Pat Peppler - Misplaced Pages

American football coach and executive (1922–2015)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Pat Peppler" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

American football player

Pat Peppler

Personal information

Born:

(1922-04-16)April 16, 1922
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

Died:

June 23, 2015(2015-06-23) (aged 93)
Stuart, Florida, U.S.

Career information

College:

Michigan State

Career history

As a coach:

East Lansing HS (MI) (1949–1953)
Head coach
NC State (1954–1961)
Assistant coach
Wake Forest (1962)
Assistant coach
Atlanta Falcons (1976)
Interim head coach

As an executive:

Green Bay Packers (1963–1971)
Director of player personnel
Green Bay Packers (1971–1972)
Assistant general manager
Miami Dolphins (1972–1974)
Director of professional scouting
Atlanta Falcons (1975–1976)
General manager
Houston Oilers (1977–1980)
Assistant general manager
New Orleans Saints (1981–1985)
Administrative assistant

Executive profile at Pro Football Reference

Head coaching record

Regular season:

3–6 (.333)

Record at Pro Football Reference

Albert Patterson Peppler (April 16, 1922 – June 23, 2015) was an American football coach and executive who worked for teams that won five National Football League (NFL) titles. He may be best remembered for serving as head coach of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons during the final nine games of the 1976 NFL season.

Early life

Peppler was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1922, but was a native of Shorewood, Wisconsin. During his time at Michigan State University, he played not only football, but baseball and basketball as well.

Career

After graduating from Michigan State, Peppler tried playing minor league baseball and became a head football coach at the high school level, winning state championships at both East Lansing High School and Grant High School in Michigan. That success led to an eight-year tenure as an assistant at North Carolina State University beginning in 1954, followed by one year at Wake Forest University in 1962. On January 28, 1963, one month after winning their second straight NFL title, the Green Bay Packers hired Peppler as director of player personnel, where he worked with head coach Vince Lombardi in helping continue a talent pipeline that won three more championships, including their first two Super Bowls.

Even before Lombardi left following the 1967 NFL season, however, Peppler's talent for player procurement stumbled as the team failed to replace the host of future Pro Football Hall of Famers that dotted the roster. On March 24, 1972, Peppler resigned to become director of professional scouting for the Miami Dolphins, replacing Joe Thomas.

In his first two years with Miami, Peppler was part of consecutive Super Bowl championships, a stretch that included a perfect 17–0 campaign during the 1972 NFL season. On February 26, 1975, he accepted the position of general manager for the Atlanta Falcons. Looking to build around the first pick in that year's draft, quarterback Steve Bartkowski, Peppler saw the team finish 4–10 under Marion Campbell during the 1975 NFL season. When Campbell won only one of the first five games the following year, he was fired and Peppler finished out the year, compiling a 3–6 record including back-to-back wins against the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys.

Despite the promise shown in the final two months of the season, which included the upset of the Dallas Cowboys, Peppler's uncertain future forced him to look for other job openings. On February 2, 1977, he was named assistant general manager of the Houston Oilers, a post he held for four seasons. During that time, the Oilers competed in two AFC Championship games against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but when head coach Bum Phillips was fired after a disappointing end to the 1980 NFL season, and accepted the head coaching position with the New Orleans Saints. Peppler followed him, taking a front office job on January 27, 1981.

The Saints, coming off a 1–15 campaign in 1980, spent the next few years rebuilding, but after nearly five years of struggles, Phillips resigned on November 25, 1985, with Peppler also being asked to resign at the same time. The move marked the end of Peppler's NFL career. Peppler died on June 23, 2015, in Stuart, Florida, at the age of 93.

References

Pat Peppler. pro-football-reference.com
"Albert 'Pat' Peppler was Packers personnel director during Glory Years". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.

External links

Obituary

v t e Atlanta Falcons head coaches
Norb Hecker (1966–1968) Norm Van Brocklin (1968–1974) Marion Campbell (1974–1976) Pat Peppler # (1976) Leeman Bennett (1977–1982) Dan Henning (1983–1986) Marion Campbell (1987–1989) Jim Hanifan # (1989) Jerry Glanville (1990–1993) June Jones (1994–1996) Dan Reeves (1997–2003) Wade Phillips # (2003) Jim Mora (2004–2006) Bobby Petrino (2007) Emmitt Thomas # (2007) Mike Smith (2008–2014) Dan Quinn (2015–2020) Raheem Morris # (2020) Arthur Smith (2021–2023) Raheem Morris (2024–present) # denotes interim head coach

Atlanta Falcons head coaches

Norb Hecker (1966–1968)
Norm Van Brocklin (1968–1974)
Marion Campbell (1974–1976)
Pat Peppler # (1976)
Leeman Bennett (1977–1982)
Dan Henning (1983–1986)
Marion Campbell (1987–1989)
Jim Hanifan # (1989)
Jerry Glanville (1990–1993)
June Jones (1994–1996)
Dan Reeves (1997–2003)
Wade Phillips # (2003)
Jim Mora (2004–2006)
Bobby Petrino (2007)
Emmitt Thomas # (2007)
Mike Smith (2008–2014)
Dan Quinn (2015–2020)
Raheem Morris # (2020)
Arthur Smith (2021–2023)
Raheem Morris (2024–present)

# denotes interim head coach

v t e Atlanta Falcons general managers
Frank E. Wall (1967–1970) Norm Van Brocklin (1970–1974) Pat Peppler (1975–1976) Eddie LeBaron (1977–1982) Tom Braatz (1982–1985) Dan Henning (1986) Dan Reeves (1997) Harold Richardson (1998–2002) Rich McKay (2003–2008) Thomas Dimitroff (2008–2020) Terry Fontenot (2021–present)

v t e Green Bay Packers 1965 NFL champions
5 Paul Hornung 10 Dennis Claridge 12 Zeke Bratkowski 15 Bart Starr 21 Bob Jeter 22 Elijah Pitts 24 Willie Wood 25 Tom Moore 26 Herb Adderley 31 Jim Taylor (MVP) 34 Don Chandler 35 Allen Jacobs 40 Tom Brown 41 Junior Coffey 43 Doug Hart 46 Hank Gremminger 50 Bill Curry 56 Tommy Joe Crutcher 57 Ken Bowman 60 Lee Roy Caffey 63 Fred Thurston 64 Jerry Kramer 66 Ray Nitschke 67 Dan Grimm 70 Bud Marshall 71 Lloyd Voss 72 Steve Wright 74 Henry Jordan 75 Forrest Gregg 76 Bob Skoronski 77 Ron Kostelnik 80 Bob Long 81 Marv Fleming 82 Lionel Aldridge 84 Carroll Dale 85 Max McGee 86 Boyd Dowler 87 Willie Davis 88 Bill Anderson 89 Dave Robinson Head coach: Vince Lombardi Assistant coaches: Phil Bengtson Red Cochran Tom Fears Dave Hanner Norb Hecker Ray Wietecha

Green Bay Packers 1965 NFL champions

Categories: