Joseph T. Gardi (March 2, 1939 – June 2, 2010) 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 ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

for 16 seasons, from 1990 to 2005, compiling a record of 119–62–2.Joe Gardi Records by Year
, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved February 12, 2009.Joe Gardi
, Hofstra University, 2002. He is the father of

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

executive Dave Gardi.

Early life

Gardi was raised in

Harrison, New Jersey Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, and is located from New York City. Once considered "the bee ...

where he attended Harrison High School. While there, he was named a first-team all-state

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

as a senior in 1955. He attended 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, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, where he played football from 1959 to 1960 as an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He served as a team co-captain and received the Unsung Hero Award. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. In 1960, he was signed by 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 ...

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). He played in two pre-season games before being released. In 1961, he attended camp with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, but did not make the team.

Coaching career

High school

In 1964, he was hired as the head football coach for the

Oratory Preparatory School Oratory Preparatory School, commonly known as Oratory Prep, is a Roman Catholic college preparatory day school for boys in grades 7-12, located in Summit, in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, approximately west of Manhattan. The ...

Summit, New Jersey Summit is the northernmost City (New Jersey), city of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located within the New York metropolitan area. Situated on a ridge in north Jersey, northern–central Jersey, centra ...

. The team had lost 37 consecutive games prior to Gardi's arrival. In his first season, they again recorded a winless season with a 0–9 record. The following years he compiled 6–3 and 5–4 seasons, for a combined 11–16 record. In 1967, he took over as head coach at

Roselle Park High School Roselle Park High School is a four-year public high school located in Roselle Park, in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Roselle Park School District. Since 2007, Roselle Park High Sch ...

. That team had not secured a winning season in the previous decade. In his first season Gardi's team compiled a 2–7 record, followed by 6–3 and 9–0 records. In 1969, he coached the team to the New Jersey state championship.

Maryland

In 1970, Gardi returned to his alma mater to assume the roles of assistant head coach for the freshman team and recruiting coordinator. That year, he was responsible for recruiting future star quarterback, Bob Avellini. In 1972, he was promoted to the

offensive line coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive a ...

. In 1973, after new head coach

Jerry Claiborne Jerry David Claiborne (August 26, 1928 – September 24, 2000) was an American college football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Virginia Tech (1961–1970), the University of Maryland, College Park (1972–1981), and his alma ...

took over at Maryland, he retained Gardi and moved him to

wide receivers coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive a ...

Professional football

In 1974, Gardi began a tenure in the short-lived

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

. He served as a

running backs coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive a ...

, special teams coach, and interim head coach for the

Philadelphia Bell The Philadelphia Bell was a franchise in the World Football League, which operated in 1974 and a portion of a season in 1975. The Bell played their home games in 1974 at JFK Stadium in South Philadelphia. The team logo was a representation of ...

. In 1975, he served as head coach for the

Portland Thunder The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...

for three games before the league disbanded. Gardi then served from 1976 to 1984 as an assistant coach for the

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

in the NFL. In 1976, he was special teams and

tight ends coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordina ...

under head coach

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former college football coach and television analyst. He served as the head football coach at the College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the N ...

. Gardi served as special teams and

linebackers coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordina ...

from 1977 to 1980. In 1981 and 1982, he was the defensive coordinator under head coach Walt Michaels. In his first year running the defense, the Jets allowed 304 yards per game, a conference best, and posted 66 sacks, the highest in the NFL. The following season, the Jets participated in the

AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal NFL playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football lea ...

, where they lost to 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 ...

. In 1983, Gardi was also named assistant head coach to

Joe Walton Joseph Frank Walton (December 15, 1935 – August 15, 2021) was an American professional football player and coach who retired after 20 years as the head coach and creator of the football program at Robert Morris University. Walton played eight ...

. From 1985 to 1990, Gardi served as an NFL assistant supervisor of officials, which included training and supervision of the league's officiating staff.

Hofstra

He returned to coaching in 1990 when he took the head position at

. In his first season, he led his team to a 10–0 regular season and advanced to the

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...

playoffs, where they lost in the semifinals. In 1991, Hofstra began the transition process to

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate A ...

competition, and played six I-AA opponents and recorded an 8–2 record. The following season they played seven I-AA opponents and compiled a 4–6 record. The 1993 season was Hofstra's first as a full-fledged Division I team, and Gardi's team posted a 6–3–1 record. In 1994, they finished 8–1–1 and were ranked 22nd in the nation. In 1995, Hofstra lost in the first round of the playoffs to finish with a 10–2 record and a number-ten national ranking. In both 1998 and 1999, Hofstra again advanced to the I-AA quarterfinals, and finished with a fifth and seventh ranking, respectively. Hofstra was an

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

co-championship and top-ten ranked team in 2001. The 2005 season was Gardi's last and he finished his career at Hofstra having compiled a 119–62–2 record.

Later life

Gardi was inducted into the

Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame The Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is an American sports hall of fame based in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. The non-profit was established during 1990 to honor outstanding people, living or deceased, who have gained prominence and made s ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

in the Football and Coaches Categories with the Class of 2000. He retired from coaching for good after the 2005 season. Gardi died on June 3, 2010, from complications related to an earlier stroke. During his coaching career, he had helped develop future NFL players such as Wayne Chrebet,

Lance Schulters Lance A. Schulters (born May 27, 1975) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive assistant coach for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played in the NFL as a safety for 10 seasons. Schulters ...

Marques Colston Marques E. Colston ( born June 5, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Hofstra Pride, and was selected by the New Orleans Sai ...

, Willie Colon, and

Raheem Morris Dejohnold Raheem Morris (born September 3, 1976) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach of the Tampa B ...

.Former Pride coach Gardi dies
ESPN, June 3, 2010, retrieved June 4, 2010.

Head coaching record

College

Personal life

His son Dave Gardi worked as a

(NFL) administrator for 21 years prior to joining the

Washington Commanders 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) East division ...

in 2024 as a senior vice president of football initiatives. He previously 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 ...

as a quarterback for the

Brown Bears The Brown Bears are the sports teams that represent Brown University, an American university located in Providence, Rhode Island. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardi, Joe 1939 births 2010 deaths American football linebackers American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Buffalo Bills players Hofstra Pride football coaches Maryland Terrapins football coaches Maryland Terrapins football players NFL defensive coordinators New York Jets coaches Philadelphia Bell coaches Portland Thunder (WFL) coaches Washington Redskins players Harrison High School (New Jersey) alumni High school football coaches in New Jersey People from Harrison, New Jersey Players of American football from Hudson County, New Jersey Coaches of American football from New Jersey American people of Italian descent