Kapp.

Galat was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.^[11]

With his time spent coaching and managing professional and college football teams, Galat volunteered some of his time to attend youth football league functions. When he became president of American Youth Football, Galat's strategy became simple: change the rules and traditions of the game creating unlimited weight divisions and restrict older kids from playing younger age kids. The National Football League works with AYF as a National Youth Football on making the game better for the kids.^[12] New England Patriots wide receiverRandy Moss is also giving back to the game as a spokesperson for AYF.^[13]

While returning to Montreal for his daughter's admission toMcGill University in 1999, Galat was asked by John Gilman, founder and former Chief Executive Officer ofFieldTurf, to help introduce the upstart company called FieldTurf, a replication of a grass sports field. Galat called on many NFL and Major College football coaches and general managers. The results of independent research proved that FieldTurf was a safer and more durable surface than a good natural grass field.^[14] In addition to his Presidential duties with American Youth Football, Joe Galat currently holds the title of Vice-President of Sales at FieldTurf Tarkett.^[15]

• Living people
• BC Lions general managers
• Canadian Football League announcers
• Houston Oilers coaches
• Miami RedHawks football coaches
• Miami RedHawks football players
• Montreal Alouettes coaches
• Montreal Alouettes general managers
• New York Giants coaches
• Sportspeople from Painesville, Ohio
• Players of American football from Lake County, Ohio

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