Richard Lantz (January 4, 1938 – March 26, 2023) 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 interim head football coach at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

for three games in 2001, following the firing of Charlie Weatherbie. He was formerly a widely recognized

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 ...

in the

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 ...

ranks and held high-profile jobs at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

and the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. He also served as an assistant coach at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

, the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

, the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

, and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

. Lantz also coached the Berlin Thunder and

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

. In three seasons (2004–2006) with the Berlin Thunder, Lantz coached the team to an 18–11–1 regular season record. In addition, the Thunder competed in two World Bowls. Berlin won World Bowl XII, 30–24, over the Frankfurt Galaxy on June 12, 2004, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The following year, the Thunder fell in World Bowl XIII, 27–21, to the

Amsterdam Admirals The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the NFL Europe. History The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, t ...

on June 11, 2005, in Düsseldorf, Germany. The 2006 Berlin season included a 17–17 tie on the road against the Hamburg Sea Devils on April 1, one of just two ties in the history of NFL Europe. Lantz took the reins of the

in 2007, the final season of NFL Europe. He coached the team to a 4–6 record. Lantz died on March 26, 2023, at the age of 85.https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/charlottesville-va/richard-lantz-11219675

Head coaching record

College

Professional

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lantz, Rick 1938 births 2023 deaths Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) coaches Berlin Thunder coaches Boston University Terriers football coaches Buffalo Bulls football coaches Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football coaches Louisville Cardinals football coaches Miami Hurricanes football coaches New England Patriots coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Omaha Nighthawks coaches Rhein Fire coaches Virginia Cavaliers football coaches High school football coaches in Maine Sportspeople from New Britain, Connecticut