John Gregory (American football coach)

John Gregory
Date of birth (1938-11-22) November 22, 1938
Career history
As administrator
1969–1971 Iowa Central C.C. (Athletic director)
1995–2003 Iowa Barnstormers (General manager)
As coach
1969–1971 Iowa Central C.C. (Asst.)
1972–1981 South Dakota State
1982 Northern Iowa (OC)
1983–1986 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (OL)
1987–1991 Saskatchewan Roughriders
1991–1994 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1995–2003 Iowa Barnstormers/New York Dragons
2004 Carolina Cobras
2005–2007 Arkansas Twisters
2008–2011 Iowa Barnstormers
2012 Tampa Bay Storm (OC)
Career highlights and awards
Awards 1995 AFL Coach of the Year
1996 AFL Coach of the Year

John Gregory (born November 22, 1938) is a former American football head coach. Gregory's last head coaching stint came with the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League.

Coaching career

Early years

Gregory's first coaching job was at Iowa Central Community College, where he was assistant head coach and athletic director of the new football program. In Gregory's three years there, the program had a 24–3–1 record and won the Wool Bowl in 1969. John Matuszak, who was recruited by Gregory, went on to become the number one pick in the 1973 NFL Draft.

His first college head coaching job was at South Dakota State, where he had 55–50–3 record from 1972–1981. Gregory is third in school history in coaching victories and his 1979 team had a single season best record of 9–2. SDSU didn’t have a winning record the previous 11 seasons before Gregory’s arrival.

After serving as Northern Iowa offensive coordinator in 1982, Gregory was the offensive line coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the six seasons. In 1984 Winnipeg won the Grey Cup in part due to Gregory’s offensive line that helped set a CFL single season rushing record.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

After the 1986 season he was hired to coach Saskatchewan Roughriders, a team that had no playoff appearances in the past 11 years. In his first season as Saskatchewan's head coach, he led the Riders to an 11–7 record and a playoff berth. He won the Annis Stukus Trophy as the league's coach of the year. The following year the Roughriders finished 9–9 and won the 77th Grey Cup, their first since 1966. After a 1–6 start in 1991, he was fired and replaced by Don Matthews. He had a 35–43–1 overall record in Saskatchewan.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

That same season, he was hired to replace David Beckman as head coach of the 0–8 Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He made the postseason two of the four years he was with the team and finished with a 24–40 record.

Arena Football

In 1995, Jim Foster hired Gregory to build an Arena Football League expansion team in Des Moines, Iowa. Gregory signed Kurt Warner, then a little-known quarterback working at a local grocery store to a tryout. Gregory coached the Iowa Barnstormers to five division titles in six seasons and led the team to two ArenaBowls. Quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Aaron Garcia are considered two of the greatest AFL players ever. Gregory was named AFL Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996. The Barnstormers relocated to New York in 2000 and Gregory left the team in 2003. Gregory coached the Carolina Cobras to a 6–10 record in 2004 before the team folded.

In 2005, Gregory came out of retirement to coach the Arkansas Twisters. He went 5–7 in his first season and 10–6 in the 2006 season, losing the National Conference Championship to the Spokane Shock. In 2007 the Twisters improved to a 12–4 record, a franchise best, but lost to the Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings in the first round of the playoffs.

In 2007, it was announced that Gregory would return to Iowa to coach the new expansion Iowa Barnstormers.[1]

On May 17, 2011, Gregory resigned from his position with the Barnstormers.[2]

In 2012, Gregory was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Storm. It is his first position where he has not been a team head coach for more than two decades.[3]

Head coaching record

CFL

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
WonLostTiesWin %Finish Won Lost Win % Result
SAS1987 5121.2944th in West Division
SAS1988 1170.6112nd in West Division 0 1 .000 Lost West Semi-Final
SAS1989 990.5003rd in West Division 3 0 1.000 Won Grey Cup
SAS1990 990.5003rd in West Division 0 1 .000 Lost West Semi-Final
SAS1991 160.1434th in West Division Fired
HAM1991 370.3004th in East Division
HAM1992 1170.6112nd in East Division 1 1 .500 Lost East Final
HAM1993 6120.3332nd in East Division 1 1 .500 Lost East Final
HAM1994 150.1675th in East Division Fired
Total 61821.4260 Division
Championships
54 .555 1 Grey Cups

AFL & af2

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
WonLostTiesWin %Finish Won Lost Win % Result
Iowa1995 750.5832nd in AC Central 1 1 .500 Lost in AC Semifinals
Iowa1996 1220.8571st in AC Central 2 1 .667 Lost in ArenaBowl X
Iowa1997 1130.7861st in AC Central 2 1 .667 Lost in ArenaBowl XI
Iowa1998 590.3573rd in AC Central
Iowa1999 1130.7861st in AC Central 1 1 .500 Lost in AC Final
Iowa2000 950.6431st in AC Central 0 1 .000 Lost in AC Semifinal
New York2001 860.5711st in NC Eastern 0 1 .000 Lost in Wild Card
New York2002 3110.2144th in NC Eastern
New York2003 040.0004th in NC Eastern
Carolina2004 6100.3752nd in NC Eastern
Arkansas2005 570.4173rd in AC South
Arkansas2006 1060.6251st in NC Midwest 2 1 .667 Lost in NC Final
Arkansas2007 1240.6881st in NC Central 0 1 .000 Lost in First round
Iowa2008 6100.3755th in AC Midwest
Iowa2009 1240.7501st AC in Midwest 0 1 .000 Lost in First round
Iowa2010 790.4384th NC in Midwest
Iowa2011 270.2224thth NC in Central
Total*117900.56589.471

References

  1. Barnstormers Rehire Former Coach John Gregory | KCRG-TV9 Cedar Rapids, Iowa | Sports
  2. "Barnstormers: Head Coach John Gregory Resigns". Iowa Barnstormers. May 17, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  3. "Tampa Bay Storm - The Official Web Site :: Coaching Staff". Retrieved April 20, 2012.

External links

Preceded by
Mike Riley
Grey Cup winning Head Coach
77th Grey Cup, 1989
Succeeded by
Mike Riley
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