Bud Carson
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Brackenridge, Pennsylvania, U.S. | April 28, 1930
Died | December 7, 2005 Sarasota, Florida, U.S. | (aged 75)
Playing career | |
1949–1951 | North Carolina |
Position(s) | Defensive back |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1966 | Georgia Tech (DC) |
1967–1971 | Georgia Tech |
1972 | Pittsburgh Steelers (DB) |
1973–1977 | Pittsburgh Steelers (DC) |
1978–1981 | Los Angeles Rams (DC) |
1982 | Baltimore Colts (DC) |
1983 | Kansas City Chiefs (DC/DB) |
1985–1988 | New York Jets (DC) |
1989–1990 | Cleveland Browns |
1991–1994 | Philadelphia Eagles (DC) |
1997 | St. Louis Rams (DC) |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 27–27 (college) |
Bowls | 1–1 |
Leon H. "Bud" Carson (April 28, 1930 – December 7, 2005) was an
Player
Carson played defensive back for North Carolina from 1949 to 1951, then entered the Marines.
Coach
His first coaching job was at Scottdale High School in Southwestern Pennsylvania which he began in 1955.
Georgia Tech
After his discharge from the Marines, he went into coaching, working at
In 1970 the GT Band began playing the Budweiser tune after the end of the 3rd quarter. In tribute to the then head coach the words were actually sung as, "When you say Bud Carson, you've said it all!"[citation needed]
NFL
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach
After the 1977 season, Carson was hired as defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, and in 1979, helped guide them to Super Bowl XIV (against his former team, the Steelers). He later served on the coaching staffs of the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Colts before running the New York Jets' defense from 1985 to 1988. His first season saw the defense go from 21st to 8th, but his final season saw them stumble to 23rd.
Carson finally landed a head-coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1989, replacing Marty Schottenheimer, who was fired after a wild card playoff loss to the Houston Oilers in 1988. He was hired on January 27, 1989 over the other fellow finalist in Fritz Shurmur.[2] The Browns split their first six games before a four game winning streak had them at 7–3. They then suffered through a skid that saw them lose three of their next four games (with a tie to Schottenheimer and his new team in the Kansas City Chiefs in between). It took a victory on the final game of the year against Houston (after nearly letting a 17-point lead slip away) to clinch the Central Division (Houston and Pittsburgh had nine wins as well, but Cleveland had one less loss due to the tie). In the Divisional Round, they faced the Buffalo Bills at home. They narrowly beat the Bills 34–30 where Clay Matthews Jr. intercepted a last-second pass in the endzone to seal the victory. They advanced to the AFC Championship Game in Denver, who they had played twice before in the past couple of seasons. Once again, the Broncos (led by John Elway) prevailed. The Broncos led by ten at halftime and never trailed in a 37–21 victory where they had 497 total yards. In addition to 1989 being the last division title in team history as of 2022, it is the last time the Browns have reached the AFC Championship Game. The Browns won their opening day game against the Steelers 13–3. They proceeded to go on a skid, losing the next three games by scores of 3, 10, and 34. A narrow victory over Denver on October 8 ended up being Carson's last win as a coach. The team lost the next four games before the bye week, which had seen them lose 42–0 to Buffalo to go to 2–7. On November 5, one day after that game, Browns owner Art Modell fired Carson, stating that the firing was done to "stop the hemorrhaging".[3] Browns' offensive coordinator Jim Shofner became head coach and the Browns finished the season with a 3–13 record. Save for a 13–10 win over the Atlanta Falcons, the Browns were outscored 217–87, including being shut out 35–0 by the Pittsburgh Steelers and losing 58–14 to the rival Houston Oilers. In the AFC Central Division rival games, the Browns won on opening day against the Steelers, 13–3. They lost their remaining five AFC Central games however, being outscored by a total of 183–64. The 1990 team gave up 462 total points, the worst for any team in the decade.[4]
Carson returned for successful stints as the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles (the 1991 Eagles' defense accomplished the rare feat of being ranked No. 1 versus the pass, #1 versus the rush, and #1 overall) and Rams — by then in St. Louis — before retiring in 1997, due to health concerns.
Family
Carson, a former smoker, died in 2005 of
Head coaching record
College
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (NCAA University Division independent) (1967–1971) | |||||||||
1967 | Georgia Tech | 4–6 | |||||||
1968 | Georgia Tech | 4–6 | |||||||
1969 | Georgia Tech | 4–6 | |||||||
1970 | Georgia Tech | 9–3 | W Sun | 17 | 13 | ||||
1971 | Georgia Tech | 6–6 | L Peach | ||||||
Georgia Tech: | 27–27 | ||||||||
Total: | 27–27 | ||||||||
|
NFL
Team | Year | Regular Season | Postseason | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
CLE | 1989 | 9 | 6 | 1 | .594 | 1st in AFC Central | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Denver Broncos in AFC Championship Game. |
CLE | 1990 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 4th in AFC Central | – | – | – | – |
CLE Total | 11 | 13 | 1 | .460 | 1 | 1 | .500 | |||
Total | 11 | 13 | 1 | .460 | 1 | 1 | .500 |
References
- ^ Bud Carson Plugs the Dike
- ^ Archives, L. A. Times (January 27, 1989). "Cleveland Browns Pick Bud Carson as Coach Over Rams' Shurmur". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ "Carson fired as Browns coach - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1990 to 1999, in the NFL, in the regular season, sorted by descending Points Allowed
- ^ "Ex-NFL Coach Bud Carson Dies at 75". Forbes. Associated Press. December 7, 2005. Retrieved August 10, 2007.[dead link]
- ^ "Why Local Tv News Sucks".
Further reading
- Grossi, Tony (2004). Tales from the Browns Sideline. (Champaign, Ill.): Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-713-9
- Carroll, Bob, et al. (1999). Total Football II. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-270174-6.