Nicholas Leonard Skorich (June 26, 1921 – October 2, 2004) 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 ...

player and coach. Skorich played

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

at Bellaire High School and the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

before joining the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in 1943. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he signed with 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 ...

, who had taken him in the 1943 NFL draft. He played three years for the Steelers. Skorich then went into coaching, first at the

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

level, then as an assistant with the Steelers from 1954 to 1957. After one year with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, he moved to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, who promoted him to head coach after

Buck Shaw Lawrence Timothy "Buck" Shaw (March 28, 1899 – March 19, 1977) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach for Santa Clara University, the University of California, Berkeley, the San Francisco 49ers, the United States Air F ...

retired following the Eagles' 1960 championship season. The Eagles remained competitive in 1961, winning 10 of 14 games, but fell to 3–10–1 in 1962 and 2–10–2 in 1963. Fired from the Eagles, Skorich took a job as a defensive assistant under

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

coach

Blanton Collier Blanton Long Collier (July 2, 1906 – March 22, 1983) was an American football head coach who coached at the University of Kentucky between 1954 and 1961 and for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL) between 1963 and 1970. ...

in 1964. The Browns promoted him to

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 ...

four years later and

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 ...

on January 7, 1971, upon Collier's retirement after the 1970 season. In 1970, the Browns had gone 7–7 in only their second non-winning season since beginning play in 1946. Under Skorich, the Browns went 9–5 in 1971, winning the AFC Central Division before losing to the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

in the divisional playoffs. The following year, the Browns earned a wild card spot with a 10–4 record. In the playoffs, they came as close as anyone else that season did to beating 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 ...

in that team's perfect season, losing 20–14 on a late

Jim Kiick James Forrest Kiick (; August 9, 1946 – June 20, 2020) was an American professional football player. He played as a running back for the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, and the Washington Redskins in the American Football League (AFL) fr ...

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. But by then Browns greats like

Leroy Kelly Leroy Kelly (born May 20, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1973. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1 ...

, Gary Collins and Gene Hickerson had retired or were winding down their careers, and

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 ...

Mike Phipps Michael Elston Phipps (born January 19, 1947) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1970s and 1980s. Phipps played college football for the Purd ...

was proving to be a disappointment. Cleveland dropped to 7–5–2 in 1973 and, in its first last-place finish ever, 4–10 in 1974. The Browns replaced Skorich with former

star

Forrest Gregg Alvis Forrest Gregg (October 18, 1933 – April 12, 2019) was an American professional football player and coach. A Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive tackle for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), he was a part of six NFL champ ...

. Several players drafted under Skorich, including

Brian Sipe Brian Winfield Sipe (born August 8, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 to 1983. He then played in the United States Football Lea ...

, Doug Dieken and

Greg Pruitt Gregory Donald Pruitt (born August 18, 1951) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) from 1973 through 1984. He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners. Pruitt was ...

would play well for Gregg and his successor,

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 ...

. After leaving Cleveland, Skorich served as supervisor of

officials An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of the ...

for the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. He is credited with developing mechanics for umpires, the most demanding position on an officiating crew since the umpire is positioned behind the

defensive 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 (D ...

and is often caught in the middle of heavy traffic during play. The mechanics for umpires was changed by the NFL for the 2010 season, moving the umpire behind the quarterback, parallel to the referee, except for the last two minutes of each half. He died in 2004, after complications from heart surgery. In his memory his family started the Nicholas L. Skorich scholarship fund, which, holds a yearly golf outing.

References

External links

Nicholas Skorich Scholarship Fund
*

by Steve King, Clevelandbrowns.com, October 4, 2004, retrieved December 8, 2005.

Bibliography

*Carroll, Bob, et al. (1999). ''Total Football II''. New York: HarperCollins. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Skorich, Nick 1921 births 2004 deaths American football guards Cincinnati Bearcats football players Cleveland Browns coaches Green Bay Packers coaches Philadelphia Eagles coaches Pittsburgh Steelers coaches Pittsburgh Steelers players RPI Engineers football coaches High school football coaches in Pennsylvania United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers Players of American football from Bellaire, Ohio Cleveland Browns head coaches Philadelphia Eagles head coaches