Nick Skorich
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Position: | Guard | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Bellaire, Ohio, U.S. | June 26, 1921||||||
Died: | October 2, 2004 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 83)||||||
Career information | |||||||
College: | Cincinnati | ||||||
NFL draft: | 1943 / Round: 17 / Pick: 157 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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As a coach: | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com |
Nicholas Leonard Skorich (June 26, 1921 – October 2, 2004) was an American football player and coach.
Skorich played
Skorich then went into coaching, first at the high school level, then as an assistant with the Steelers from 1954 to 1957. After one year with the Green Bay Packers, he moved to the Philadelphia Eagles, who promoted him to head coach after Buck Shaw retired following the Eagles' 1960 championship season.
The Eagles remained competitive in 1961, winning 10 of 14 games, but fell to 3–10–1 in 1962 and 2–10–2 in 1963. Fired from the Eagles, Skorich took a job as a defensive assistant under Cleveland Browns coach Blanton Collier in 1964. The Browns promoted him to offensive coordinator four years later and head coach on January 7, 1971 upon Collier's retirement after the 1970 season.[1]
In 1970, the Browns had gone 7–7 in only their second non-winning season since beginning play in 1946. Under Skorich, the Browns went 9–5 in 1971, winning the
But by then Browns greats like Leroy Kelly, Gary Collins and Gene Hickerson had retired or were winding down their careers, and quarterback Mike Phipps was proving to be a disappointment. Cleveland dropped to 7–5–2 in 1973 and, in its first last-place finish ever, 4–10 in 1974. The Browns replaced Skorich with former Green Bay Packers star Forrest Gregg. Several players drafted under Skorich, including Brian Sipe, Doug Dieken and Greg Pruitt would play well for Gregg and his successor, Sam Rutigliano.
After leaving Cleveland, Skorich served as supervisor of
He died in 2004, after complications from heart surgery. In his memory his family started the Nicholas L. Skorich scholarship fund, which, holds a yearly golf outing.
References
- ^ "Name Nick Skorich New Browns' Coach". Bangor Daily News. Cleveland. Associated Press. January 8, 1971. p. 7. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
External links
- Nicholas Skorich Scholarship Fund
- Nick Skorich at Find a Grave
- "Upbringing served Skorich well" by Steve King, Clevelandbrowns.com, October 4, 2004, retrieved December 8, 2005.
Bibliography
- Carroll, Bob, et al. (1999). Total Football II. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-270174-6.