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Scott John Pelluer (April 28, 1959 – June 26, 2023) was an American professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player who was a linebacker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
for the Washington State Cougars and coached at several collegiate programs.


Early years

Born in Yakima, Washington, Pelluer attended Mead High School north of Spokane, then moved in 1975 with his family to Bellevue, a suburb east of Seattle. He transferred to Interlake High School as a junior, and was a tight end and linebacker for the Saints. After graduation in 1977, Pelluer accepted a scholarship from Washington State University in Pullman, where he was a four-year starter at defensive end and
outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...
. As a junior in
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
, he registered 71 tackles, three sacks (led the team) and two interceptions. Pelluer followed that in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
with twelve sacks (a school record at the time) and two interceptions. Pelluer finished his college career with 240 tackles (180 solo) and 19 sacks, at the time ranking as the school career sack leader and one of the top career tacklers.


Professional career


Dallas Cowboys

Pelluer was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round (91st overall) of the
1981 NFL Draft The 1981 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1981, at the New York She ...
. At the time, he was assisting with spring football practice at Weber State in
Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...
, under first-year head coach
Mike Price Michael Bruce Price (born April 6, 1946) is a former American football coach. He was the head coach at Weber State College from 1981 to 1988, Washington State University from 1989 to 2002, and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 2004 ...
. Pelluer was waived by the Cowboys on August 3.


New Orleans Saints

On September 1,
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
, Pelluer was signed as a free agent by the New Orleans Saints, where he was a backup
outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...
under head coach Bum Phillips. From
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
to
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 Southeast A ...
, he only had one start at linebacker, focusing most of his playing time on special teams. In
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, he appeared in eleven games, with five starts as a right inside linebacker in the team's 3-4 defense. He missed three games with a hamstring injury, and was placed on the injured reserve list with a knee injury for the final two contests of the season. On August 19,
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...
, Pelluer was placed on the injured reserve list. In January
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
, he was released before the start of training camp, as part of a youth movement.


Coaching career

From 1986 to 1992, Pelluer served as a defensive assistant coach at Boise State University. From 1993 to 1995, he was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at
Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...
. In 1996, he was named the linebackers and safeties coach at the University of Washington. In 1999, he joined the private sector to work for a sports Internet firm, while also being the color commentator on Washington State's football radio broadcasts. In 2000, he was named the defensive coordinator at Skyline High School, helping them win the Washington state championship. From 2001 to 2002, he was the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at the University of Arizona. In 2003, he returned to the University of Washington, to be the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach.


Personal life

Pelluer's father Arnie (1934–1971) was a standout multi-sport athlete from Bremerton and played at Washington State from
1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
to
1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
. He was later the track coach at
Yakima Valley College Yakima Valley College (YVC) is a public college in Yakima, Washington. It was founded as Yakima Valley Community College in 1928 with Elizabeth Prior serving as the institution's first president. The college offers five Bachelor of Applied Scienc ...
,
Whitworth Whitworth may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Whitworth, County Durham, a former civil parish in England **Whitworth Hall, County Durham *Whitworth, Lancashire, a town in England *Whitworth Art Gallery, an art gallery in Manchester, England *Whitw ...
in Spokane, and Eastern Washington in Cheney; diagnosed with diabetes, Arnie had a seizure while swimming at the Whitworth Terrace Community pool in Spokane and died at His widow Jodee (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Gustafson) later married Jim Harryman and the family moved to the Seattle area in 1975 so the boys could play football at Interlake under head coach Rollie Robbins, a friend Brother
Steve ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...
(born 1962) was the starting quarterback for rival Washington and in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys; youngest brother Arnie was a linebacker at
Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
from
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
to
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
. Their maternal grandfather, Carl Gustafson, was a fullback at Washington State from
1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...
to
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...
. Pelluer's three sons played Division I college football: Tyler at Montana ( FCS), Cooper at Washington, and Peyton at Washington State. Pelluer died from a cardiac arrest at a Seattle hospital on June 26, 2023, at the age of 64.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelluer, Scott 1959 births 2023 deaths American football linebackers Arizona Wildcats football coaches Boise State Broncos football coaches New Orleans Saints players Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football coaches Washington Huskies football coaches Washington State Cougars football players Dallas Cowboys players Washington State University alumni High school football coaches in Washington (state) Sportspeople from Yakima, Washington Players of American football from Washington (state)