William Patrick McPeak (July 24, 1926 – May 7, 1991) 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 in 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). He was selected by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in the 16th round of the 1948 NFL draft, playing nine seasons for them. He also was the head coach of the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

and offensive coordinator of the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Playing career

Born in

New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Shenango River at the mouth of Neshannock Creek, it is northwest of Pittsburgh near the Pennsylvania–Ohio border, approximately so ...

, McPeak was a star

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

. He was drafted by the

where he played from 1949 to 1957. During the final two years of his playing career he also became an assistant coach for the team.

Head coaching career

In 1959, McPeak joined the

as an assistant under head coach Mike Nixon. After Nixon's dismissal following the 1960 NFL season, McPeak was promoted to head coach and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

on December 19, 1960; he was the youngest head coach in the league at the age of 34. He remained in that position until 1965. It was McPeak that persuaded team owner

George Preston Marshall George Preston Marshall (October 11, 1896 – August 9, 1969) was an American professional American football, football executive who founded the National Football League (NFL)'s Washington Commanders. The team began play as the Boston Braves in ...

to go with

Norm Snead Norman Bailey Snead (July 31, 1939 – January 14, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New ...

as their quarterback with their first round pick in 1961 (over players such as

Fran Tarkenton Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940), nicknamed "the Scrambler", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He is wi ...

, picked two rounds later by Minnesota). A five-win season in 1962 was their highest in five years; it was the first with Bobby Mitchell, who they traded for to make the first black player in franchise history. McPeak got a two-year contract and raise after winning six games in 1964. He was then fired after the next season. Although the Redskins did not have a winning season under McPeak with an overall 21-46-3 record, the team acquired players, many of whom would become future Hall of Famers, that would eventually play a part in their later winning years. They include Sonny Jurgensen, Bobby Mitchell, Charley Taylor, Jerry Smith, Len Hauss, and Chris Hanburger. McPeak was fired after 1965 for

Otto Graham Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League ...

, who was given a ten-year contract by team president

Edward Bennett Williams Edward Bennett Williams (May 31, 1920 – August 13, 1988) was an American lawyer, businessman, and sports team owner. He received his undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross before studying law at Georgetown University. He worke ...

Later coaching and scouting

After spending the 1966 season as a

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

for

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

games on CBS, McPeak joined the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

as an

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

in 1967, a position he held until 1972 when he moved on to the

to replace Howard Schnellenberger who became head coach of the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

. His tenure in Miami would last for only two seasons due to complications suffered after a stroke, which he spent several years recovering from. He would later join the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

after returning to health, where he became director of scouting for twelve years. McPeak died of a heart attack on May 7, 1991, at the age of 64 at his home in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

References

External links

Bill McPeak, Football Scout, 64
{{DEFAULTSORT:McPeak, Bill 1926 births 1991 deaths Detroit Lions coaches Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Miami Dolphins coaches NFL announcers NFL general managers New England Patriots executives New England Patriots scouts Pittsburgh Panthers football players Pittsburgh Steelers coaches Pittsburgh Steelers players Sportspeople from New Castle, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania St. Louis Cardinals (football) announcers Washington Redskins coaches Washington Redskins executives Washington Redskins head coaches NFL offensive coordinators