View source for Jack Pardee

{{Short description|American football player and coach (1936–2013)}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}

{{More citations needed|date=December 2022}}{{Infobox college coach
| name = Jack Pardee
| image = Jack Pardee as Houston Cougars head football coach.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Pardee as head coach of the [[Houston Cougars football|Houston Cougars football team]]
| sport = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1936|4|19}}
| birth_place = [[Exira, Iowa]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|4|1|1936|4|19}}
| death_place = [[Denver, Colorado]], U.S.
| alma_mater = 
| player_years1 = 1954–1956
| player_team1 = [[Texas A&M Aggies football|Texas A&M]]
| player_years2 = 1957–1970
| player_team2 = [[Los Angeles Rams]]
| player_years3 = 1971–1973
| player_team3 = [[Washington Redskins]]
| player_positions = [[Fullback (gridiron football)|Fullback]], [[linebacker]]
| coach_years1 = 1974
| coach_team1 = [[Florida Blazers]]
| coach_years2 = 1975–1977
| coach_team2 = [[Chicago Bears]]
| coach_years3 = 1978–1980
| coach_team3 = [[Washington Redskins]]
| coach_years4 = 1981
| coach_team4 = [[San Diego Chargers]] ([[Defensive coordinator|DC]])
| coach_years5 = 1984–1985
| coach_team5 = [[Houston Gamblers]]
| coach_years6 = 1987–1989
| coach_team6 = [[Houston Cougars football|Houston]]
| coach_years7 = 1990–1994
| coach_team7 = [[Houston Oilers]]
| coach_years8 = 1995
| coach_team8 = [[Birmingham Barracudas]]
| overall_record = 87–77 (NFL)<br />23–13 (USFL)<br />22–11–1 (college)<br />10–8 (CFL)
| bowl_record = 0–1
| tournament_record = 
| championships = 
| awards = 
* First-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1956 College Football All-America Team|1956]])
* First-team All-[[Southwest Conference|SWC]] ([[1956 All-Southwest Conference football team|1956]])
* Second-team All-SWC ([[1955 All-Southwest Conference football team|1955]])
| coaching_records = 
| CFBHOF_year = 1986
| CFBHOF_id = 1771
}}

'''John Perry Pardee''' (April 19, 1936 – April 1, 2013)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zwerneman |first=Brent |url= |title=Game of My Life Texas A&M Aggies: Memorable Stories of Aggies Football |date=2013-07-01 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-61321-455-8 |language=en}}</ref> was an [[Americans|American]] professional [[American football|football]] player and [[head coach]]. He played as a [[linebacker]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL). As a coach, he is the only head coach to helm a team in [[college football]], the NFL, the [[United States Football League]] (USFL), the [[World Football League]] (WFL), and the [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL).  Pardee was inducted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] as a player in 1986.

==Playing career==
[[File:Jack Pardee 1959.jpg|thumb|left|Pardee in 1959]]
As a teenager, Pardee moved to [[Christoval, Texas]], where he excelled as a member of the [[six-man football]] team.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/hssports/football/stories/MYSA101506.01W.FBHsixman.main.30a4103.html |title=The six-man world: As small-town Texas drifts away, one form of football stands firm |first=David |last=King |date=October 14, 2006 |work=[[San Antonio Express-News]] |access-date=December 18, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061117000245/http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/hssports/football/stories/MYSA101506.01W.FBHsixman.main.30a4103.html |archive-date=November 17, 2006}}</ref> He was an [[All-America]] fullback at [[Texas A&M University]] and a two-time [[All-Pro]] with the [[Los Angeles Rams]] (1963) and the [[Washington Redskins]] (1971).  He was one of the few six-man players to ever make it to the NFL, and his knowledge of that wide-open game served him well as a coach.

Pardee was one of the famed [[Junction Boys]], the 1954 Texas A&M preseason camp held in [[Junction, Texas]], by football coach [[Bear Bryant|Paul "Bear" Bryant]].  He was part of the 35 left from the roughly 100 players who went to Junction. After completing college at Texas A&M, Pardee was selected with the first pick of the second round (14th overall) in the [[1957 NFL draft]] by the Los Angeles Rams as a [[linebacker]]. Pardee played for the Rams from 1957 to 1970, sitting out the 1965 season to treat a [[melanoma]] in his left arm.  Pardee was alerted to his own cancer after reading about Houston Astros pitcher [[Jim Umbricht]], who died from an aggressive form of skin cancer.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.chron.com/sports/texans/article/Family-NFL-great-Jack-Pardee-ill-with-cancer-4071441.php |title=Ex-coach, NFL great Pardee diagnosed with terminal cancer |first=David |last=Barron |date=April 1, 2013 |work=[[Houston Chronicle]] |access-date=October 30, 2016}}</ref>

Pardee was traded from the Rams to the Redskins in a multiplayer deal during the first round of the [[1971 NFL draft]] on January 28, 1971.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/29/archives/patriots-choose-plunkett-as-no-1-in-college-draft-spurning-trade.html |title=Patriots Choose Plunkett as No. 1 in College Draft, Spurning Trade Offers |last=Wallace |first=William N. |date=January 29, 1971 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=November 1, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.prosportstransactions.com/football/DraftTrades/Years/1971.htm |title=1971 NFL Draft Pick Transactions |website=prosportstransactions.com |access-date=November 1, 2020}}</ref>
He ended his playing career after two seasons with the Redskins at the end of the [[1972 NFL season]].

==Coaching career==

===WFL===
When the World Football League started in 1974, Pardee got his first head-coaching job with the Washington Ambassadors. The team later relocated to Norfolk, Virginia, as the Virginia Ambassadors, before finally moving to their third and final home in Orlando as the [[San Antonio Wings|Florida Blazers]].  The Blazers made it to the 1974 [[World Bowl#World Football League|World Bowl]] and lost by one point to the [[Birmingham Americans]]. Pardee's regular-season coaching record in 1974 with the Blazers was 14–6, and 2–1 in the 1974 WFL Playoffs and World Bowl. This was all the more remarkable considering that the Blazers went unpaid for the last three months of the season.  Some of the Blazers players relocated to San Antonio as the Wings for the 1975 season, and Pardee also moved on, signing on as head coach of the Chicago Bears for the 1975 season.

===First stint as a head coach in the NFL===
In 1975, Pardee was hired by the [[Chicago Bears]] as head coach.  He spent the next three years there, leading Chicago to their first playoff berth in 14 years in 1977, before moving on to the [[Washington Redskins]]. In 1979, he led the Redskins to within one game of making the playoffs, but in the season's final week, they squandered a 13-point lead to the eventual NFC East champion [[Dallas Cowboys]] and missed the playoffs. He was fired after going 6–10 in 1980. In 1981, he was hired as assistant head coach in charge of defense for the [[San Diego Chargers]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Don|last=Norcross|title=Pardee's task: put Chargers in Super Bowl XVI|date=July 19, 1981|newspaper=Times-Advocate|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-advocate/136310021/ B1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-advocate/136310054/ B4]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-advocate/136310021/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=December 5, 2023}}</ref>

===USFL===
In 1984, Pardee returned to his native Texas by becoming the head coach of the [[Houston Gamblers]].  The Gamblers played spring football in the [[United States Football League]].  The Gamblers had one of the most potent offenses in professional football, the [[run and shoot offense]], with [[Jim Kelly]] as quarterback.  The Gamblers merged with the [[New Jersey Generals]] in 1986, and Pardee was named head coach.  With Kelly and [[Doug Flutie]] both vying for the role of starting quarterback, and [[Herschel Walker]] in the backfield, the Generals were poised to dominate the USFL, but the league folded prior to the 1986 season.

===NCAA===
Pardee returned to Houston in 1987 as head coach at the [[University of Houston]].  During his three-year stint, the Cougars, using the same offense he coached in the USFL, produced the first-ever African American quarterback to win the [[Heisman Trophy]], [[Andre Ware]]. His team also became the first major college team in NCAA history to have over 1,000 total offensive yards in a single game, racking up 1,021 yards while beating [[SMU Mustangs football|SMU]], 95–21.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/75481-fsd-history-flashback-october-21-1989 |title=FSD History Flashback: October 21, 1989 |publisher=Bleacher Report |access-date=April 2, 2013}}</ref>

Not long after Pardee's arrival, however, Houston was slapped with crippling [[NCAA]] sanctions due to numerous major violations under his predecessor, [[Bill Yeoman]].  Among them, the Cougars were banned from bowl games in 1989 and 1990 and kicked off live television in 1989.  As a result, most of the nation never got a chance to see the Cougars set numerous offensive records during the 1989 season.

===Second stint as a head coach in the NFL===
In 1990, Pardee packed up the run-and-shoot offense and moved across town, and back to the NFL, by joining the [[Houston Oilers]].  He spent five years coaching a team that made the playoffs each of his first four years there, led by Hall of Fame quarterback [[Warren Moon]]. In 1991, the Oilers won their first division title since 1967 in the [[American Football League]]. During his time with the Oilers, Pardee fell victim to NFL notoriety during the 1992 season, when in that season's playoffs, the Oilers surrendered a 35-3 third-quarter lead to the Buffalo Bills, losing in overtime to the eventual [[American Football Conference|conference]] champions 41–38.

The Oilers won another division title in 1993 on the strength of winning their last 11 games [[1993 Houston Oilers season|despite their season being wracked with turmoil on and off the field]]. However, after losing in the second round of the playoffs, owner [[Bud Adams]] made good on a threat to hold a [[fire sale (sports)|fire sale]] if they did not make the Super Bowl. The highest-profile loss was Moon, who was traded to the [[Minnesota Vikings]]. Without Moon, the Oilers were a rudderless team. Pardee was fired following a 1–9 start to the 1994 season, and was replaced by defensive coordinator [[Jeff Fisher]].

===CFL comes to America===
He continued his coaching career in the [[Canadian Football League]].  In 1995, he was named head coach of the CFL expansion team, the [[Birmingham Barracudas]].  Canadian football is more wide open than American football, with a field that has an additional 10 yards added to each endzone, as well as a 55 yardline and wider field. Birmingham owner [[Arthur L. Williams, Jr.|Art Williams]] thought Pardee's roots in the six-man game made him a natural fit.  The 'Cudas were part of a [[CFL USA|failed experiment to expand the CFL into the United States]].  With [[Matt Dunigan]] at quarterback, Birmingham made the playoffs, but lost in the first round.  However, due to dreadful attendance late in the season and the league's refusal to approve the team's proposed relocation to [[Shreveport, Louisiana]], for 1996, the 'Cudas were shuttered at the end of the season along with the CFL's other American teams.

===Return to coaching===
In December 2007, Pardee, then 71, was contacted by athletic director [[Dave Maggard]] about the vacant head coaching job at the University of Houston.  Signaling interest, he made it as far as a finalist for the position, but the school moved forward with [[University of Oklahoma|Oklahoma]] co-offensive coordinator [[Kevin Sumlin]].<ref name="ESPN121707">{{Cite web |last=Schlabach |first=Mark |date=2007-12-06 |title=Schlabach: Making the grade |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=3158996 |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Pardee was married for 50 years to Phyllis Lane Perryman and had five children and 12 grandchildren. Pardee's youngest son, Ted, is the color commentator for the [[Houston Cougars]] football radio broadcasts. Ted's son [[Payton Pardee]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scamardo II |first=Peter |date=May 5, 2024 |title=Brahmas coach carries family's Texas football legacy into San Antonio |url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/article/payton-pardee-san-antonio-brahmas-19430804.php |access-date=April 16, 2025 |website=MySanAntonio.com}}</ref> is the head coach of the [[San Antonio Brahmas]] of the [[United Football League (2024)|United Football League]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-16 |title=Wade Phillips takes leave of absence from UFL's San Antonio Brahmas |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/wade-phillips-takes-leave-of-absence-from-ufls-san-antonio-brahmas |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=NBC Sports |language=en-US}}</ref>

In November 2012, Pardee was diagnosed with [[gallbladder cancer]] and his family reported that he only had six to nine more months to live,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/football/nfl/11/27/jack-pardee-ill-with-cancer.ap/index.html?xid=si_mostpopular|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119155128/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/football/nfl/11/27/jack-pardee-ill-with-cancer.ap/index.html?xid=si_mostpopular|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 19, 2013|title=NFL legend Pardee ill with cancer|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|date=November 27, 2012|access-date=November 27, 2012}}</ref> The cancer spread to other organs and Pardee moved to a [[Denver]] [[hospice]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Former Redskins coach, player Jack Pardee dead at 76|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/former-oilers-cougars-coach-aandm-player-jack-pardee-dead-at-76/2013/04/01/ff4bc664-9b28-11e2-9219-51eb8387e8f1_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121551/https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/former-oilers-cougars-coach-aandm-player-jack-pardee-dead-at-76/2013/04/01/ff4bc664-9b28-11e2-9219-51eb8387e8f1_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 19, 2019|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=April 3, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Pardee died April 1, 2013. The family has established a memorial [[scholarship]] fund in Pardee's name at the University of Houston. He was survived by his wife Phyllis, five children, and 12 grandchildren. Jack's youngest grandson, Luke Pardee, was then a quarterback at Texas Christian University,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gofrogs.com/sports/football/roster/luke-pardee/14403|title=Luke Pardee - Football }}</ref><ref>{{cite web  | title=Jack Pardee passes away | website=NBC Sports | date=2013-04-01 | url=https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/reports-jack-pardee-passes-away | access-date=2025-10-25}}</ref>

==Head coaching record==

===USFL===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular season !! colspan="4"|Postseason
|-
!Won !!Lost!!Ties!!Win %!!Finish!!Won!!Lost!!Win % !! Result
|-
|- style="background:#fdd;"
![[Houston Gamblers|HOU]]||[[1984 USFL season|1984]]
|13||5||0||{{winpct|13|5|0}}||1st in Central Div.|| 0 || 1 || {{winpct|0|1|0}} || <small>'''Lost to [[Arizona Wranglers]] in USFL Quarterfinals'''</small>
|-
|- style="background:#fdd;"
![[Houston Gamblers|HOU]]||[[1985 USFL season|1985]]
|10||8||0||{{winpct|10|8|0}}||3rd in Western Conf.|| 0 || 1 || {{winpct|0|1|0}} || <small>'''Lost to [[Birmingham Stallions]] in USFL Quarterfinals'''</small>
|-
! colspan="2"| Total ||23||13||0||{{winpct|23|13|0}}||||0||2||{{winpct|0|2|0}} !!
|}

===College===
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = both }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name      = [[Houston Cougars football|Houston Cougars]]
| conf      = [[Southwest Conference]]
| startyear = 1987
| endyear   = 1989
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| year         = [[1987 NCAA Division I-A football season|1987]]
| name         = [[1987 Houston Cougars football team|Houston]]
| overall      = 4–6–1
| conference   = 2–4–1
| confstanding = 7th
| bowlname     = 
| bowloutcome  = 
| ranking      = 
| ranking2     = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| year         = [[1988 NCAA Division I-A football season|1988]]
| name         = [[1988 Houston Cougars football team|Houston]]
| overall      = 9–3
| conference   = 5–2
| confstanding = 3rd
| bowlname     = [[1988 Aloha Bowl|Aloha]]
| bowloutcome  = L
| ranking      = 
| ranking2     = 18
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| year         = [[1989 NCAA Division I-A football season|1989]]
| name         = [[1989 Houston Cougars football team|Houston]]
| overall      = 9–2
| conference   = 6–2
| confstanding = T–2nd
| bowlname     = Ineligible
| bowloutcome  = 
| ranking      = Ineligible
| ranking2     = 14
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name       = Houston
| overall    = 22–11–1
| confrecord = 13–8–1
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
| overall = 22–11–1
| bowls   = no
| poll    = two
| legend  = no
}}

===NFL===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular season !! colspan="4"|Postseason
|-
!Won!!Lost!!Ties!!Win %!!Finish!! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
|-
![[1975 Chicago Bears season|CHI]]||[[1975 NFL season|1975]]
||4||10||0||.286||3rd in NFC Central|| - || - || - || -
|-
![[1976 Chicago Bears season|CHI]]||[[1976 NFL season|1976]]
||7||7||0||.500||2nd in NFC Central|| - || - || - || -
|- style="background:#fdd;"
![[1977 Chicago Bears season|CHI]]||[[1977 NFL season|1977]]
||9||5||0||.643||'''2nd in NFC Central'''|| 0 || 1 || .000 || <Small>'''Lost to [[Dallas Cowboys]] in NFC Divisional Game'''</Small>
|-
! colspan="2"|CHI Total ||20||22||0||.476|| ||0||1||.000||
|-
![[1978 Washington Redskins season|WAS]]||[[1978 NFL season|1978]]
||8||8||0||.500||3rd in NFC East|| - || - || - || -
|-
![[1979 Washington Redskins season|WAS]]||[[1979 NFL season|1979]]
||10||6||0||.625||3rd in NFC East|| - || - || - || -
|-
![[1980 Washington Redskins season|WAS]]||[[1980 NFL season|1980]]
||6||10||0||.375||3rd in NFC East|| - || - || - || -
|-
! colspan="2"|WAS Total ||24||24||0||.500|| || 0 || 0|| .000 ||
|- style="background:#fdd;"
![[1990 Houston Oilers season|HOU]]||[[1990 NFL season|1990]]
||9||7||0||.563||'''2nd in AFC Central'''|| 0 || 1 || .000 || <Small>'''Lost to [[Cincinnati Bengals]] in AFC wild card game'''</Small>
|- style="background:#fdd;"
![[1991 Houston Oilers season|HOU]]||[[1991 NFL season|1991]]
||11||5||0||.688||'''1st in AFC Central'''|| 1 || 1 || .500 || <Small>'''Lost to [[Denver Broncos]] in AFC Divisional Game'''</Small>
|- style="background:#fdd;"
![[1992 Houston Oilers season|HOU]]||[[1992 NFL season|1992]]
||10||6||0||.625||'''2nd in AFC Central'''|| 0 || 1 || .000 || <Small>'''Lost to [[Buffalo Bills]] in AFC Wild Card Game'''</Small>
|- style="background:#fdd;"
![[1993 Houston Oilers season|HOU]]||[[1993 NFL season|1993]]
||12||4||0||.750||'''1st in AFC Central'''|| 0 || 1 || .000 || <Small>'''Lost to [[Kansas City Chiefs]] in AFC Divisional Game'''</Small>
|-
![[1994 Houston Oilers season|HOU]]||[[1994 NFL season|1994]]
||1||9||0||.100||4th in AFC Central|| - || - || - || -
|-
! colspan="2"|HOU Total ||43||31||0||.581|| || 1 || 4 || .200 ||
|-
! colspan="2"|Total ||87||77||0||.530|| || 1 || 5 || .167 ||
|}

===CFL===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular season !! colspan="4"|Postseason
|-
!Won !!Lost!!Ties!!Win %!!Finish!!Won!!Lost!!Win %!!Result
|-
! [[1995 Birmingham Barracudas season|BIR]] || [[1995 CFL season|1995]]
| 10 || 8 || 0 || {{winpct|10|8}} || 3rd in [[CFL USA|South Division]] || 0 || 1 || {{winpct|0|1}} || Lost in Semifinals
|-
! colspan="2"|Total || 10 || 8 || 0 || {{winpct|10|8}} || || 0 || 1 || {{winpct|0|1}} ||
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{College Football HoF|1771}}
* {{Footballstats |nfl=jack-pardee |pfr=P/PardJa00 }}
* {{Find a Grave}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pardee, Jack}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:American football fullbacks]]
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[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Colorado]]
[[Category:Deaths from gallbladder cancer in the United States]]
[[Category:NFL Coach of the Year winners]]