Larry Robert Seiple (born February 14, 1945) is an American former 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 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 ...

for the Kentucky Wildcats. He played professionally as a punter for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) from 1967 through 1969, and the NFL's Dolphins from 1970 through 1977. He was selected by the Dolphins in the seventh round of the 1967 NFL draft. With the Dolphins, Seiple was a part of two

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

-winning teams,

Super Bowl VII Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, when the Dolphins posted the only undefeated regular and post-season record to date in NFL history, and in Super Bowl VIII in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

Early life and education

Seiple was born in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, where he played football for

William Allen High School William Allen High School, often referred to as Allen High School or simply Allen, is one of two large, urban state school, public secondary education in the United States, high schools of the Allentown School District in Allentown, Pennsylvania. ...

. He played collegiate football at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. Seiple played wide receiver and running back for the Wildcats, while also handling punts, kickoffs, and kickoff returns. He was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection in his junior season, averaging 4.3 yards per carry while also scoring nine touchdowns and gaining 1,081 yards of offense. In three seasons, Seiple gained 2,137 yards from scrimmage and scored 18 touchdowns, while setting school records for average yards per catch, both in a season (23.5 in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

) and in a career (19.8). He had four receptions of at least 70 yards, and once converted a 4th and 41 with a 70 yard touchdown on a fake punt.

Football career

National Football League

Seiple entered the 1967 NFL/AFL draft and was selected by the

in Round 7 with the 163rd overall selection. Unlike most punters, Seiple also caught and carried the ball on occasion for the Dolphins. His most prolific year was 1969 when he netted 577 yards and scored five touchdowns, leading the Dolphins in both categories that year. Seiple was often able to rush for yards instead of punting. That type of risk paid dividends for the Dolphins in a

playoff game against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in which he ran for a 37-yard gain, keeping a drive alive. Miami would go on to win that game and the

that year, completing a perfect season of 17–0, the only perfect season by an NFL team in the league's history.

Coaching career

Seiple was

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

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

under then head coach Howard Schnellenberger, who also played college football at the University of Kentucky. Seiple was the Dolphins assistant coach for quarterbacks from 1998 to 1999 and their assistant coach for wide receivers from 1988 to 1997. From 1985 to 1986, he was assistant coach for wide receivers for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

and for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

from 1980 to 1984. On June 20, 2014 it was announced that Seiple would be inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seiple, Larry 1945 births Living people American Football League players American football punters Detroit Lions coaches Florida Atlantic Owls football coaches Kentucky Wildcats football players Miami Dolphins coaches Miami Dolphins players Players of American football from Allentown, Pennsylvania Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches William Allen High School alumni