 Devaney from 1966Cornhusker | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1915-04-13)April 13, 1915 Saginaw, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | May 9, 1997(1997-05-09) (aged 82) Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1937–1938 | Alma |
| Position | End |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1953–1956 | Michigan State (assistant) |
| 1957–1961 | Wyoming |
| 1962–1972 | Nebraska |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1967–1992 | Nebraska |
| 1992–1996 | Nebraska (AD emeritus) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 136–30–7 |
| Bowls | 7–3 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2national (1970–1971) 4Skyline (1958–1961) 8Big Eight (1963–1966, 1969–1972) | |
| Awards | |
| Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (1971) Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award (1971) Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1994) 3×Big Eight Coach of the Year (1962−1964) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1981 (profile) | |
Robert Simon Devaney (April 13, 1915 – May 9, 1997) was acollege football coach. He served as the head coach at theUniversity of Wyoming from 1957 to 1961 and at theUniversity of Nebraska from 1962 to 1972, compiling a career record of 136–30–7 (.806). Devaney'sNebraska Cornhuskers won consecutivenational championships in1970 and1971 and three consecutiveOrange Bowls.
Devaney also served as theathletic director at Nebraska from 1967 to 1993, and was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1981.
Devaney graduated fromAlma College in 1939, where he playedend on the football team. Devaney coachedhigh school football inMichigan at Big Beaver, Keego Harbor, Saginaw, andAlpena, before joining theMichigan State Spartans staff as an assistant coach underBiggie Munn and continuing underDuffy Daugherty.
Devaney's first college head coaching job was at theUniversity of Wyoming, where he went 35–10–5 (.750) in five seasons (1957–1961). TheCowboys won theSun Bowl in his second season and won or shared theSkyline Conference title in his final four seasons inLaramie. Devaney was released from his contract by the university's board of trustees inFebruary 1962,[1][2] and was hired at theUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln at an annual salary of$17,000.[3]
Devaney was the fourth choice of Nebraska's athletic director,Tippy Dye.Utah'sRay Nagel andUtah State'sJohn Ralston had turned down the job. Michigan State coachDuffy Daugherty also turned down Dye, but recommended Devaney, his former assistant, for the Cornhuskers. When Devaney balked at leaving Wyoming for Nebraska, it was Daugherty who convinced him to accept the position because he could potentially win a national title at Nebraska, a goal that Wyoming was unlikely to attain. Devaney joinedNebraska in 1962 and immediately reestablished the program as a force in theBig Eight Conference. Prior to Devaney's arrival, Nebraska football had fallen on hard times with seven consecutive losing seasons. The1961 team underBill Jennings went 3–6–1 overall and 2–5 in conference. After a winning tradition up until the early 1940s, Nebraska had only three winning seasons in the two decades preceding Devaney's arrival.[4]
Devaney engineered an immediate turnaround with a9–2 record in1962 that included a victory in theGotham Bowl atYankee Stadium over theMiami Hurricanes. It was the first of forty consecutive winning seasons for Nebraska. Devaney followed this up with an even better10–1 season thenext year, including a perfect 7–0 record in the Big Eight to claim the conference title and anOrange Bowl victory overAuburn. His success continued through1966, with records of 9–2, 10–1, and 9–2, bringing his record at Nebraska to 47–8 (.855) in his first five seasons. This had so revived Nebraska football thatMemorial Stadium was enlarged significantly by enclosing both ends. For the first time, Nebraska was on television once or twice a year and fans all over the state sat down to watch the Bob Devaney TV show each week, in which he used his folksy manner to review the tape of the game for all of the fans who hadn't seen it in person.[5]
Consecutive 6–4 seasons followed in1967 and1968; allegedly known as a drinker,[citation needed] Devaney became subject to a whispering campaign about whether he had peaked. However, he had brought in an innovative offensive thinker as an assistant coach,Tom Osborne. Devaney and Osborne revamped the offensive scheme, anI formation with an unbalanced line, and upgraded the recruiting effort. Nebraska began the1969 season at 2–2 start and in its fifth game needed a last-minute comeback at home to beat aKansas team that finished the season with only one win. But the Huskers kept winning and concluded the regular seasonat 8–2, then routedGeorgia45–6 in theSun Bowl. This set the stage for the highlight of Devaney's coaching career.[citation needed]
The1970 Nebraska team returned most of the key offensive starters from the previous year, and added sophomoreJohnny Rodgers, an explosivepunt returner andwide receiver, who won theHeisman Trophy in 1972 as a senior. Nebraska tiedUSC inLos Angeles early in the season and was ranked #3 going into theOrange Bowl againstLSU.
A late touchdown byquarterbackJerry Tagge gave the Huskers a 17–12 victory to finish the seasonat 11–0–1. This secured a share of thenational championship, after the other two undefeated teams in the nation,Texas andOhio State, lost theirbowl games earlier in the day.[6] The finalAP Poll, conducted after the bowl games were played, picked Nebraskaas champion,[7] while the finalUPI Poll, released in early December before the bowl games, had Texas first withNebraska third.[8][9][10]
With most of its key players back and its defense vastly improved in1971, Nebraska rolled through the first ten games. The top-ranked Huskers met unbeaten #2Oklahoma inNorman onThanksgiving Day in theGame of the Century, one of the most celebrated games incollege football history. A late touchdown by tailbackJeff Kinney gave the Huskers a hard-fought35–31 victory. When Nebraska crushed unbeatenAlabama38–6 in theOrange Bowl to finish13–0, the Cornhuskers were said by many to be the greatest team in college footballhistory.[11] In fact, the Huskers defeated the teams ranked second, third, and fourth in thefinal AP Poll: Oklahoma,Colorado, and Alabama.[12]
Devaney coached one more year in1972 and expectations were high for a third straight national title.[13] Although a disappointing loss toUCLA at theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum opened the season, the Huskers finished with a 9–2–1 record. The loss to UCLA ended Nebraska's 32-game unbeaten streak, which dated back nearly three years to October 11,1969, when they lost atMissouri. Although the Cornhuskers tiedIowa State and lost by three points toOklahoma in Lincoln in November, the season ended with a 40–6 victory overNotre Dame in theOrange Bowl, the Huskers' third consecutive victory in that bowl game. Nebraska finished the1972 season ranked #4 in the AP Poll.[12] In addition,Johnny Rodgers was selected as the winner of theHeisman Trophy. The UPICoaches' Poll, released before the bowls, had Nebraska at #9.
Following the 1972 season, Devaney stepped down as head coach at age 57 and hired his protégé to succeed him,offensive coordinatorTom Osborne. Devaney's overall record at Nebraska was 101–20–2 (.829) in 11 seasons, with nine bowl appearances and two national championships. His teams won or shared eight Big Eight Conference titles. His record in his final three seasons was 32–2–2 (.919), and his career college head coaching record at Wyoming and Nebraska was 136–30–7 (.806) in 16 seasons.
Devaney served asathletic director atNebraska from 1967 to 1992 and as athletic director emeritus until 1996. The university's volleyball/wrestling/gymnastics arena, theBob Devaney Sports Center, is named for him.
_at_Lincoln_Memorial_Park%2c_Lincoln%2c_NE.jpg)
Devaney died of a heart attack at age 82in 1997,[14][15] and is buried at Lincoln Memorial Park in Lincoln.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming Cowboys(Skyline Conference)(1957–1961) | |||||||||
| 1957 | Wyoming | 4–3–3 | 3–2–2 | 4th | |||||
| 1958 | Wyoming | 8–3 | 6–1 | 1st | WSun | ||||
| 1959 | Wyoming | 9–1 | 7–0 | 1st | 16 | ||||
| 1960 | Wyoming | 8–2 | 6–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1961 | Wyoming | 6–1–2 | 5–0–1 | T–1st | 17 | ||||
| Wyoming: | 35–10–5 | 27–4–3 | |||||||
| Nebraska Cornhuskers(Big Eight Conference)(1962–1972) | |||||||||
| 1962 | Nebraska | 9–2 | 5–2 | 3rd | WGotham | ||||
| 1963 | Nebraska | 10–1 | 7–0 | 1st | WOrange | 5 | 6 | ||
| 1964 | Nebraska | 9–2 | 6–1 | 1st | LCotton | 6 | 6 | ||
| 1965 | Nebraska | 10–1 | 7–0 | 1st | LOrange | 3 | 5 | ||
| 1966 | Nebraska | 9–2 | 6–1 | 1st | LSugar | 7 | 6 | ||
| 1967 | Nebraska | 6–4 | 3–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1968 | Nebraska | 6–4 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1969 | Nebraska | 9–2 | 6–1 | T–1st | WSun | 12 | 11 | ||
| 1970 | Nebraska | 11–0–1 | 7–0 | 1st | WOrange | 3 | 1 | ||
| 1971 | Nebraska | 13–0 | 7–0 | 1st | WOrange | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1972 | Nebraska | 9–2–1 | 5–1–1 | 1st | WOrange | 9 | 4 | ||
| Nebraska: | 101–20–2 | 62–14–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 136–30–7 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Assistant coaches under Devaney who have become college or professional head coaches: