Elliot Uzelac (born July 24, 1941) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

from 1975 to 1981 and the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

from 1987 to 1989, compiling a career college football coaching record of 46–64. In June 2018, Uzelac resigned as head football coach at Benton Harbor High School in

Benton Harbor, Michigan Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is 46 miles southwest of Kalamazoo and 71 miles southwest of Grand Rapids. According to the 2020 census, its population was 9,103. It is the smaller, by population, o ...

. In January 2020, Uzelac returned from retirement to become the head coach at Berrien Springs High School.

Playing career

A native of

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the sou ...

, Uzelac played high school football at

Tolleston High School Tolleston is a neighborhood and former town in west-central Gary, Indiana. It is situated south of Ambridge, west of Midtown, east of Westside and north of Black Oak. Tolleston is the site of two large city parks (MC Bennett Park and Tolleston ...

. He graduated from

in 1964 with a degree in physical education. A knee injury ended his football playing career before he could letter at Western Michigan, but he was

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...

outdoor shot put champion as a senior.

College coaching career

Before St. Joseph, Uzelac coached at

Bowling Green University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

, the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

, the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

, the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, and the NFL's

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

. Most stops were for one or two years, while the longest he stayed at any one school was his seven-year tenure as head coach at Western Michigan University. Along the way he has coached under or alongside Bo Schembechler,

Lloyd Carr Lloyd Henry Carr Jr. (born July 30, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season. Under Carr, the Michigan Wolverines compiled a record ...

, John Cooper,

Bill McCartney William Paul McCartney (born August 22, 1940) is a former American football player and coach and the founder of the Promise Keepers men's ministry. He was the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder for thirteen seasons (1982–1994), ...

Don Nehlen Donald Eugene Nehlen (born January 1, 1936) is a former American football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University (1968–1976) and at West Virginia University (1980–2000). Nehlen retired from coaching ...

Bill Mallory William Guy Mallory (May 30, 1935 – May 25, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Miami University (1969–1973), the University of Colorado at Boulder (1974–1978), Northern Illinois Universi ...

Les Miles Leslie Edwin Miles (born November 10, 1953) is a former American football coach. He most recently served as the head coach at Kansas. His head coaching career began with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, where he coached from 2001 to 2004. Following t ...

, and

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...

. While head coach at Navy, Uzelac had several notable assistants, including

Tom Amstutz Tom Amstutz (born August 30, 1955) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Toledo from 2001 to 2008, compiling a 58–41 record, including a 39–24 mark in conference play. Known ...

, Chuck Bresnahan,

Steve Belichick Stephen Nickolas Belichick (January 7, 1919 – November 19, 2005) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played college football at Western Reserve University, now known as Case Western Reserve University, from 1938 to 1940 and ...

, Dean Pees, and Carl Reese. Some assistants had connections to the

as either past or future coaches, including Fred Jackson,

Greg Mattison Greg Mattison (born November 15, 1949) is a former American football coach, and former player. He spent most of his career in college football as a defensive coach. Mattison coached at Michigan for eleven years, at Notre Dame for seven years, ...

, and

Mike Trgovac Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

. While Uzelac has had number of stints in college football as a head coach and as an assistant, his most famous incident occurred in 1991 while he was the offensive coordinator at

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

. Uzelac encouraged and pressured players to skip class so they could make practice. This prioritization of football over academics did not sit well with Robert Smith, future

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

running back, who spoke up about the issue. As a result, Smith sat out the season. The next season Uzelac was fired and Smith returned to the team.

High school coaching career

Uzelac began his coaching career as an assistant at

Chesterton High School Chesterton High School is a public high school serving grades 9-12 located in Chesterton, Indiana. It is the only high school in the Duneland School Corporation. History In 1833, Jesse Morgan, the area's first postmaster, opened the first educ ...

Chesterton, Indiana Chesterton is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, Westchester, Jackson Township, Porter County, Indiana, Jackson and Liberty Township, Porter County, Indiana, Liberty townships in Porter County, Indiana, Porter County, in the U. ...

in 1964. He was head coach at Logan High School in

Logan, West Virginia Logan is a city in Logan County, West Virginia, United States, along the Guyandotte River. The population was 1,438 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Logan County. History What is now Logan was initially called "Islands of the Guyandot ...

from 1966 to 1967, compiling a 16–4 record and winning a league championship. From 2002 to 2003, Uzelac was head football coach at St. John's College High School in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In April 2006, Uzelac returned to the state of Michigan to coach at St. Joseph High School. Uzelac led the Bears to a 6–5 record in 2006 after the team went 0–9 the previous season. During the 2007 season, Uzelac led the Bears to a 9–0 regular season record and the Final Four of Michigan high school football. The team won the Big 16 Conference and was named the West Division champions, Division 3 district champions, and Division 3 regional champions. Uzelac was also named 2007 High School Coach of the Year by the Michigan Associated Press. In 2008, Uzelac led the Bears to another 9–0 season and another Big 16 Conference title. The team was ranked #1 in the state for their undefeated season in Division 3. Uzelac resigned as head coach at. St. Joseph on June 29, 2011, with a record of 45–13. In 2015, Uzelac became head football coach at Benton Harbor High School in

. The team had not won a game since 2012 and had a record of 4–68 in the previous eight years. In 2015, his first season there, he led the Tigers to their first winning record since 1989, their first playoff appearance, and their first victory in a playoff game. In his second season, he led the Tigers to an undefeated 9–0 regular season.

Personal life

Uzelac is known for his temper and intensity and has had a history of coronary artery disease that has led to multiple surgical procedures.

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uzelac, Elliot 1941 births Living people American male shot putters Bowling Green Falcons football coaches Colorado Buffaloes football coaches Georgetown Hoyas football coaches Indiana Hoosiers football coaches Kentucky Wildcats football coaches Maryland Terrapins football coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Navy Midshipmen football coaches Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches Western Michigan Broncos football coaches College men's track and field athletes in the United States High school football coaches in Indiana High school football coaches in Michigan High school football coaches in Washington, D.C. High school football coaches in West Virginia Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana American people of Serbian descent