Joseph Louis Scannella (May 22, 1928 – May 3, 2018) 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.

Biography

Scannella was born on May 22, 1928, in

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in New Jersey, the state's 16th-most-populous ...

, to Anthony and Jenny ( castrogiovanni) Scannella.

Playing career

Scannella played

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 ...

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

from 1947 to 1949 before coaching.

Coaching career

He began his coaching career as an assistant at

Clifton High School Clifton High School may refer to: United Kingdom *Clifton High School, Bristol – Clifton, Bristol United States * Clifton High School (Clifton, New Jersey) – Clifton, New Jersey * Clifton High School (Clifton, Arizona) – Clifton, Arizona ...

Clifton, New Jersey Clifton is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways, the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area.L ...

. His first head coaching job was at

Oceanside High School Oceanside High School is an American public secondary school located in Oceanside, California. It is part of the Oceanside Unified School District (OUSD). OUSD on-post properties of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton are assigned to this high sc ...

Oceanside, New York Oceanside is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the southern part of the town of Hempstead (town), New York, Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 32,109 at the 2010 census. ...

. He was the Sailors head coach from 1955 to 1959 before becoming the ends coach at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. He left Cornell after one season to become head coach at Baldwin High School. In 1964, he was hired by C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University to serve as head football coach and

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 ...

. In four seasons with the Pioneers, he had a 19–15–2 record. He left in 1968 to take a front-office job with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He was hired by

Holy Cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast o ...

in February 1969 to serve as the Crusaders

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 ...

but resigned a week later to become offensive backfield coach for the Montreal Alouettes. In 1970, he was hired by the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

to coach the Catamounts football team. In 1972, he became the

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

coach for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

under head coach

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American professional football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, leading them ...

. He was a member of the coaching staff in 1976 when the Raiders defeated the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

Super Bowl XI Super Bowl XI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1976 Oakland Raiders season, Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1976 Minnesota Vikings season, Minnesota Vikings ...

. He left the Raiders to become head coach of the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

. Scannella coached the Alouettes from 1978 to 1981, with his Alouettes appearing in the 66th and 67th

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

s, losing both. Scannella was

Sam Rutigliano Sam William Rutigliano (born July 1, 1931) is an American former football coach who is a television football analyst for WEWS, the ABC affiliate in Cleveland. He served as the head coach for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League ...

's running backs coach in

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 ...

from 1982 to 1983 before being promoted to offensive coordinator in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. He was not retained by the new head coach

Marty Schottenheimer Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American professional football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He was the head coach of the Cl ...

following the 1984 season. In 1987, Scannella returned to the Raiders, who had by this time moved to Los Angeles, this time as the team's offensive backfield coach. Here he would coach two former

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

winners

Marcus Allen Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal li ...

and

Bo Jackson Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football, football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-star#Sports, All-Star in Major professio ...

. After the 1988 season, he and quarterbacks coach Tom Walsh were fired by the head coach

Mike Shanahan Michael Edward Shanahan ( ; born August 24, 1952) is an American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he led th ...

, but owner

Al Davis Allen R. Davis (July 4, 1929 – October 8, 2011) was an American professional football executive and coach. He was the managing general partner, principal owner and ''de facto'' general manager of the National Football League (NFL) Oakland Rai ...

refused to allow this and the two coaches stayed on. Joe Scannella retired from coaching in February 1994. He served as a scout for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

during the 2000s.

Death

Scannella died on May 3, 2018, in

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland, California, Oakland. Walnut Creek has a total population of 70,127 per t ...

, three weeks short of his 90th birthday. At the time of his death, he was the last living Vermont varsity football head coach. He is survived by his wife, Lillian Scannella, his 4 children, his grandchildren, and his sister, Marylin Trauth.

Head coaching record

College football CFL

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scannella, Joe 1928 births 2018 deaths American football quarterbacks Cleveland Browns coaches Cornell Big Red football coaches Indianapolis Colts scouts Lehigh Mountain Hawks football players LIU Post Pioneers football coaches Montreal Alouettes coaches Oakland Raiders coaches Vermont Catamounts football coaches High school football coaches in New Jersey High school football coaches in New York (state) Sportspeople from Clifton, New Jersey Sportspeople from Passaic, New Jersey People from Oceanside, New York Sportspeople from Hempstead, New York Players of American football from Passaic County, New Jersey