Bill Myles
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William “Bill” Myles (21 November 1936 - 12 May 2020) was a former high school and college football coach and college sports administrator.


Early life

Bill Myles graduated from Lincoln High School in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
in 1954. Myles's performance at Lincoln (7 varsity letters in football, basketball, and track & field) earned him a football scholarship to
Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...
, which he entered in the fall of 1954.


College career

Myles played football for
Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...
from 1954 to 1957. After his college football eligibility expired, Myles left
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
and returned to Kansas City. After working for 5 years in Kansas City and at the urging of family and friends, Myles returned to
Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...
to finish his bachelor's degree in education in 1962. Later, Myles earned a master's degree from
Central Missouri State University The University of Central Missouri (UCM) is a public university in Warrensburg, Missouri, United States. In 2024, enrollment was 13,734 students from 48 states and 52 countries on its 1,561-acre campus. UCM offers 150 programs of study, inclu ...
in 1967.


High School Coaching Career

After graduating from Drake in 1962, Myles was hired as an assistant football and basketball coach at Manual High School in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
. In his first season at Manual in 1962, Myles helped the team to their first win in 18 years. In the 1963 season, despite Myles being transferred to Lincoln, Manual won the Interscholastic League football championship. In 1965, after serving the prior two seasons as an assistant, Myles was hired as head coach at Lincoln High School in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
where he coached through the 1968 season. In the spring of 1969, Myles was hired as head coach at Southeast High School in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
replacing Cecil Patterson. Myles coached the Southeast Knights from 1969 through 1972.


College Coaching Career

On March 4, 1972, Myles was hired as an assistant coach of the
University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
freshmen football team by Head Coach
Bob Devaney Robert Simon Devaney (April 13, 1915 – May 9, 1997) was a college football coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Wyoming from 1957 to 1961 and at the University of Nebraska from 1962 to 1972, compiling a career record of . ...
. At Nebraska, Myles replaced
Bill Thornton William E. Thornton is an American politician who served as the mayor of San Antonio, Texas from 1995 to 1997. He succeeded Nelson Wolff and was himself followed by Howard Peak, after Thornton finished third in his bid for reelection. Thornton ...
who had left to join the NFL's
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 ...
as an offensive backfield coach. Preceded only by Thornton, Myles was the second black coach in the history of the
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
football program. After serving as freshman assistant coach in 1972, Myles was promoted to offensive line coach in 1973 under new head coach
Tom Osborne Thomas William Osborne (born February 23, 1937) is an American former football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and politician from Nebraska. He served as head football coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1973 to 1997 (25 sea ...
. In 1975, Osborne promoted Myles to linebackers coach (working with Husker defensive coordinator
Monte Kiffin Monte George Kiffin (February 29, 1940 – July 11, 2024) was an American football coach. He is widely considered to have been one of the preeminent defensive coordinators in modern football, as well as one of the greatest defensive coordinators ...
), a position he held until leaving for
Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...
after the 1976 season. During his stint at Nebraska, the Cornhuskers won two
Big 8 Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associati ...
football titles (1972 and 1975) and played in 5 bowls ( 1973 Orange Bowl, 1974 Cotton Bowl,
1974 Sugar Bowl The 1974 Sugar Bowl was the 41st edition of the Sugar Bowl, a college football bowl game traditionally held in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was played on New Year's Eve at the conclusion of the 1974 NCAA Division I football season and featured the # ...
,
1975 Fiesta Bowl The 1975 Fiesta Bowl was the fifth Fiesta Bowl, edition of the college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Friday, December 26. Part of the 1975 NCAA Division I football season#Bowl games, 1975–76 bowl game ...
,
1976 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl The 1976 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl was the 18th Bluebonnet Bowl, edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, on December 31. Part of the 1976 NCAA Division I football season#Bowl games, 1976–77 bowl gam ...
). Myles also coached five All-American offensive linemen (Daryl White, Marvin Crenshaw, Rik Bonness, Tom Davis, and Kelvin Clark). In March 1977, Myles was hired by
Ohio State football The Ohio State Buckeyes football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing Ohio State University in the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State has played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, since 1 ...
head coach
Woody Hayes Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes (February 14, 1913 – March 12, 1987) was an American college football coach and player. He served as the head football coach at Denison University from 1946 to 1948, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio from 1949 to 195 ...
as an offensive line coach. Myles was the third black coach hired by Ohio State preceded only by Rudy Hubbard (served from 1968 to 1973) and Mickey Jackson (served from 1974 to 1979). After
Woody Hayes Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes (February 14, 1913 – March 12, 1987) was an American college football coach and player. He served as the head football coach at Denison University from 1946 to 1948, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio from 1949 to 195 ...
was fired by Ohio State after the 1978 Gator Bowl in Myles’ second season, Myles was retained by new head coach
Earle Bruce Earle Bruce (March 8, 1931 – April 20, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Tampa (1972), Iowa State University (1973–1978), Ohio State University (1979–1987), the University of ...
. In addition to Myles, among the other coaches on Bruce's first Ohio State coaching staff were former
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
head coach
Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach for the NCAA's ...
, former
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
and
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
head coach coach
Glen Mason Glen Orin Mason (born April 9, 1950) is an American former college football player and coach. Mason served as the head football coach at Kent State University from 1986 to 1987, the University of Kansas from 1988 to 1996, and the University of M ...
, and former
Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...
and
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
head coach George Chaump. Myles served as an assistant coach at Ohio State until retiring from coaching after the 1984 season. During his Buckeye coaching career, Myles coached Ohio State in eight bowl games (
1978 Sugar Bowl The 1978 Sugar Bowl was the 44th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 2. Part of the 1977–78 bowl game season, it matched the third-ranked Alabama Cr ...
, 1978 Gator Bowl,
1980 Rose Bowl The 1980 Rose Bowl was It was the 66th edition of the college football bowl game, played on Tuesday, January 1, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The USC Trojans, champions of the Pacific-10 Conference, defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes, ...
,
1980 Fiesta Bowl The 1980 Fiesta Bowl was the tenth edition of the college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Friday, December 26. Part of the 1980–81 bowl game season, it matched the tenth-ranked Penn State Nittany Li ...
, 1981 Liberty Bowl,
1982 Holiday Bowl The 1982 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played December 17, 1982, in San Diego, California. It was part of the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. It featured the 17th ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, and the unranked BYU Cougars. ...
,
1984 Fiesta Bowl The 1984 Fiesta Bowl was the thirteenth edition of the college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Monday, January 2. Part of the 1983–84 bowl game season, it matched the fourteenth-ranked Ohio State Buck ...
,
1985 Rose Bowl The 1985 Rose Bowl Game was a postseason college football bowl game between the 1984 USC Trojans football team, USC Trojans of the Pacific-10 Conference and 1984 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference, hel ...
). Myles also coached 3 Ohio State football All-American offensive linemen. ( Chris Ward,
Ken Fritz Ken Fritz (November 21, 1957 – February 6, 2024) was an American college football player who was a guard for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was recognized as a consensus All-American in 1979. Early life Fritz was born on November 21, 1957, in Ir ...
, and
Jim Lachey James Michael Lachey (born June 4, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Raiders, and Washington Redski ...
).


College Administrative Career

After the 1984 Ohio State football season, Myles was hired to an administrative role at Ohio State as an associate athletic director. Myles held that position for 22 years until retiring in 2007. During his tenure as an administrator, Ohio State football won eight Big 10 titles, appeared in 19 bowl games, and won the 2002 National Championship.


Honors

* Drake University National Distinguished Alumni Award winner * Earned the Drake University “Double D” Award in 1981. Awarded to former Drake athletes for achievements in their professions and or community service since earning their degree from Drake. * First African American to win the Ohio Gold Award, given by the Columbus, Ohio Chapter of the
National Football Foundation The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and develop "the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the drive for academi ...
in 1998.


Personal life

In 2012, Myles worked with Steve Davis to write the book, “Myles Traveled - My American Journey,” a biography about his life, released in 2014.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myles, Bill Football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches 1936 births Drake Bulldogs football players 2020 deaths Sportspeople from Kansas City, Missouri Drake University alumni