John Gregory (November 22, 1938 – December 12, 2022) was an American

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 ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

. He coached

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 ...

and at the professional level in 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),

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL), and

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

(IFL).

Coaching career

Early years

Gregory's first coaching job was at Iowa Central Community College, where he was assistant head coach and athletic director of the new football program. In Gregory's three years there, the program had a 24–3–1 record and won the Wool Bowl in 1969. John Matuszak, who was recruited by Gregory, went on to become the number one pick in the

1973 NFL draft The 1973 NFL draft was held January 30–31, 1973, at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Houston Oilers selected defensive end John Matuszak. Player selections Round one ...

. His first college head coaching job was at South Dakota State, where he had 55–50–3 record from 1972 to 1981. Gregory is third in school history in coaching victories and his 1979 team had a single season best record of 9–2. SDSU didn't have a winning record the previous 11 seasons before Gregory's arrival. After serving as Northern Iowa offensive coordinator in 1982, Gregory was the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

coach of 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 ...

for the six seasons. 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 ...

Winnipeg won the

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 ...

in part due to Gregory's offensive line that helped set a CFL single season rushing record.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

After the 1986 season he was hired to coach

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

, a team that had no playoff appearances in the past 10 years. While the Saskatchewan Roughriders finished in 4th (and last) place in the CFL West Division with a 5-12-1 record in his first season at the helm of the Western Riders in 1987, the following year, he led the Riders to an 11–7 record and a playoff berth. He won the Annis Stukus Trophy as the league's coach of the year. In 1989, the Roughriders finished 9–9 and won the 77th Grey Cup, their first since

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. After a 1–6 start in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, he was fired and replaced by

Don Matthews Donald J. Matthews, a.k.a. "the Don", (June 22, 1939 – June 14, 2017) was a head coach of several professional football teams, mostly in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He won 231 games in the CFL, the List of Canadian Football League hea ...

. He had a 35–43–1 overall record in Saskatchewan.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

That same season, he was hired to replace David Beckman as head coach of the 0–8

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

. He made the postseason two of the four years he was with the team and finished with a 24–40 record.

Arena Football

In 1995, Jim Foster hired Gregory to build an

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. Gregory coached the Iowa Barnstormers to five division titles in six seasons and led the team to two ArenaBowls.

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 ...

Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, whi ...

and Aaron Garcia are considered two of the greatest AFL players ever. Gregory was named AFL Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996. The Barnstormers relocated to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 2001, becoming the

New York Dragons The New York Dragons were a professional arena football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Dragons participated in the Arena Football League's (AFL) National Conference as a member of the Eastern Division (AFL), Eastern Division. ...

; and Gregory left the team in 2003. Gregory later joined the

Carolina Cobras The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was formed prior to the 2000 season, which endured a player strike. The team was originally based in Raleigh, North Carolina, but moved to Charlotte followin ...

as offensive coordinator under

Ed Khayat Edward Michel Khayat (September 14, 1935 – December 6, 2024) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He spent 10 years as a player (117 game total) and 25 as a coach. He was a starting de ...

; after a 2–4 start to the 2004 season, Khayat was fired and Gregory took over. In his first game as Carolina's interim head coach, playing the defending ArenaBowl champion

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

, the Cobras scored 24 unanswered points in the third quarter to win 54–43; it was the team's first home win since 2002. However, the Cobras suffered a losing streak that dropped them to 3–7, leading to Gregory's dismissal with six games left in the season. In 2005, Gregory came out of retirement to coach the Arkansas Twisters. He went 5–7 in his first season and 10–6 in the 2006 season, losing the National Conference Championship to the

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divis ...

. In 2007, the Twisters improved to a 12–4 record, a franchise best, but lost to the Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings in the first round of the playoffs. In 2007, it was announced that Gregory would return to Iowa to coach the new expansion Iowa Barnstormers. On May 17, 2011, Gregory resigned from his position with the Barnstormers. In 2012, Gregory was the offensive coordinator for the

. It is his first position where he has not been a team head coach for more than two decades. Gregory was the commissioner of the

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams. A team's typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, but as of the 2022 ...

during its first season in 2017.

Personal life and death

Gregory died on December 12, 2022, at the age of 84.

Head coaching record

College

CFL

AFL & af2

References

External links

*
Arena Fan coaching profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, John 1938 births 2022 deaths Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaches Hamilton Tiger-Cats general managers Iowa Central Tritons football coaches Northern Iowa Panthers football players Northern Iowa Panthers football coaches Saskatchewan Roughriders coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches South Dakota State Jackrabbits football coaches Carolina Cobras coaches Tampa Bay Storm coaches Iowa Barnstormers coaches New York Dragons coaches Texas Revolution coaches People from Webster City, Iowa Coaches of American football from Iowa Players of American football from Iowa