Robert Ford (American football)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | June 21, 1951 Belton, Texas, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Belton (TX) |
| College: | Houston |
| Position: | Offensive coordinator |
| Undrafted: | 1973 |
| Career history | |
| As a coach: | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Robert Ford (born June 21, 1951) is an American football coach. He won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Houston. He was previously Offensive Coordinator of the Orlando Guardians
Early years
Ford attended
As a sophomore and junior, he was a backup
Ford was inducted into the University of Houston Athletics Hall of Honor and the Central Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
Coaching career
In 1973, he began his coaching career in
In 1985, he spent one season with the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League before the league folded. He oversaw wide receivers Ricky Sanders, Clarence Verdin and Richard Johnson. Sanders grabbed 48 passes for 538 yards despite playing only 10 games, Verdin caught 84 passes for 1,004 yards and Johnson had 103 catches for 1,384 yards.[2]
In 1986, he was hired by the University of Kansas to be the wide receivers coach. In 1987, he accepted the wide receivers coach position at Texas Tech University. He helped to develop Tyrone Thurman, Eddy Anderson and Wayne Walker as All-Southwest Conference wide receivers and were also named the nation's best group of receivers by The Sporting News in 1988. They finished one-two-three on the school's All-time receiving list.
In 1989, he joined the
In 1991, was hired by head coach Jimmy Johnson to be the tight end coach for the Dallas Cowboys, where he helped to develop All-Pro Jay Novacek. He also contributed to the team winning Super Bowl XXVII, XXVIII and XXX.[3]
In 1998, he followed Johnson to the Miami Dolphins coaching staff as the wide receivers coach, where he had an opportunity to develop Oronde Gadsden, O. J. McDuffie, Tony Martin and Chris Chambers.[4]
In 2004, he was hired by the Arizona Cardinals to be the wide receivers coach.[5] He had the opportunity to coach Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson.
In 2006, he joined the Oakland Raiders coaching staff as the offensive quality control coach.[6]
Ford was officially hired by the Orlando Guardians on September 13, 2022[7] On January 1, 2024, it was announced the Guardians would not be apart of the UFL Merger.[8]
References
- ^ "Robert Ford - 2011-12 Football Coaching Staff". Texas Southern University. 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ "Driven by Ford". South Florida Sun Sentinel. July 30, 1998. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ "Dallas Coaches In for Long Haul". The Oklahoman. August 27, 1995. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ "J.J. HIRES FORD; SEIPLE TO COACH QBS". ESPN. February 8, 1998. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ "Pendergast tapped as defensive coordinator". ESPN. January 16, 2004. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ "Raiders plotting their free-agent game plan". East Bay Times. March 5, 2006. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ "XFL Finalizes Coaching and Football Operations Staffs for All Eight Teams". www.xfl.com. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
- ^ "Orlando Guardians won't move forward after USFL-XFL merger". Orlando Sentinel. 2024-01-01. Retrieved 2024-01-01.