James Martin Michael Hanifan (September 21, 1933 – November 24, 2020) 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 served as the head coach for the

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 ...

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) from 1980 to 1985 and as interim head coach for the NFL's

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

for four games in 1989, compiling a record of 39–53–1. Hanifan 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 ...

with the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

. He played one season professionally with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

of 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 ...

(CFL) before being drafted into the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. After getting out of the service, he was an assistant coach in college and the NFL before becoming a head coach.

Playing career

Hanifan played

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where he was an

All-America 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 ...

n and led the nation in receiving in 1954. He played professionally for one season with the

of the

. He was then drafted into the

Coaching career

From 1959 to 1965, he coached at the high school (Charter Oak High School) and junior college level, he developed a reputation as an outstanding teacher and an offensive line guru. He was an assistant coach at

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

from 1966 to 1969,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

from 1970 to 1971, and

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

in 1972. During this time Hanifan joined the NFL in 1973, serving as offensive line coach for the

until 1978. He was recognized as the NFL's Assistant Coach of the Year in 1977. After one year with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

, Hanifan returned to the Cardinals and was their head coach from 1980 to 1985. Hanifan went 39–49–1 in his six seasons with the Cardinals, leading St. Louis to the 16-team playoff tournament during the strike-shortened 1982 season. The "Gridbirds" went 8–7–1 in 1983 with a victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion

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 ...

, and in 1984, St. Louis was in position to win the

NFC East The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It has four members: the Dallas Cowboys, New Yo ...

championship with a victory in the season finale against 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 ...

. But Cardinal kicker Neil O'Donoghue missed a game-winning field goal attempt, giving the Redskins a 29–27 victory and the division title, while St. Louis was left out of the playoffs despite a 9–7 record. In 1985, St. Louis started the year 3–1 but won only two of its final 12 games and finished at 5–11. Hanifan was fired that year by having the locks to his office changed during halftime of the final game of the year, against the Redskins. Hanifan is tied with

Jimmy Conzelman James Gleason Dunn Conzelman (March 6, 1898 – July 31, 1970) was an American professional American football, football player and coach, baseball executive, and advertising executive. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964 a ...

and

Ken Whisenhunt Kenneth Moore Whisenhunt (born February 28, 1962) is an American football coach and former tight end. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was selected in the twelfth round of the 1985 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, with whom he pla ...

as the longest-serving head coaches in Cardinals history, with a mere six years of service. Conzelman coached the team on two separate occasions, while Hanifan's and Whisenhunt's tenures were consecutive. His 39 wins are the fourth-most in Cardinals history behind Bruce Arians (50), Ken Whisenhunt (49) and

Don Coryell Donald David Coryell ( ; October 17, 1924 – July 1, 2010) was an American American football, football coach. He coached in high school, college, and the professional ranks; his most notable NCAA post was with the San Diego State Aztecs footba ...

(42). Hanifan resumed his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Falcons (1987–1989), and he served as the interim head coach when Marion Campbell was fired. He spent seven seasons as offensive line coach for the Washington Redskins (1990–1996) and

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

(1997–2003) before retiring.

Head coaching record

Commentator career

From 2004 to 2008, Hanifan was a

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

for the Rams radio broadcast team and hosted a weekly show on St. Louis station KLOU. During his time in the booth, Hanifan was known for praising and critiquing players, a style that was described as a "refreshing, straight-from-the-gut manner rarely heard anymore". Effective for the Rams' 2009 move to 101 ESPN, Hanifan has been replaced as the lead color commentator by former Super Bowl champion D'Marco Farr, and has been relegated to the analyst role on the pregame and postgame shows. The move has caused quite a stir among St. Louisans, inspiring several negatively toned articles by

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the '' Belleville News-Democra ...

columnist Dan Caesar, begging the Rams to reinstate Hanifan to the broadcast booth, his argument being that Rams fans will not listen to the broadcasts if Hanifan is not there. In August 2011, Hanifan's role was reduced further to a Thursday evening piece and a taped preview played during the pre-game.

Autobiography

Hanifan wrote an autobiography recounting his career titled "Beyond X's and O's: My Thirty Years in Football." He also produced a series of instructional videos on offensive line play.

Death

Hanifan died on November 24, 2020, in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, Missouri, at age 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanifan, Jim 1933 births 2020 deaths Atlanta Falcons coaches Atlanta Falcons head coaches California Golden Bears football coaches California Golden Bears football players High school football coaches in California Glendale Vaqueros football coaches Players of American football from Compton, California San Diego Chargers coaches San Diego State Aztecs football coaches Sportspeople from Compton, California Sportswriters from California St. Louis Cardinals (football) coaches St. Louis Rams announcers St. Louis Rams coaches Toronto Argonauts players Utah Utes football coaches Washington Redskins coaches St. Louis Cardinals (football) head coaches

Playing career

Coaching career

Head coaching record

Commentator career

Autobiography

Death

See also

References