Dan Henning
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born | June 21, 1942 Bronx, New York |
| Playing career | |
| 1961–1963 | William & Mary |
| 1964, 1966–1967 | San Diego Chargers |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1968–1970 | Florida State (assistant) |
| 1971 | Virginia Tech (assistant) |
| 1972 | Houston Oilers (assistant) |
| 1973 | Virginia Tech (assistant) |
| 1974 | Florida State (assistant) |
| 1976–1978 | New York Jets (WR) |
| 1979–1980 | Miami Dolphins (QB/WR) |
| 1981–1982 | Washington Redskins (OC) |
| 1983–1986 | Atlanta Falcons |
| 1987–1988 | Washington Redskins (OC) |
| 1989–1991 | San Diego Chargers |
| 1992–1993 | Detroit Lions (OC) |
| 1994–1996 | Boston College |
| 1997 | Buffalo Bills (OC) |
| 1998–1999 | New York Jets (QB) |
| 2000 | New York Jets (OC) |
| 2002–2006 | Carolina Panthers (OC) |
| 2008–2010 | Miami Dolphins (OC) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 38–73–1 (NFL) 16–19–1 (college) |
| Bowls | 1–0 |
| Statistics | |
Daniel Ernest Henning, (born June 21, 1942) is a former American football player and coach. A quarterback, he played college football at the College of William & Mary and professional football in 1966 for the American Football League's San Diego Chargers. Henning served as the head coach of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons (1983–1986) and San Diego Chargers (1989–1991). He was also the head football coach at Boston College from 1994 to 1996. Henning then returned to the NFL as an offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills in 1997. After Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy retired, reportedly partially due to his reluctance to fire Henning, Henning left Buffalo.
Contents
Coaching career
While the head coach of Boston College, Henning discovered a major sports betting scandal among his own players, the second major gambling scandal to affect Boston College athletics in less than 20 years. It had been an open secret that football players were gambling, even though NCAA rules bar any form of gambling by student-athletes. However, after a 45-17 thumping at the hands of Syracuse on October 26, 1996, Henning heard rumors that players were betting against their own team. At a team meeting later that week, Henning asked anyone who was involved in gambling to stand up. No one did so. After the Eagles lost a close game to Pittsburgh a week later—one in which they were 11-point favorites—an irate Henning demanded that anyone involved in gambling come forward. At a players-only meeting two days later, anywhere from 25 to 30 players admitted gambling, but the five that the captains suspected of betting against their own team failed to own up. Henning notified university officials of his suspicions, and they were concerned enough to call in Middlesex County district attorney Thomas Reilly, who launched an investigation.[1]
The resulting inquiry resulted in the suspension of 13 players for the final three games of the season, and eight of them never played another down for the Eagles again. With the effects of the scandal and a 16–19–1 record after three seasons, Henning retired at the end of the 1996 season.[2][3]
Henning had two stints as the offensive coordinator with the Washington Redskins (1981–82, 1987–88). He won two Super Bowl rings during this time.
Most recently, Henning was named offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins, throwing wrinkles in the offense which put Ronnie Brown as quarterback leading to a 38–13 win at the New England Patriots.[4] His implementation of the "Wildcat" or single-wing offense was covered heavily by the media, and soon adopted by several other NFL teams in 2008 and 2009.
He was previously the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers from 2002 until January 2007. Henning helped lead his team to the Super Bowl after the 2003 season. After the 2005 season in which the Panthers returned to the NFC Championship game, they were considered Super Bowl contenders in 2006. However, the offense struggled due to injuries and what critics deemed conservative play-calling by Henning, resulting in an 8–8 season and his firing.[5]
His son, Dan, played college football as a quarterback at Maryland under head coach Bobby Ross.[6]
Head coaching record
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College Eagles (Big East Conference) (1994–1996) | |||||||||
| 1994 | Boston College | 7–4–1 | 3–3–1 | 5th | W Aloha | 22 | 23 | ||
| 1995 | Boston College | 4–8 | 4–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1996 | Boston College | 5–7 | 2–5 | 6th | |||||
| Boston College: | 16–19–1 | 9–11–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 16–19–1 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
| #Rankings from final Coaches Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll. |
|||||||||
See also
References
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| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Buffalo Bills Offensive Coordinator 1997 |
Succeeded by Joe Pendry |
| Preceded by | New York Jets Offensive Coordinator 2000 |
Succeeded by Paul Hackett |
| Preceded by | Carolina Panthers Offensive Coordinator 2002–2006 |
Succeeded by Jeff Davidson |
| Preceded by
Mike Mularkey (2006)
|
Miami Dolphins Offensive Coordinator 2008–2010 |
Succeeded by Brian Daboll |
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
- ↑ ROSS' POST WITH BILLS CONTINGENT, The Richmond Times, December 23, 1986.
- Pages with reference errors
- 1942 births
- Living people
- American football quarterbacks
- Atlanta Falcons head coaches
- Boston College Eagles football coaches
- Buffalo Bills coaches
- Carolina Panthers coaches
- Detroit Lions coaches
- Florida State Seminoles football coaches
- Houston Oilers coaches
- Miami Dolphins coaches
- New York Jets coaches
- San Diego Chargers (AFL) players
- San Diego Chargers head coaches
- Virginia Tech Hokies football coaches
- Washington Redskins coaches
- William & Mary Tribe football players
- St. Francis Preparatory School alumni
- Sportspeople from the Bronx
- Articles with dead external links from January 2012
