Rick Venturi (born February 23, 1946) is a former

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, coach, and current broadcaster. He served as the head coach at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and as longtime

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) assistant coach known for his

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Biography

Early years

Rick Venturi was born February 23, 1946, in Taylorville, Illinois. Venturi 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 ...

at Rockford Auburn High School in Illinois as a sophomore and junior, and then at Pekin High School for his senior year. Following graduation he enrolled at

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, where he was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity.

Coaching career

Alumnus Venturi was hired by Northwestern on December 1, 1977, succeeding John Pont, who had announced relinquishing his coaching duties seventeen days prior on November 14 while remaining as the university's athletic director. Both Pont and Venturi were dismissed on November 18, 1980, after the Wildcats went in three seasons, ending with twenty consecutive losses. The losing streak lasted an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

-record 34 games, finally broken in 1982. Additionally, all but one of the black players on the football team had protested against the unequal treatment of African-American student athletes within the program. Venturi was succeeded by Dennis Green one month later on December 23. After leaving Northwestern, Venturi spent twelve years as an assistant with the Indianapolis Colts, beginning in 1982 when the team was still located in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. He would eventually rise to defensive coordinator. He also served as defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, and St. Louis Rams. Venturi also served as interim head coach of the Colts in 1991 and the Saints in 1996, with a career record of .

Broadcasting career

He now serves as the analyst on the Colts Radio Network.

Personal life

Venturi married the former Cheri Rotello of Rockford, Illinois, with whom he had two children, a boy and a girl.''Indianapolis Colts: 1992 Official Yearbook.'' Westport, CT: Professional Team Publications, 1992; p. 13. His late father, Joe Venturi, is a member of the Illinois High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame. Joe coached at Pekin High School in Illinois. His brother, John is also a member of the Illinois High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame. John coached at Washington High School where he won the 1985 Class 4A State Championship. John's 1983 Washington team was the 4A Runner-Up.

Head coaching record

College

NFL

* ''Interim head coach.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Venturi, Rick 1946 births Living people American football quarterbacks Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches Indianapolis Colts coaches Indianapolis Colts head coaches Cleveland Browns coaches Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaches NFL defensive coordinators New Orleans Saints coaches New Orleans Saints head coaches Northwestern Wildcats football coaches Northwestern Wildcats football players Purdue Boilermakers football coaches St. Louis Rams coaches Delta Upsilon members