| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1938-11-22)November 22, 1938 Webster City, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | December 12, 2022(2022-12-12) (aged 84) Gastonia, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Career history | |
Coaching | |
| 1969–1971 | Iowa Central (assistant) |
| 1972–1981 | South Dakota State |
| 1982 | Northern Iowa (OC) |
| 1983–1986 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers (OL) |
| 1987–1991 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| 1991–1994 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 1995–2003 | Iowa Barnstormers/New York Dragons |
| 2004 | Carolina Cobras |
| 2005–2007 | Arkansas Twisters |
| 2008–2011 | Iowa Barnstormers |
| 2012 | Tampa Bay Storm (OC) |
Operations | |
| 1969–1971 | Iowa Central (Athletic director) |
| 1995–2003 | Iowa Barnstormers (General manager) |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
John Gregory (November 22, 1938 – December 12, 2022) was an Americanfootballhead coach. He coachedcollege football and at the professional level in theCanadian Football League (CFL),Arena Football League (AFL), andIndoor Football League (IFL).
Gregory's first coaching job was atIowa Central Community College, where he was assistant head coach and athletic director of the new football program. In Gregory's three years there, the program had a 24–3–1 record and won the Wool Bowl in 1969.John Matuszak, who was recruited by Gregory, went on to become the number one pick in the1973 NFL draft.
His first college head coaching job was atSouth Dakota State, where he had 55–50–3 record from 1972 to 1981. Gregory is third in school history in coaching victories and his 1979 team had a single season best record of 9–2. SDSU didn't have a winning record the previous 11 seasons before Gregory's arrival.
After serving as Northern Iowa offensive coordinator in 1982, Gregory was theoffensive line coach of theWinnipeg Blue Bombers for the six seasons. In1984 Winnipeg won theGrey Cup in part due to Gregory's offensive line that helped set a CFL single season rushing record.
After the1986 season he was hired to coachSaskatchewan Roughriders, a team that had no playoff appearances in the past 10 years. While the Saskatchewan Roughriders finished in 4th (and last) place in the CFL West Division with a 5-12-1 record in his first season at the helm of the Western Riders in 1987, the following year, he led the Riders to an 11–7 record and a playoff berth. He won theAnnis Stukus Trophy as the league's coach of the year. In 1989, the Roughriders finished 9–9 and won the77th Grey Cup, their first since1966. After a 1–6 start in1991, he was fired and replaced byDon Matthews. He had a 35–43–1 overall record in Saskatchewan.
That same season, he was hired to replaceDavid Beckman as head coach of the 0–8Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He made the postseason two of the four years he was with the team and finished with a 24–40 record.
In 1995,Jim Foster hired Gregory to build anArena Football Leagueexpansion team inDes Moines,Iowa. Gregory coached theIowa Barnstormers to five division titles in six seasons and led the team to twoArenaBowls.QuarterbacksKurt Warner andAaron Garcia are considered two of the greatest AFL players ever. Gregory was named AFL Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996. The Barnstormers relocated toNew York in 2001, becoming theNew York Dragons; and Gregory left the team in 2003. Gregory later joined theCarolina Cobras as offensive coordinator underEd Khayat; after a 2–4 start to the 2004 season, Khayat was fired and Gregory took over. In his first game as Carolina's interim head coach, playing thedefending ArenaBowl championTampa Bay Storm, the Cobras scored 24 unanswered points in the third quarter to win 54–43; it was the team's first home win since 2002.[1] However, the Cobras suffered a losing streak that dropped them to 3–7, leading to Gregory's dismissal with six games left in the season.[2]
In 2005, Gregory came out of retirement to coach theArkansas Twisters. He went 5–7 in his first season and 10–6 in the 2006 season, losing the National Conference Championship to theSpokane Shock. In 2007, the Twisters improved to a 12–4 record, a franchise best, but lost to theBossier–Shreveport Battle Wings in the first round of the playoffs.
In 2007, it was announced that Gregory would return to Iowa to coach the new expansionIowa Barnstormers.[3]
On May 17, 2011, Gregory resigned from his position with the Barnstormers.[4]
In 2012, Gregory was the offensive coordinator for theTampa Bay Storm. It is his first position where he has not been a team head coach for more than two decades.[5]
Gregory was the commissioner of theNational Arena League during its first season in 2017.[6]
Gregory died on December 12, 2022, at the age of 84.[7]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota State Jackrabbits(North Central Conference)(1972–1981) | |||||||||
| 1972 | South Dakota State | 6–5 | 2–5 | 6th | |||||
| 1973 | South Dakota State | 5–5–1 | 2–4–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1974 | South Dakota State | 6–5 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1975 | South Dakota State | 7–4 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1976 | South Dakota State | 5–4–1 | 4–1–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1977 | South Dakota State | 5–4–1 | 3–3–1 | T–4th | |||||
| 1978 | South Dakota State | 5–6 | 3–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1979 | South Dakota State | 9–3 | 4–2 | T–2nd | LNCAA Division II Quarterfinal | ||||
| 1980 | South Dakota State | 3–8 | 1–5–1 | 7th | |||||
| 1981 | South Dakota State | 4–6 | 2–4–1 | 6th | |||||
| South Dakota State: | 55–50–3 | 29–33–5 | |||||||
| Total: | 55–50–3 | ||||||||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| SAS | 1987 | 5 | 12 | 1 | .294 | 4th in West Division | – | – | – | – |
| SAS | 1988 | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 2nd in West Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost West Semi-Final |
| SAS | 1989 | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in West Division | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Won Grey Cup |
| SAS | 1990 | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in West Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost West Semi-Final |
| SAS | 1991 | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 4th in West Division | – | – | – | Fired |
| HAM | 1991 | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 4th in East Division | – | – | – | – |
| HAM | 1992 | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 2nd in East Division | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost East Final |
| HAM | 1993 | 6 | 12 | 0 | .333 | 2nd in East Division | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost East Final |
| HAM | 1994 | 1 | 5 | 0 | .167 | 5th in East Division | – | – | – | Fired |
| Total | 61 | 82 | 1 | .426 | 0 Division Championships | 5 | 4 | .555 | 1Grey Cups | |
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| Iowa | 1995 | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 2nd in AC Central | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost in AC Semifinals |
| Iowa | 1996 | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 1st in AC Central | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost in ArenaBowl X |
| Iowa | 1997 | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 1st in AC Central | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost in ArenaBowl XI |
| Iowa | 1998 | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 3rd in AC Central | – | – | – | – |
| Iowa | 1999 | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 1st in AC Central | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost in AC Final |
| Iowa | 2000 | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 1st in AC Central | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost in AC Semifinal |
| NY | 2001 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 1st in NC Eastern | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost in Wild Card |
| NY | 2002 | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 4th in NC Eastern | – | – | – | – |
| NY | 2003 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 4th in NC Eastern | – | – | – | – |
| CAR | 2004 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2nd in NC Eastern | – | – | – | – |
| ARK | 2005 | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 3rd in AC South | – | – | – | – |
| ARK | 2006 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1st in NC Midwest | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost in NC Final |
| ARK | 2007 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .688 | 1st in NC Central | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost in First round |
| Iowa | 2008 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 5th in AC Midwest | – | – | – | – |
| Iowa | 2009 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1st AC in Midwest | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost in First round |
| Iowa | 2010 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4th NC in Midwest | – | – | – | – |
| Iowa | 2011 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 4thth NC in Central | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 117 | 90 | 0 | .565 | 8 | 9 | .471 | |||
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