Galen Hall

Galen Samuel Hall (born August 14, 1940 in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American football coach. He is currently serving as offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Penn State University.

Hall was previously the offensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma and University of Florida, and head coach at the University of Florida, and of the Orlando Thunder, the Rhein Fire, the XFL's Orlando Rage.

College

Hall was raised in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania.^[1] His was raised by his grandparents, following the death of his father several months before he was born.^[1]

He graduated from Penn State University, where he was the starting quarterback for the Nittany Lions in 1960 and 1961. He led those teams to a combined 15-6 record and wins in the 1960 Liberty Bowl and 1961 Gator Bowl. He was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity while at Penn State.

AFL & NFL

After a short stint in the National Football League (NFL) in 1962, in which he appeared in three games with the Washington Redskins, Hall played for the American Football League (AFL) New York Jets in 1963. He appeared in 13 games that season, going 45 for 118, including his only start, a 48-0 loss late in the season against Kansas City Chiefs.

Coaching career

Collegiate coaching

Hall served as offensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma from 1966 to 1983. During that time, the Sooners boasted one of the most prolific offenses in college football, predominantly using the wishbone attack. The team won two national championships and produced Heisman-winning running back Billy Sims.^[2] After a disappointing season in 1983, Oklahoma replaced many assistant coaches while retaining head coach Barry Switzer. Hall was let go, but was quickly hired to be the offensive coordinator for the Florida Gators.

Hall installed a conventional I formation offense at Florida under head coach Charley Pell for the 1984 season^[3]. However, between the 3rd and 4th games, Pell was fired after an NCAA investigation uncovered many rules violations. Hall, who had not been at UF when the violations occurred, was named interim head coach.

Under Hall, the Gators won the remaining eight games on the 1984 schedule, winning what appeared to be the Gator's first-ever Southeastern Conference football championship. However, the SEC would later strip Florida of the 1984 SEC title due to the earlier rule violations under the previous coach. However, Hall was named the Associated Press Coach of the Year and given the permanent position of head coach. In 1985, Hall's Florida team would again finish with the best record in the SEC, but again could not claim the conference title because of NCAA probation.

The 1984 and 1985 seasons are remembered (along with the 1990 season), as "Best in the SEC" years for Gators football. However, Hall's teams found it increasingly difficult to compete under the burden of significant NCAA sanctions, including scholarship restrictions that limited the team's number of players. Hall's teams typically featured strong defense and a solid rushing attack (epecially with record-setting running back Emmitt Smith) and managed to avoid a losing record during his tenure. After the 1985 season, however, the Gators never won more than seven games in a campaign.

Hall was forced out in the middle of the 1989 season amidst yet another investigation of rule violations that would eventually lead to another probation for Florida football in 1990. Under his leadership, Florida went 40-18-1.

Professional coaching

In 1992, Hall was the second head coach of the Orlando Thunder of the World League of American Football (now the defunct NFL Europa). He coached the team to an 8-2 record before losing to the Sacramento Surge in the World Bowl II championship game.

In 1994, Hall became the head coach of the Charlotte Rage of the Arena Football League. He led the team to a 5-7 record, and a spot in the playoffs. He went on to become head coach of the Rhein Fire in NFL Europa from 1995-2000, leading the team to three World Bowl berths, including NFL Europa championships in 1998 and 2000. He is the second-winningest coach in NFL Europa history with 44 victories and was selected Coach of the Year three times.

In 2001 Hall was named head coach of the XFL's Orlando Rage, posting a league-best 8-2 record before losing in the first round of the playoffs. He was named XFL Coach of the Year that season.^[4]

He would be reunited with former Florida running back Emmitt Smith while serving as running backs coach for the Dallas Cowboys in 2002.

Back to college

In late 2004, Hall returned to his alma mater Penn State to become the offensive coordinator and running backs coach under head coach Joe Paterno. The Nittany Lions were coming off of consecutive losing seasons, but finished the 2005 slate with a 11-1 and a share of the Big Ten Conference title behind a much-improved offensive attack. They would win nine games in 2006 and 2007, and won another conference title in 2008 with another 11-1 record, earning a trip to the Rose Bowl and fielding one of top offenses in college football.^[5]

See also

• Other American Football League players

References

External links

• Galen Hall, Head Coach and Director of Football Operations, all-xfl.com
• Galen Hall Profile, Gopsusports.com
• "Collected Wisdom: Galen Hall", The Oklahoman, March 1, 2009