Richard Eugene McGeorge (born September 14, 1948) 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 who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for nine seasons 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 ...

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).

Playing career

After graduating from Jefferson High School in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

, McGeorge enrolled and played football at Elon College (now

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...

).Doug Doughty, "Hometown hero McGeorge gets a second chance", ''The Roanoke Times'', December 17, 2012. http://ww2.roanoke.com/sports/college/wb/318020/ . Retrieved February 14, 2015. He was the first tight end selected in the 1970 NFL Draft. Other tight ends who would also go on to play in the NFL who were drafted after McGeorge in 1970 include Raymond Chester,

Rich Caster Richard C. Caster (October 16, 1948 – February 2, 2024) was an American professional American football, football player who was a tight end for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New York Jets. He also played ...

and Stu Voigt. While he did not start in any of the 14 games he played in his rookie season, he would go on to start 101 games for the Packers. He was the Packers' starting tight end in every 1971 game and in all Packers games between 1973 and 1978 but one. He caught 175 passes for 2,370 yards in his NFL career. McGeorge had also started the first two games in 1972, but was lost for the season to a knee injury in the second regular season game, against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. He was therefore unavailable to play for the Packers in their playoff loss against 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 ...

—the only time the Packers made the playoffs in McGeorge's years there. McGeorge bounced back the next season, and was named the Packers' offensive player of the year in 1973.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

McGeorge received his BA degree in Health and Physical Education from Elon in 1971. He and his wife Bonnie have two sons, Randy and Jason.

Post-playing career

McGeorge spent most of his post-NFL career as an assistant football coach and offensive coordinator. He was an assistant coach in three different pro football leagues: the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

(with 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 ...

), the

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(with the Birmingham Stallions and

Tampa Bay Bandits The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal ...

Duke Sports Information, "Rich McGeorge Added To Blue Devil Football Staff", January 12, 2002. Available online: http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=142508 . Retrieved February 15, 2015. and the XFL, where he was the offensive coordinator for the

Memphis Maniax The Memphis Maniax were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The team was part of the XFL (2001), XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. Home gam ...

in the XFL's only season, 2001. He worked under

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nicknam ...

at both

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, and was his offensive coordinator with the Bandits. In addition, he worked as an assistant coach at

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliati ...

and

Shaw University Shaw University is a private historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded on December 1, 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU to begin offering courses in the Southern United States. The school had its origin in the fo ...

. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 2012 for his college football career at

.J. P. Giglio, "Elon great Rich McGeorge finally honored", ''News and Observer'', June 11, 2012. http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/06/11/2129918/health-honors-for-rich-mcgeorge.html . Retrieved February 14, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGeorge, Rich 1948 births Living people American football tight ends Birmingham Stallions coaches Duke Blue Devils football coaches Elon Phoenix football players Florida Gators football coaches Green Bay Packers coaches Green Bay Packers players Memphis Maniax coaches Miami Dolphins coaches North Carolina Central Eagles football coaches Shaw Bears football coaches Tampa Bay Bandits coaches College Football Hall of Fame inductees Liver transplant recipients Coaches of American football from Virginia Players of American football from Roanoke, Virginia