Joe Moore (February 19, 1932 − July 3, 2003) 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 coached at Pitt from 1977 to 1985, developing All-Americans and Hall of Fame linemen

Bill Fralic William P. Fralic Jr. ( ; October 31, 1962 – December 13, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a guard for the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1985 to 1993. He played colleg ...

Mark May Mark Eric May (born November 2, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a guard for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. May played college football for the Pittsburgh Panther ...

Russ Grimm Russell Scott Grimm (born May 2, 1959) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a Guard (American football), guard for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He has also served as an a ...

and

Jimbo Covert James Paul "Jimbo" Covert (born March 22, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Pi ...

before moving on to coach at

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

from 1986 to 1987 and Notre Dame from 1988 to 1996. Moore stayed nine seasons in South Bend, sending all but two of his starting offensive linemen to the NFL, including

Aaron Taylor Aaron Taylor may refer to: * Aaron Taylor (American football, born 1972), former NFL player, sports analyst * Aaron Taylor (American football, born 1975), former college football player for the University of Nebraska * Aaron Taylor (baseball) (bo ...

Andy Heck Andrew Robert Heck (born January 1, 1967) is an American professional football coach and former player. He is the offensive line coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. He played tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. He was ...

and

Tim Ruddy Tim Ruddy (born April 27, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a center for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1994 to 2003. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. ...

. He earned a reputation as one of the best line coaches in college football history. Moore was the namesake of the

Joe Moore Award The Joe Moore Award is awarded annually to the best college football offensive line unit. The award is presented by the Joe Moore Foundation for Teamwork, and they state that "The Joe Moore Award for the Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit will ...

, awarded annually to the best collegiate football offensive line unit. In 1996 Moore was fired by Notre Dame head coach Bob Davie. Moore contended that it was illegal for

Davie Davie is a surname, and a form of the masculine given name David. Notable people with these names include: Surname * Alan Davie (1920–2014), Scottish painter and musician * Alexander Edmund Batson Davie (1847–1889), Canadian politician and ...

to use age as a reason for firing him and a jury agreed, awarding Moore $150,000 in pay and almost $400,000 in legal fees in 1998. Prior to joining the Pitt staff in 1977, Moore was head coach at Upper St. Clair High School in suburban Pittsburgh. From 1972-1975 Moore's USC teams were a combined 32-6-2. In 1974 and 1975 USC finished as WPIAL co-champions, tying Gateway High School 6-6 in 1974 and Newcastle High School 0-0 in 1975. The defensive captain of Moore's first USC team in 1972 was

Kirk Ferentz Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the Universi ...

, who is currently the head football coach at the University of Iowa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Joe 1932 births 2003 deaths Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Temple Owls football coaches Sports coaches from Pittsburgh