Ralph Hawkins (May 4, 1935 – September 9, 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 ...

coach. He worked 35 years in 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) for nine teams. In addition to a long career as a college coach, Hawkins coached some of the top defensive units in the NFL.

Early years

Hawkins played at St. John's High School in Washington, D.C., winning Catholic league championships in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and football. During the '52-'53 school year, Hawkins was 1st team POST All Met in both Football and Basketball. After high school Hawkins attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

on a football

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

, where he 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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

."Ralph Warring Hawkins, NFL coach and scout."
Cape Gazette, September 14, 2004. Retrieved January 27, 2016. Hawkins played in the 1955

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

, and later graduated with a degree in physical education.

College coaching

Hawkins had a brief playing stint with the New York Titans before becoming head coach of football and an assistant basketball coach at Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

in 1958. In June, 1959, he was replaced as head football coach by his St John's and Maryland teammate Bob Rusevlyan to return to the University of Maryland to complete his studies and help coach the Freshman football team. Hawkins served as graduate assistant at the University of Maryland, and went on to coach at several colleges:

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, 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 ...

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 ...

NFL years

Hawkins began his NFL coaching career with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

from 1969 to 1971. He then served 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 a defensive assistant under George Allen from 1972 to 1977. In his first year on the staff, the Redskins advanced to

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 ...

, where they lost to the undefeated

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 ...

. During Hawkins' time in Washington, the Redskins posted a record of 58–26, making the playoffs four times. The defense ranked in the top five of the league three times. After spending one year 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 ...

, Hawkins moved on to 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 ...

, where he was linebackers coach and defensive coordinator from 1979 to 1980, before being fired on January 6, 1981. From the Giants, Hawkins went to coach for the

under head coach Chuck Knox and followed him to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. Hawkins coached the secondary from 1983 to 88, during which time his unit was one of the best in the league. In

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, the Seahawks entered the playoffs as a wildcard team and advanced to the conference championship game, losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural ...

. The

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 ...

team finished with a 12–4 record, losing in the divisional playoffs to the

. The 1984 Seahawks' secondary led the league with 38 interceptions"1984 Seattle Seahawks."
''www.pro-football-reference.com.'' Retrieved November 25, 2013.
''www.pro-football-reference.'' Retrieved November 26, 2013. The Seahawks intercepted 149 passes during Hawkins' six years in Seattle, second only to the

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 ...

. Hawkins contributed to Seahawk teams that had a combined record of 57–38 from 1983 to 1988, including four playoff appearances and an

AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...

Division title in 1988. Hawkins coached one season as

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

for 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 ...

in 1989,Eskenazi, Gerald
"Jets Hire Hawkins as Coach of Defense."
''The New York Times'', February 2, 1989. Retrieved November 26, 2013.Eskenazi, Gerald

''The New York Times'', December 27, 1989. Retrieved November 26, 2013. then spent the remainder of his career as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

. He scouted for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

(1991–93), the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

(1994–97), 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 ...

(1998–99) and the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

(2000–02).

Death

A resident of

Fenwick Island, Delaware Fenwick Island is a coastal resort town in Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to 2020 census figures, the population of the town is 355, a 2.6% decrease over the last decade. It is part of the Salisbury me ...

, Hawkins died September 9, 2004, in

Berlin, Maryland Berlin is a town in Worcester County, Maryland, United States which includes its own historical Berlin Commercial District. The population was 4,485 at the 2010 census, and has since grown in population. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland ...

. He suffered from

Pick's Disease Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), also called frontotemporal degeneration disease or frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder, encompasses several types of dementia involving the progressive degeneration of the brain's frontal and temporal lobes. Men ...

, a neurological disorder that causes

frontotemporal dementia Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), also called frontotemporal degeneration disease or frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder, encompasses several types of dementia involving the progressive degeneration of the brain's frontal lobe, frontal and tempor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Ralph 1934 births 2004 deaths Coaches of American football from Washington, D.C. Washington Redskins coaches Buffalo Bills coaches New York Giants coaches New York Jets coaches Seattle Seahawks coaches Indianapolis Colts coaches Maryland Terrapins football players Deaths from dementia in Maryland Deaths from Pick's disease Players of American football from Delaware People from Sussex County, Delaware NFL defensive coordinators