Alton Lavan (September 13, 1946 – April 23, 2018) was an

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

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a Statutory college#Outside New York State, privately governed, state-assisted Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Land-grant university, land-grant research universi ...

from 2004 to 2010. Lavan was also as the interim head football coach at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

for the final three games of the 2003 season, after replacing Jeff Woodruff. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

and professionally with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Raised in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, Lavan played prep football at South Side High School, which has since been renamed

Malcolm X Shabazz High School Malcolm X Shabazz High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, as part of the Newark Public Schools. Founded as South Side High School in 1912, the school was renam ...

.Al Lavan
Pro Football Archives. Accessed December 19, 2019. As a longtime

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

s coach, he coached the following players throughout his various tenures:

Tony Dorsett Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. (born April 7, 1954) is an American former professional American football, football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. Raised in western Pennsylvani ...

Herschel Walker Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election ...

Eddie Lee Ivery Eddie Lee Ivery (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Early life Ivery was born in McDuffie County, Georgia. He played h ...

Drew Hill Andrew Hill (October 5, 1956 – March 19, 2011) was an American professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 12th round of the 19 ...

Bam Morris Byron ''Bam'' Morris (born January 13, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, and the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL ...

, Earnest Byner, Leroy Hoard,

Priest Holmes Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973) ''www.databasefootball.com.'' Retrieved February 13, 2016. is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He started h ...

Napoleon Kaufman Napoleon "Nip" Kaufman (born June 7, 1973) is an American former professional football player who played his entire career as a running back and kick returner for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footb ...

Errict Rhett Errict Undra Rhett (born December 11, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1990s and early 2000s. Rhett played college football for the ...

, Roosevelt Potts, Donnell Bennett,

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director, producer and screenwriter, whose career spanned five decades. He was identified with the "angry young men" group of British directors and play ...

, and Kimble Anders.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lavan, Al 1946 births 2018 deaths American football defensive backs Atlanta Falcons coaches Atlanta Falcons players Baltimore Ravens coaches Colorado State Rams football coaches Colorado State Rams football players Dallas Cowboys coaches Delaware State Hornets football coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles football coaches Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football coaches Iowa State Cyclones football coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches Louisville Cardinals football coaches Malcolm X Shabazz High School alumni San Francisco 49ers coaches Stanford Cardinal football coaches Washington Huskies football coaches Players of American football from Bartow, Florida Players of American football from Fort Pierce, Florida Players of American football from Newark, New Jersey African-American coaches of American football 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen