Nick Nicolau
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 5, 1933 Southern Connecticut |
| Position(s) | Connecticut (assistant) |
| 1973–1975 | Kentucky (RB) |
| 1976 | Kent State (assistant) |
| 1977 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (RB) |
| 1978–1979 | Montreal Alouettes (RB) |
| 1980 | New Orleans Saints (RB) |
| 1981 | Denver Broncos (special assistant) |
| 1982–1987 | Denver Broncos (RB) |
| 1988 | Los Angeles Raiders (WR) |
| 1989–1991 | Buffalo Bills (WR) |
| 1992–1994 | Indianapolis Colts (OC) |
| 1995–1996 | Jacksonville Jaguars (TE) |
| 1997–1998 | San Diego Chargers (AHC) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 24–22 |
| Bowls | 0–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 SCSU Athletic Hall of Fame (1995) | |
Anthero "Nick" Nicolau (May 5, 1933 – December 6, 2014) was a longtime
He spent most of the 1960s -'70s coaching at college programs such as Bridgeport (Head Coach), Massachusetts, Connecticut, Kentucky, and Kent State.
Nicolau broke into the NFL with the New Orleans Saints in 1980 under then head coach Dick Stanfel. He moved on to the Denver Broncos, coaching the running backs from 1981 through 1987. Some of the players he coached included Dave Preston, Sammy Winder, and Steve Sewell.
A dispute ended his tenure in Denver. He landed with the
In 1992, he became the offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts under head coach Ted Marchibroda with whom he worked in Buffalo. He helped the Colts to a 9–7 record in 1992 and an 8–8 record in 1994. He helped develop Reggie Langhorne as a receiver and worked with quarterback Jeff George as well. In 1994, he helped turn running back Marshall Faulk as a rookie while also working with both Jim Harbaugh and Don Majkowski at quarterback.
Nicolau then spent two seasons coaching the tight ends for the Jacksonville Jaguars, helping to develop Pete Mitchell as a blocker and receiver. In 1997, Jaguars offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride became the head coach of the San Diego Chargers and Nicolau followed him to California. There he served two years as the Chargers assistant head coach before retiring after the 1998 NFL season. He died at age 81, on December 6, 2014.[2]
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bridgeport Purple Knights (Eastern Football Conference ) (1965–1969)
| |||||||||
| 1965 | Bridgeport | 3–6 | 1–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1966 | Bridgeport | 7–3 | 3–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1967 | Bridgeport | 2–6 | 2–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1968 | Bridgeport | 4–5 | 3–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1969 | Bridgeport | 8–2 | 4–0 | 1st | L Knute Rockne Bowl | ||||
| Bridgeport: | 24–22 | 13–8 | |||||||
| Total: | 24–22 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
- ^ "Hall of Fame - Anthero 'Nick' Nicolau Class of 1957". Southern Connecticut State University. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
- ^ "Longtime football coach Nicolau dies at 81". ESPN.com. December 6, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2021.