George Karras (c. 1929 – March 5, 2017) 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, coach, scout, and executive. He served as the head football coach at

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

from 1965 to 1966, compiling a record of 4–15. Karras gave

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells ( ; born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He came to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 19 ...

his first full-time coaching job while he was the Wichita State head coach. He left Wichita in 1966 to be the line coach at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

. He was previously been the defensive coach there before coming to Wichita in 1964. Karras 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

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 ...

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

from 1953 to 1955. Karras attended high school in

Etna, Pennsylvania Etna is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, located across the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh. The population was 3,437 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Etna was named after the ...

. He later worked for the United Scouting Combine and as the chief scout in the Northeastern United States for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

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). In 1987, he was named the director of pro personnel for the NFL's

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural ...

. Karras died on March 5, 2017.

Head coaching record

References

Year of birth missing 1920s births 2017 deaths American football guards Denver Broncos scouts Harvard Crimson football coaches Los Angeles Raiders executives UMass Minutemen football coaches Villanova Wildcats football coaches Villanova Wildcats football players Wichita State Shockers football coaches People from Etna, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania {{1960s-collegefootball-coach-stub