Robin Pflugrad
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Offensive Coordinator Phoenix College |
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
November 29, 1958 Eugene, Oregon |
| Playing career | |
| 1979 | Portland State |
| Position(s) | Wide receiver |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1980 | Portland State (asst.) |
| 1981 | South Eugene H.S. (asst.) |
| 1982–1985 | Portland State (asst.) |
| 1986–1990 | Montana (asst.) |
| 1991–1994 | Montana (asst. HC) |
| 1995–2000 | Arizona State (WR/RC) |
| 2001–2005 | Washington State (TE/RC/AHC) |
| 2006–2008 | Oregon (WR) |
| 2009 | Montana (WR) |
| 2010–2011 | Montana |
| 2013 | Weber State (OC/RB) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 18–7 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Big Sky (2011) | |
| Awards | |
|
Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year (2011) Eddie Robinson Award semi-finalist/national FCS coach of the Year (2011) | |
Robin Pflugrad is an American College football coach. He was the head coach for the University of Montana from 2010-2011 and the offensive coordinator at Weber State University in 2013. Pflugrad previously held assistant coaching positions at Montana, Oregon, Washington State, Arizona State, and Portland State. During the 2014 football season he worked as a college football analyst for KTVX-TV, the CBS affiliate in Phoenix, Ariz., and as a football columnist [1] for Cougfan.com, the Scout.com network affiliate covering Washington State University. Pflugrad also operates Pflugrad Athletic Consulting, offering administrative and strategic insights to high school and college athletic programs in the Southwest region.
Biography
Early life and coaching career
Pflugrad was born in 1958 in Eugene, Oregon,[2] where he later attended North Eugene High School.[3] He went to college at Portland State University, where he played football as a wide receiver, earned all-academic recognition, and served as the team captain during his senior year in 1979.[4] Pflugrad's first coaching experience came the following year as an assistant on the staff at his alma mater.[4] In 1981, Pflugrad coached at South Eugene High School, before he returned to Portland State to serve as an assistant coach from 1982 to 1985 under head coach Don Read.[4] Pflugrad then followed Read to Montana, where he worked as an assistant coach with the team's wide receivers, quarterbacks, and running backs.[5]
Assistant coach in the Pac-10 Conference
From 1995 to 2000, Pflugrad was the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Arizona State under head coach Bruce Snyder. The 1996 Sun Devils won the Pac-10 conference title and finished the season 11-1.[4] From 2001 to 2005, he served as the tight ends coach, assistant head coach, and recruiting coordinator at Washington State.[4] Washington State posted three straight 10-win seasons while he was on staff, and WSU head coach Bill Doba dubbed Pflugrad "The Bulldog" for his diligence in recruiting student-athletes to the university [6] In 2002, Pflugrad was reportedly interested in the Montana head coaching job, but that went to Bobby Hauck instead.[7] During that time period, he was offered a position on the Alabama staff by new head coach Mike Price, but remained at Washington State.[8] After the 2005 season, Pflugrad joined head coach Mike Bellotti's staff at Oregon in a move driven in part by the desire to be closer to his and his wife's four elderly parents.[9] He coached the wide receivers there from 2006 to 2008,[4] including his own son, Aaron Pflugrad who was a freshman in 2007.[10] In the spring of 2006, he had spinal surgery to replace three degenerative vertebrae.[11] Over the course of his career he has coached approximately two-dozen All-Americans and/or future NFL players.[12]
Montana
In 2009, Pflugrad returned to Montana to become the wide receivers coach under Bobby Hauck.[4] After that season, Hauck left Montana to become the head coach at UNLV, and Pflugrad was promoted to replace him.[4] ESPN reported that Pflugrad was selected over two other former Montana assistants who were considered candidates for the job: Brent Pease, a former Montana quarterback and Boise State receivers coach, and Dave Doeren, Wisconsin defensive coordinator.[13] Pflugrad said after his hiring that Montana would be "very fast on offense, up-tempo and upbeat." [2] In his two seasons as head coach Pflugrad guided the Grizzlies to an 18-7 record. In 2011 he led the Grizzlies to an 11-3 record, capturing the Big Sky Championship and advancing to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs. He was named a semi-finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award as the nation's top FCS coach.
On March 29, 2012, Pflugrad was informed that his contract would not be renewed, and he would no longer be head coach at the University of Montana. Although no reason was given by the university's president, Royce Engstrom, for Pflugrad's termination it was believed to have stemmed from off-field incidents involving certain members of the Montana football team.[14] Pflugrad, known in coaching circles for his clean-cut approach, was shocked by his dismissal, and defenders pointed to team lectures on drugs, alcohol and behavior and his crackdown on a decades-long player initiation ritual as examples of his button-downed philosophy.[15] When Pflugrad returned to Missoula as an opposing coach for the Montana vs. Weber State game in November 2013, he spoke openly about his love for the team he left behind and what he believed were political machinations that cost him the head job there.[16] Following the dismissal at Montana, Engstrom, the university president, gave Pflugrad a letter of recommendation that touts his coaching ability and personality and says Pflugrad's removal "was not the result of any specific impropriety or improper conduct by him." In addition, Peggy Kuhr, an interim vice president at the University of Montana later told The Oregonian newspaper, "Coach Pflugrad is a good and decent person who tried to do things the right way. I applaud him for it." [17]
Personal
He and his wife Marlene have two grown children, Amanda Plfugrad, who works in media for the New York Jets, and son Aaron Pflugrad, who is a college assistant football coach.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana Grizzlies (Big Sky Conference) (2010–2011) | |||||||||
| 2010 | Montana | 7–4 | 5–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2011 | Montana | 11–3 | 7–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division I Semifinal | ||||
| Montana: | 18–7 | 12–4 | |||||||
| Total: | 18–7 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
References
- ↑ Archive of columns by Robin Pflugrad, Cougfan.com, retrieved January 30, 2015.
- 1 2 52-year-old introduced as successor to Hauck; Pflugrad says Griz will be ‘up-tempo’ on offense, Billings Gazette, January 9, 2010.
- ↑ Coaching announcement to be delayed; Offensive coordinator: Bellotti says he will probably make his decision known next week, Eugene Register-Guard, December 19, 1997.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Robin Pflugrad, University of Montana, retrieved July 2, 2010.
- ↑ Biography at Montana.
- ↑ Robin Pflugrad is The Bulldog, Scout.com, October 12, 2005.
- ↑ Price's staff split in half; Cougars notes: Coaches hope to win one more - Rose Bowl - as a unit, The News Tribune, December 26, 2002.
- ↑ Cougs look lethargic as Rose Bowl nears ; Notebook: Distractions abound for WSU team that already had enough, The News Tribune, December 28, 2002.
- ↑ A difficult goodbye for Robin Pflugrad, Scout.com, February 3, 2006.
- ↑ Former receiver now catching on as an assistant coach, Fox Sports, April 3, 2014.
- ↑ Coach returns with lots more spine, The Portland Tribune, August 8, 2006.
- ↑ Biography at Weber State, February 2013.
- ↑ Pflugrad to be Montana coach, ESPN, December 31, 2009.
- ↑ Ex-Griz coach, athletic director defend record, say there's more to story, The Missoulian, July 27, 2013
- ↑ Football party ended by staff and players. Montana Kaimin, March 28, 2012
- ↑ Pflugrad left part of his heart at Montana The Missoulian, November 15, 2013
- ↑ Fair or not, former Oregon assistant Robin Pflugrad's coaching career is in limbo The Oregonian, December 3, 2012
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