Robert John Landsee (March 21, 1964 – January 20, 2024) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach. 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 ...

for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

and was selected in the sixth round of the

1986 NFL draft The 1986 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott M ...

by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, where he played as a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for parts of three seasons. He later served as

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

and

owner Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as ''title'', which may be separated and held by diffe ...

of the Milwaukee Mustangs of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL).

Playing career

Landsee earned All-State honors in both football and basketball at Iron Mountain High School."Inductee Class of 1996"
''Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame''. Retrieved 28 March 2020. At

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

playing for coach Dave McClain from 1982 to 1985, he earned

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and All-Big Ten honors. Landsee helped lead the 1984 Badgers team to the

Hall of Fame Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Tampa, Florida. The event was known as the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to 2022. It was held at Tampa Stadium from 1986 until 1999, when it ...

, and 16 players from that team went onto play in the NFL, including three first-round draft picks: Al Toon,

Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to: Academics * Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic * Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering * Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...

, and Darryl Sims. Landsee was drafted by the

in the sixth round of the

. He played for three seasons with the Eagles, from

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. In a 1986 game, he had the distinction of snapping the ball to three different quarterbacks on the same series:

Ron Jaworski Ronald Vincent Jaworski (born March 23, 1951), nicknamed "Jaws", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. He played college football for the Youngstown State Pengui ...

Matt Cavanaugh Matthew Andrew Cavanaugh (born October 27, 1956) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a quarterback, winning two Super Bowl titles. He played college football for the ...

, and

Randall Cunningham Randall Wade Cunningham Sr. (born March 27, 1963) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and is ...

, and in 1988 he played in the legendary Fog Bowl against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. The Eagles declined to offer him a contract to return to the team in the 1989 season. His career was plagued with injuries. He blew out his knee in 1984 in the sixth Badgers game of the season against first-place

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. And he broke his leg in his first practice as a member of the Eagles and appeared in only nine games in his NFL career. He was inducted into the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula b ...

Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

Coaching career

Landsee's many coaching stops included a stint at

Madison West High School Madison West High School is a grade 9-12 public high school in Madison, Wisconsin, operated by the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD). The school was founded in 1930. It is one of the five high schools in MMSD, and serves students from th ...

in Madison, Wisconsin.

Milwaukee Mustangs

Landsee was the offensive line coach for the Milwaukee Mustangs of the

(AFL) from 1999–2001.

Toronto Phantoms and Indiana Firebirds

Landsee was a coach for the

Toronto Phantoms The Toronto Phantoms were a professional arena football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The team was a member of the Eastern Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team also previously operated in New York Ci ...

in 2002 and for the

Indiana Firebirds The Indiana Firebirds were a team in the Arena Football League. The team was based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Home games were played at the Conseco Fieldhouse, also the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and Indiana ...

in 2003.

Green Bay Blizzard

Landsee was the head coach for the

Green Bay Blizzard The Green Bay Blizzard are a professional indoor football team based in the Green Bay metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The franchise was founded in 2003. The Blizzard began play in the IFL in 2010, after hav ...

of the

AF2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

from 2005–2006 and from 2008–2009. He finished his career with the Blizzard with a record of 45–28 including playoffs. In 2006, Landsee coached the Blizzard to an East Division and American Conference Championship. He also brought his team to ArenaCup VII where they lost to the

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divis ...

57–34. In 2008, the Blizzard had their best regular season record in franchise history, going 11–5 and earning the Midwest Division Championship. Under Landsee, 27 players signed contracts with fully professional teams, such as the AFL, the NFL or the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

Milwaukee Iron

Landsee was named head coach of the Milwaukee Iron of the AFL on October 13, 2009.

Jacksonville Sharks

Landsee had been serving as the line coach of the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team plays its home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. They were members of the Are ...

of the AFL when he was named the interim head coach of the team after former head coach Les Moss was fired with two games to go in the 2016 season.

AFL head coaching record

Personal life and death

Landsee was born in West Allis, Wis., and grew up in Iron Mountain, Mich. He married Sharon Dollins on March 21, 1987, and they had two daughters: Sara and Melissa. He started a business based in Middleton, Wis., called Watt Savers Inc., which he later sold. In 1993, he suffered a brain aneurysm. Landsee served as president of the Madison, Wis., chapter of the

National Football League Alumni The NFL Alumni Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization composed of former National Football League (NFL) players, coaches, team staff members, and associate members who work voluntarily to raise funds for youth-oriented causes and engage ...

. He died on January 20, 2024, at his home in Naples, Fla., at the age of 59.

References

External links

Milwaukee Iron bio

NFL Alumni Madison Chapter website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landsee, Bob 1964 births 2024 deaths Sportspeople from Iron Mountain, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan American football centers American football offensive guards Wisconsin Badgers football players Philadelphia Eagles players Milwaukee Mustangs (1994–2001) coaches Toronto Phantoms coaches Jacksonville Sharks coaches Indiana Firebirds coaches Green Bay Blizzard coaches Milwaukee Mustangs (2009–12) coaches