Jack Patera

Jack Patera
Position (s): Linebacker	Jersey numbers: 56, 61
born August 1, 1933 in Bismarck , North Dakota
died on October 31, 2018 in Cle Elum , Washington
Career information
Active : 1955 - 1961
NFL Draft : 1955 / Round: 4 / Pick: 44
College : Oregon
Teams
Baltimore Colts (1955-1957) Chicago Cardinals (1958-1959) Dallas Cowboys (1960–1961)
Career statistics
Interceptions	6th
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
Career highlights and awards
AP NFL Coach of the Year (1978)

John Arlen "Jack" Patera (* 1 August 1933 in Bismarck , North Dakota ; † 31 October 2018 in Cle Elum , Washington ) was an American American football players and coaches. He played for seven seasons as linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was head coach of the Seattle Seahawks for seven years .

Player career

Patera was recruited by John McKay in 1951 to play in the position of guards college football for the Oregon Ducks . In 1955 he was selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts . There he was retrained as a linebacker. In 1958 he was traded to the Chicago Cardinals . In 1960 he was selected in the Dallas Cowboys' Expansion Draft . There he stayed for two seasons, in which he was only able to play four games due to a knee injury. He resigned from professional football in 1962.

Coaching career

A year after his retirement, he began his coaching career with the Los Angeles Rams as a coach of the defensive line . In 1968 he moved to the New York Giants . From 1969 to 1975 he was the coach of the defensive line for the Minnesota Vikings . He made it to the Super Bowl three times with them , but never won. During his time as a defensive assistant coach, he trained two groups of dreaded defensive lines: The Fearsoume Four for the Rams and the Purple People Eaters for the Vikings.

On January 3, 1976, he was introduced as the first head coach in Seahawks history. In the first season, the Seahawks won only two of the fourteen games, in 1977 there were already five. The following year, Patera even led her to a 9-7 record. He was named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press . 1979 he got nine wins in sixteen games again. In the 1980 season, the success ended and the Seahawks only won 4 games. Nevertheless, Patera's contract was extended for four years. In 1981 the Seahawks got six more wins. In 1982 the Seahawks lost the first two games before the season was interrupted because of a players strike. During the two-month forced break, Patera was released and replaced by Mike McCormack . In his career as head coach, Patera had 35 wins out of 59 losses and never reached the playoffs .

style

Patera was known for using risky trick plays, especially fake field goals . Patera also used anti-social methods. For example, he did not let the players drink during training. However, he also hired a former ranger to teach players how to better deal with the pain. Patera was also notorious for his behavior towards the media. So he held a press conference that lasted only seven seconds. He asked if there were any questions and when there was no immediate question he stormed out.

Personal

His brother Ken Patera is a famous weightlifter. He was at times the world's second super heavyweight. His other brother Dennis was a 1968 kicker for the San Francisco 49ers .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Jack Patera, first coach of Seahawks, dies at age 85. Accessed November 6, 2018 . 
2. ^ ^{A b c} John Maxymuk: NFL Head Coaches: A Biographical Dictionary, 1920-2011 . McFarland, 2012, ISBN 978-0-7864-9295-4 , pp. 228 .
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Feathering a nest of Seahawks. Retrieved March 26, 2017 (English). 
4. ^ ^{A b} Vikings-Seahawks Have Shared History of Players. (No longer available online.) Minnesota Vikings, archived from the original on March 10, 2017 ; accessed on March 26, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ ^{a b} Catching up with Jack Patera, the Seahawks' first coach. Retrieved March 26, 2017 (English). 
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Seahawks Empty Patera's Bag of Tricks. The New York Teams, accessed March 26, 2017 . 
7. ^ AP NFL Coach of the Year. San Diego Tribune, February 6, 2016, accessed March 26, 2017 . 
8. ^ Brian Lester: Seattle Seahawks (Inside the NFL). All Sports, Indianapolis 2010, 19
9. ^ Brian Lester: Seattle Seahawks (Inside the NFL). All Sports, Indianapolis 2010, 12
10. ↑ Ryan's pass brings up memories of early Seahawks. Retrieved March 26, 2017 (English). 
11. ^ In the beginning there were rough waters for the Seahawks. Retrieved March 26, 2017 (English). 
12. ↑ Dennis Patera. Retrieved March 26, 2017 (English).