Joseph A. Perella Sr. ( – November 29, 2020) was an American

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 ...

coach. He was the head football coach for Cathedral Latin School—now

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin School Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin is a coeducational, Catholic college-preparatory school in Chardon, Ohio, sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame.. Background The school began as Notre Dame Academy, an all-girls school founded in 1878. The school ...

—from 1973 to 1979,

Beachwood High School Beachwood High School is a four-year college preparatory public high school located in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. It is part of the Beachwood City School District. Recognition Beachwood has earned three U.S. Department of Education ...

from 1980 to 1989,

University School University School, commonly referred to as US, is an all-boys, private, Junior Kindergarten–12 school with two campus locations in the Greater Cleveland area of Ohio. The campus located in Shaker Heights serves junior kindergarten through ...

from 1990 to 1993, and

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

from 2001 to 2003. He also coached for

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, John Carroll, St. Edward High School, and the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

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). He played college football for John Carroll.

Early life and playing career

Perella grew up in

Chardon, Ohio Chardon is a city in Geauga County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,242 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin School Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin is a coeducational, Catholic college-preparatory school in Chardon, Ohio, sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame.. Background The school began as Notre Dame Academy, an all-girls school founded in 1878. The school ...

. He was a three-sport athlete competing in

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 ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. He was named all-senate and all-catholic in basketball. Perella briefly attended

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

and was even named freshman basketball captain in 1958. He then transferred to

John Carroll University John Carroll University (JCU) is a Private university, private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio, United States. Located in a suburb of Cleveland, it is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts college, liberal arts institution compo ...

and played football and basketball. For the Blue Streaks football team he was a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and for the

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

he was a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. Between 1964 and 1968, Perella played semi-professional basketball for the Blepp Coombs Sporting Goods team in the Plain Dealer-Greater Cleveland Basketball League, helping the team to the playoffs in 1964.

Coaching career

In 1964, Perella returned to his alma mater, Cathedral Latin, as an assistant freshmen football coach, freshmen basketball coach, and assistant varsity track coach. In 1966, he transitioned to junior varsity coach for basketball before reverting to freshmen coach the following year. In 1968, Perella was hired as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

for

working with the

wide receivers A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense, WR gets its name from the player being spli ...

. He was hired alongside former NFL players Joe Avezzano and Junior Wren. After one season, Perella left to join

Lee Corso Lee Richard Corso (born August 7, 1935) is an American sports broadcaster and college football analyst for ESPN and a former coach. He has been an analyst on ESPN's '' College GameDay'' program since its inception in 1987. Corso served as the he ...

as his

ends End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) *End (topology) *End (graph theory) *End (graph_theory)#Cayley_graphs, End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) *End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridir ...

coach. In 1970, he transitioned to coaching the

offensive backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage, and players positioned there on offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including the quarterback and running backs ( halfbacks and fullb ...

and wide receivers. Perella was crucial in recruiting future NFL

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 ...

Tom Jackson Thomas, Tom, or Tommy Jackson may refer to: Academics *Thomas H. Jackson (born 1950), ninth president of the University of Rochester *Tom Jackson Jr. (born 1959), president of Black Hills State University, South Dakota *Thom Jackson (Thomas Matthew ...

, as both Jackson and Perella were from

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. After three seasons with Louisville, Perella resigned. He later recalled his experience in an interview with ''The Daily News'' stating "We lied to kids. We cheated to get them in school..." and that Corso told him that he was recruiting "too many black kids." Corso came out and denied all accusations Perella made against him, stating Perella was fueled by revenge. In 1972, Perella was hired as the backfield coach for

under head coach

Ray Callahan Kenneth Ray Callahan (April 28, 1933 – September 2, 2017) was an American football player and coach. He was recruited by Coach Paul Bear Bryant at the University of Kentucky in 1952 under a full scholarship. Coach Bryant mentored him often t ...

. In 1973, after five seasons coaching college football, Perella returned to high school, again to his alma mater. He was the head basketball coach and served as the offensive and

defensive backs In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

coach for the football team. He served as the team's interim head coach for the final three games of season. He resigned briefly to accept the offensive backfield position for the Virginia Ambassadors of the

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 ...

(WFL), but opted instead to return to Cathedral Latin and was promptly named head football coach while not returning as basketball coach. After six seasons as head coach of Cathedral Latin, Perella was hired as the head football coach for

Beachwood, Ohio Beachwood is a city in eastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census the city's population was 14,040. A suburb of Cleveland, it is a part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. History The land that eventually became Beachwo ...

. He took over for Dick Self who did not return after a 0–9–1 season as a member of the East Suburban Conference. In 1988, he led the team to a school-record 9–1 record and in the following season led them to their first playoff appearance. He resigned following the 1989 season. After spending the 1990 season as the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

for

, Perella took over as head football coach for long-time coach Cliff Foust. Perella resigned after three seasons as head coach with an overall record of 22–7. In 1994, Perella returned to college football and was hired as the offensive coordinator for his alma mater, John Carroll, under head coach Tony DeCarlo. Perella transformed the team into an

air raid offense In American football, the air raid offense is an offensive scheme popularized by such coaches as Earnest Wilson, Hal Mumme, Mike Leach, Sonny Dykes, and Tony Franklin during their respective tenures at Iowa Wesleyan University, Valdosta Sta ...

and helped lead the team to their first

Ohio Athletic Conference The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. All member institutions are located in Ohio. Formed in 1902, it is the third oldest athletic conference in the United States ...

(OAC) title since 1989. In 2000, Perella was hired as the co-offensive coordinator and primary play caller for the

of the

(CFL). In 2001, after one year in the CFL, Perella was hired as the head football coach for Case Western Reserve, taking over for Peter Germano. He earned his first win as a head coach after defeating

Oberlin Oberlin may refer to: ; Places in the United States * Oberlin Township, Decatur County, Kansas ** Oberlin, Kansas, a city in the township * Oberlin, Louisiana, a town * Oberlin, Ohio, a city * Oberlin, Licking County, Ohio, a ghost town * Oberlin, ...

45–19 where he also snapped an 11-game home losing streak at Finnigan Field. He ended his first season with a record of 5–5, an improvement from 3–7 the year prior. In his second season, he help lead the team to its first winning season since 1991 with a 6–4 record. He resigned after three seasons, leaving an overall record of 16–14. During his tenure as head coach, Perella's teams were known for their potent offenses but lackluster defenses. In 2004, shortly after Perella's resignation from Case Western Reserve, he rejoined Beachwood High School as the school's

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

. As athletic director, he hired his son, Joe Perella Jr., as basketball coach. Perella Sr. resigned in 2009 to accept the offensive coordinator position for St. Edward High School under head coach Rick Finotti. He coached at St. Edward until 2012 when he rejoined John Carroll for four seasons before retiring after the 2016 season.

Personal life and death

Perella died on November 29, 2020, in Cleveland.

Head coaching record

College football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perella, Joe 1940s births 2020 deaths American football quarterbacks Ashland University alumni Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball players Case Western Reserve Spartans football coaches Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches Florida State Seminoles football coaches Forwards (basketball) John Carroll Blue Streaks football coaches John Carroll Blue Streaks football players John Carroll Blue Streaks men's basketball players Louisville Cardinals football coaches San Antonio Wings coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches High school basketball coaches in Ohio High school football coaches in Ohio High school track and field coaches in the United States Basketball players from Cleveland Coaches of American football from Ohio People from Chardon, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio