Donald Ray Todd (October 10, 1941 — March 2, 2019) 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 was the defensive line coach and

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

for the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

from 1972 to 1986. He led the Cougars' "Mad Dog" defense to four top ten national ratings, while tutoring such talents as

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lombard ...

winner Wilson Whitley and All-Americans

Hosea Taylor Hosea Taylor (born December 3, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played 16 games in the 1981 NFL season and four games in the 1983 ...

Leonard Mitchell Leonard Boyd Mitchell (born October 12, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s. Career He played college football for the H ...

and Mack Mitchell. His defenses were instrumental in the Cougars' achieving national rankings and victories over both

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in the

1977 Cotton Bowl Classic The 1977 Cotton Bowl Classic matched the Maryland Terrapins and the Houston Cougars. Background This was the Terps' fourth consecutive bowl appearance and their first Cotton Bowl Classic. They had finished with a perfect regular season in what wa ...

and

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 ...

in the 1980 Cotton Bowl Classic. In 2012, Todd was inducted into the University of Houston Athletic Hall of Honor, making him the only assistant coach in school history to enter the Hall. A native of

Plains, Texas Plains is a town in and the county seat of Yoakum County of western Texas, United States. The city's population was 1,355 at the 2020 census. Yoakum County is in the Texas High Plains Wine country. History In 1905, W. J. Luna founded and named ...

, Todd played his

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

Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football quarterback who played 16 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the TCU Horne ...

Hardin–Simmons University Hardin–Simmons University (HSU) is a private Baptist university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. History Hardin–Simmons University was founded as Abilene Baptist College in 189 ...

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

, where he excelled on both sides of the line.

References

1941 births 2019 deaths People from Yoakum County, Texas Players of American football from Texas Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football players Coaches of American football from Texas High school football coaches in Texas Houston Cougars football coaches {{1970s-collegefootball-coach-stub