 Rauch on 1950 Bowman football card | |
| No. 18 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1927-08-20)August 20, 1927 Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died: | June 10, 2008(2008-06-10) (aged 80) Oldsmar, Florida, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Yeadon (PA) |
| College: | Georgia |
| NFL draft: | 1949: 1st round,2nd pick |
| Career history | |
As a player: | |
| |
As a coach: | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season: | 40–28–2 (.586) |
| Postseason: | 2–2 (.500) |
| Career: | 42–30–2 (.586) |
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |
| Stats atPro Football Reference | |
John Rauch (August 20, 1927 – June 10, 2008), also known by his nickname "Johnny Rauch", was anAmerican football player and coach. He was head coach of theOakland Raiders in the team's loss to theGreen Bay Packers inSuper Bowl II in early 1968.
Rauch's football playing career almost ended before it began. At the age of 14, he was diagnosed with aheart murmur and instructed to give up the sport. Ignoring the dire warnings, Rauch was a three-sport star atYeadon High School, then put together an outstandingcollege football career. Earning the startingquarterback slot for theUniversity of Georgia as atrue freshman in1945, he led theBulldogs to a 36–8–1 record. Included in these victories are four straightbowl game appearances, as well as an undefeated record in1946. On an individual level, he won first-teamAll American accolades following his senior year in1948, and left the school as college football's all-time passing leader with 4,044 yards.
Rauch was the second overall pick in the1949 NFL draft, taken by theDetroit Lions, but then sent to the transplantedNew York Bulldogs in exchange for the rights toSMU'sDoak Walker. During his first season with the Bulldogs in1949, Rauch saw action on both sides of the ball, throwing for 169 yards and one touchdown, while also intercepting two passes. The following year, he saw action in eight contests, throwing for 502 yards and six touchdowns, then split time with New York and thePhiladelphia Eagles in1951, combining for 288 yards and one touchdown pass. In 1952, rather than accept a trade to the Pittsburgh Steelers to become a player/coach, he accepted an offer from University of Florida CoachBob Woodruff to join his staff in Gainesville.
In1952, Rauch began his coaching career with the first of two seasons at theUniversity of Florida. After spending the 1954 season atTulane University, he returned to his alma mater, Georgia, the next year as an assistant for four seasons. In1959, he headed to West Point, NY as anArmy assistant. Three years later, he went back to Tulane for the 1962 campaign.
In1963, Rauch moved to the professional level with theAFL'sOakland Raiders. Working under head coachAl Davis as the offensive backs coach, Rauch was the heir apparent and was promoted to head coach in April1966, when Davis became commissioner of the AFL.[1]
After leading the Raiders to an 8–5–1 mark in his first year, Rauch's squad lost just once during the1967 regular season and faced theGreen Bay Packers inSuper Bowl II inMiami. For his efforts, Rauch was named the AFL Coach of the Year.
In1968, the team again flourished during the regular season with a 12–2 mark, defeated theKansas City Chiefs in a Western Division playoff game, but lost theAFL championship game to theNew York Jets. During his three years as head coach, Davis' frequent interference with the day to day coaching role became a source of aggravation for Rauch. On January 16, 1969, Rauch dealt with the problem by resigning from his championship team to become head coach of the strugglingBuffalo Bills.[2][3]
The shift meant going from one of the sport's top teams to the team that finished with the worst record. However, with the first pick in the1969 NFL/AFL draft, the Bills selectedHeisman Trophy-winningrunning backO. J. Simpson. Rauch then caused controversy by expecting Simpson to become more than the one-dimensional running back he was at theUniversity of Southern California. He expected Simpson to become an all-around running back, necessary inProfessional Football, by also blocking and receiving passes out of the backfield, as Rauch had coached successfully at Oakland. Simpson refused to do these added things and friction began. The media, unaware that Simpson often refused to take extra passing drills, viewing them as 'punishment', began a campaign that Rauch was using Simpson as a decoy, which did not explain the indecisiveness in Simpson's style. Having several aging and many very young players, Buffalo improved by only two games to finish with a 4–10 record in1969.
Following a 3–10–1 record in1970, Rauch avoided being dismissed, and was seemingly prepared to handle the reins for the upcoming year. However, on July 20,1971, he abruptly resigned following a heated discussion with team ownerRalph C. Wilson Jr.[4][5] The source of the argument stemmed from Rauch's comments about former Bills' playersRon McDole andPaul Maguire. Wilson, without any consultation with Rauch, had traded the 31-year-old McDole to theWashington Redskins. Maguire who had become a problem with excessive lack of decorum on the practice field, was not offered a contract for the 1971 season by Rauch. On Rauch's first television show of the 1971 season prior to opening training camp, when asked about McDole, he stated, in loyalty to Wilson, that they traded McDole "while they could get something in return" due to his age. When asked why he did not offer Maguire a contract, he commented that all Maguire cared about was "how to get out of work and when's the next party." Training camp opened the next day and later in the week Wilson arrived at camp and indicated that he would issue a statement of support for the players (in spite of the fact that Wilson himself had traded McDole). Rauch said "if you do that, you can have my resignation". Wilson accepted.
After briefly serving as a scout for thePackers, Rauch was hired on October 10 as quarterback coach of theEagles. He served in that capacity until the entire staff was fired on December 18, 1972. Less than three weeks later, Rauch was hired as head coach of theCanadian Football League'sToronto Argonauts, leading the team to a playoff berth in his first year. After the team was sold to a new owner and a slow start to begin the1974 season, Rauch was dismissed on September 4.
Returning to the NFL the following year, Rauch served as backfield coach for theAtlanta Falcons, but then resigned on February 18, 1976, to become offensive coordinator of the expansionTampa Bay Buccaneers. That tenure would prove to be short after Rauch had repeated conflicts with head coachJohn McKay, over McKay's demand to only utilize the I-formation that Rauch felt could not be successful in the NFL. After a successful 334 total yards game against the Dolphins with Rauch and quarterback,Steve Spurrier, calling the plays, McKay commented that there wasn't anything they did in the game that they couldn't have done out of the I-formation. McKay called the plays the next week out of the I with no success, but complained about the offense's performance. Rauch had had enough with McKay and resigned.
The same day he resigned from Tampa, Rauch returned to Atlanta to work under interim coachPat Peppler, but the staff was not retained after the team won three of its final nine games.
Desiring to live in the Tampa area, Rauch was intent on at least "semi-retirement" in 1977. Later in the same year, Rauch became aware of problems with the football program at a local school,Admiral Farragut Academy inSt. Petersburg, Florida. He contacted the school and offered to help find a coach for the then-struggling program. When his search proved fruitless, Rauch felt an obligation to the school, and accepted the position as head coach for one season, on September 10, 1977; during that time, a successor was found. He also served as director of the short-lived Canadian-American Bowl, a postseason all-star game. Rauch also served as a part-time writer for theSt. Petersburg Independent, a local newspaper that had him cover his old team, the Raiders, when they reachedSuper Bowl XV. Upon the arrival of theUnited States Football League, Rauch returned to professional football as theTampa Bay Bandits' director of operations.
In 2003, Rauch was honored for his stellar career in the college ranks when he was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame.
Rauch died in 2008 at age 80 in his sleep, possibly due to a heart problem, at his home inOldsmar, Florida.
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| OAK | 1966 | 8 | 5 | 1 | .607 | 2nd in AFL Western | – | – | – | – |
| OAK | 1967 | 13 | 1 | 0 | .929 | 1st in AFL Western | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toGreen Bay Packers inSuper Bowl II |
| OAK | 1968 | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 1st in AFL Western | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toNew York Jets inAFL Championship Game |
| OAK Total | 33 | 8 | 1 | .798 | 2 | 2 | .500 | – | ||
| BUF | 1969 | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 4th in AFL Eastern | – | – | – | – |
| BUF | 1970 | 3 | 10 | 1 | .250 | 4th in AFC East | – | – | – | – |
| BUF Total | 7 | 20 | 1 | .268 | – | – | – | – | ||
| AFL Total | 37 | 18 | 1 | .700 | 2 | 2 | .500 | – | ||
| NFL Total[6] | 3 | 10 | 1 | .250 | – | – | – | – | ||
| TOR | 1973 | 7 | 5 | 2 | .571 | 2nd in CFL East | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toMontreal Alouettes in East Semi-Final. |
| TOR | 1974 | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 4th in CFL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR Total | 10 | 9 | 2 | .524 | 0 | 1 | .000 | – | ||
| CFL Total | 10 | 9 | 2 | .524 | 0 | 1 | .000 | – | ||
| Total | 50 | 37 | 4 | .571 | 2 | 3 | .400 | – | ||