Pete McCulley (November 29, 1931 – November 25, 1992) 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. He served as the head coach of 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 ...

(NFL)'s

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

for the first nine games of the 1978 season. Winning only one game during that span, he was fired and replaced with Fred O'Connor.

College career

McCulley was a two-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

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 ...

at Louisiana Tech in

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

and 1955. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Stephen F. Austin, followed by two years as backfield coach at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

in 1960 and 1961. He was later quarterbacks and receivers coach at both Baylor from

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

and on Rick Forzano's staff at

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

from

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

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, ...

.Baltimore Colts 1973 Media Guide (profile on page 7).
Retrieved November 20, 2020

Professional career

He entered the NFL as receivers coach on Howard Schnellenberger's staff with 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 ...

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 ...

. He remained with the Colts through the first two years of the Ted Marchibroda era, adding the title of conditioning coach in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. His departure from the Colts was a result of the January 21, 1977 dismissal of general manager Joe Thomas who had lost a power struggle to Marchibroda over player personnel decisions. McCulley joined George Allen's staff with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

as receivers coach two weeks later on February 4."49ers Name McCulley Coach," ''The Washington Post'', Wednesday, January 11, 1978.
Retrieved November 20, 2020 After a season with the Redskins, he signed a three-year contract as head coach of the

on January 10, 1978, succeeding

Ken Meyer Kenneth W. Meyer (July 14, 1925 – August 14, 2016) was an American American football, football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He may be best remembered as the head coach of the National Football League (NFL)'s Sa ...

who had been fired earlier that day. He was reunited with Thomas who had been appointed 49ers general manager upon Edward J. DeBartolo Sr.'s purchase of the franchise prior to the 1977 season. McCulley had actually been Thomas' first choice just after he had joined the Redskins one year earlier."49ers Name McCulley as New Coach," ''United Press International'' (UPI), Tuesday, January 10, 1978.
Retrieved November 20, 2020 Allen denied Thomas permission to contact McCulley then, but eventually relented with a recommendation. McCulley was the 49ers' fourth different head coach in as many years and the second hired by Thomas. In his introductory press conference, he had stressed the importance of improving the team's passing game. He stated, "You make the big play with a passing game. You win in this league with a passing game." After a 1-8 start, he was later fired 9 games into his first season. When asked if he was surprised about his abrupt firing by the 49ers, he responded, "No, I haven't been surprised since I found out ice cream cones weren't filled all the way to the bottom." The quote eventually appeared in ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'' which presented him with a $25 check that he never cashed.Davis, Craig. "You Don't Remember McCulley? You Will," ''Sun-Sentinel'' (Deerfield Beach, FL), Sunday, December 1, 1991.
Retrieved November 21, 2020 He joined Walt Michaels' staff with the

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

as receivers coach on February 5, 1979, succeeding Dan Henning who had moved on to 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 ...

. His dismissal from the Jets four years later on February 10, 1983, was one of the first acts as new head coach for Joe Walton, successor to Michaels whose retirement had been announced the previous day. McCulley was named quarterbacks coach with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

on February 17, 1983. In his first season with the ballclub, he played a key role in the development of Bill Kenney into a

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

quarterback. His four years with

John Mackovic John Mackovic (born October 1, 1943) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Italy national American football team from 2014-2023, which was formed to compete in the EFAF European Championship. Previously, Ma ...

's staff ended on January 12, 1987, when new Chiefs coach Frank Gansz, who replaced the fired Mackovic, elected not to retain him."Basketball" (Transactions), ''Orlando'' (FL) ''Sentinel'', Tuesday, January 13, 1987.
Retrieved November 20, 2020

Later years

McCulley was the head coach of the Finland national American football team when it was

European Championship of American football The European Championship is a continental competition of American football founded in 1983 and contested by the member countries of IFAF Europe. The tournament also serves as a qualifier for the IFAF World Cup. This Championship is also known as ...

finalists in 1989 and 1991. He was to have served in a similar capacity with the Miami Tribe in the Professional Spring Football League.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCulley, Pete 1931 births 1992 deaths American football quarterbacks Baltimore Colts coaches Baylor Bears football coaches Houston Cougars football coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football players Navy Midshipmen football coaches New York Jets coaches People from Franklin County, Mississippi San Francisco 49ers head coaches Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football coaches Washington Redskins coaches