Leeman Bennett

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Leeman Bennett (born June 20, 1938 in Paducah , Kentucky ) is a retired American football coach . He was head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for eight years .

Early years

Bennett studied at the University of Kentucky , where he also played three years for the college football team as quarterback and defensive back until 1961 .

Beginning of the coaching career

After graduating, he was hired as an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky. In the following years he worked for the University of Pittsburgh , the University of Cincinnati and the United States Naval Academy for various coaching positions.

He was inducted into the University of Kentucky Hall of Fame on January 31, 2020 .

NFL

St. Louis Cardinals

On February 7, 1969, he signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals , where he worked from now on as a running back coach.

Detroit Lions

After two years with the Cardinals, he became an assistant coach with the Detroit Lions .

Los Angeles Rams

In January 1973 he became a wide receiver coach for the Los Angeles Rams . In his first season with the Rams he reached the NFC championship game with the Rams , which was lost to the Dallas Cowboys 7:37 .

Atlanta Falcons

On February 3, 1977, he became head coach of the Atlanta Falcons . In its first season with the Falcons, the team set an NFL record by allowing only 129 points in 14 games, but they missed the playoffs, but succeeded a year later. In the wild card game you could prevail against the Philadelphia Eagles . Due to a loss in the following game against the Dallas Cowboys , the Falcons did not reach the Super Bowl . Two years later, in the 1980 season , the Falcons won their division for the first time (twelve wins, two losses). In the first playoff game, however, they lost again to the Dallas Cowboys. In the NFL 1982 he moved again with the Falcons in the playoffs. Against the Minnesota Vikings they lost 24:30. He was released on January 14, 1983. He was able to retract 46 wins (41 defeats) for the Falcons in his six years.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

For the next season he was head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . After two seasons with only two wins each, he was released again.

After the coaching career

Bennett co-founded First National Bank in Johns Creek , Georgia, and later served as its bank director.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Report on kentucky.com, accessed April 14, 2020
  2. ↑ Report on fs64sports.com, accessed April 14, 2020
  3. ↑ Report on upi.com, accessed on April 14, 2020
  4. ↑ Statistics on pro-football-reference.com, accessed on April 14, 2020
  5. ↑ Report on tampabay.com, accessed April 14, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Bennett, Leeman
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American football coach
DATE OF BIRTH June 20, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Paducah , Kentucky , United States