Alfred Theodore Tollner (born May 29, 1940) is an American former
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 ...
coach. He was the head coach at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
(USC) from 1983 to 1986 and
San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...
(SDSU) from 1994 to 2001, compiling an overall
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 ...
record of 69–68–1. Tollner also was an assistant coach 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 15 seasons, including stints as
offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
for the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...
,
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 ...
and
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
.
Playing career
Tollner attended
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 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 ...
. Tollner was on the
1960 Mustangs team that suffered
a plane crash in
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...
. He survived the plane crash; however, 22 people of the 45 people on board were killed, including 16 of his teammates.
With the
Mustangs from 1959 through 1961, Tollner compiled 2,244 passing yards.
He was later a member of the silver medal-winning U.S. baseball team at the
1963 Pan American Games.
Coaching career
High school
Tollner's first coaching job was at
Morro Bay High School. He served for a year there before moving on to
Woodside High School where he worked one year as offensive coordinator before coming head coach.
College
Tollner then coached at
College of San Mateo from 1968 to 1972. He served as the offensive coordinator for
San Diego State under
Claude Gilbert from 1973 to 1980. He also served as the quarterbacks coach at
Brigham Young
Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...
(BYU) in 1981.
He became offensive coordinator of the
USC Trojans football program under head coach
John Robinson in 1982, and succeeded to the head coaching position a year later when Robinson stepped down to take an administrative post at the university. During his four-year tenure Tollner compiled a 26–20–1 record. He led the Trojans to the
Pacific-10 conference championship in
1984. That team defeated
Ohio State in the 1985
Rose Bowl game. He was replaced as the USC head coach by
Larry Smith after the 1986 season after going 1–3 in the
UCLA–USC rivalry and 0–4 vs.
Notre Dame in the
Notre Dame–USC rivalry.
In 1994, he returned to San Diego State, this time as the head coach. He coached there for eight years. Tollner was known for scheduling a tough non-conference schedule including schools like
Washington,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
,
USC USC may refer to:
Education
United States
* Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico
* University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina
* ...
,
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
,
Arizona State and
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
. His Aztec teams posted eight-win seasons in 1995 and 1996, the first time it reached that level in consecutive years since 1977. In 1998, his Aztecs posted a 7–1 conference record (7–5 overall), grabbed a share of the conference championship, and earned a trip to the
Las Vegas Bowl. Overall, he led the Aztecs to a 43–48 record until his firing in 2001.
NFL
Tollner served as the wide receivers coach for 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 1987 to 1988. He served as the offensive coordinator for the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...
from 1989 to 1991. He served as the quarterbacks coach for the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
from 1992 to 1993. In 2002, he then became the quarterbacks coach for 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 ...
. After two successful seasons, he was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2004. When
Dennis Erickson was fired as head coach, he was not retained. In 2005, he became the offensive coordinator of the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
. When
Steve Mariucci and several of his assistants were fired 11 weeks into the season, Tollner was demoted to tight ends coach for the remainder of the season.
In late 2006, he was listed as a potential candidate for the head coaching opening for the
University of San Diego
The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...
that later went to
Ron Caragher.
In late 2007 it was announced that he would serve as offensive assistant for the San Francisco 49ers in a late season attempt to revive the lacking offense. In early 2008 Tollner was named quarterbacks coach/assistant to the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers to get a permanent role in the organization again. On December 30, 2008, Tollner was dismissed from the 49ers along with running backs coach
Tony Nathan and offensive coordinator
Mike Martz.
On February 4, 2009, Tollner was introduced as a part of the Oakland Raiders' coaching staff as he was named the passing game coordinator of the team. When
Hue Jackson was hired as the Raiders head coach he dismissed Tollner and several others from their positions.
In 2011, Tollner announced his retirement from coaching.
Head coaching record
College
Junior college
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tollner, Ted
1940 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Buffalo Bills coaches
BYU Cougars football coaches
Cal Poly Mustangs football players
Detroit Lions coaches
Los Angeles Rams coaches
NFL offensive coordinators
Oakland Raiders coaches
San Diego Chargers coaches
San Diego State Aztecs football coaches
San Mateo Bulldogs football coaches
San Francisco 49ers coaches
USC Trojans football coaches
High school football coaches in California
Baseball players at the 1963 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games
Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in baseball
Players of American football from San Francisco
Coaches of American football from California