USC and Oregon had all-time-great football coaching staffs in 1970s
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As Oregon and USC prepare to meet this week, it's well worth noting that the two programs share some notable figures from the past. One is John Robinson, an Oregon coach who then became USC's head coach on two occasions and won four Rose Bowls plus a national championship for the Men of Troy. We noted that Robinson was part of two all-time-great coaching staffs, one at Oregon and one at USC.
"USC fans know all about the 1979 Trojan staff Robinson assembled. Marv Goux, a USC legend and a cornerstone of that great era in the program's history, was already on staff from the John McKay days. Robinson didn't need to think twice about keeping him when he took over for McKay in 1976. Hudson Houck was a game-changing offensive line coach, perfect for Student Body Right but more broadly an elite O-line coach in any era. He was simply one of the best teachers of offensive line play who has ever lived.
"Norv Turner was the wide receiver coach. He had a very successful career as an NFL coordinator and reached the AFC Championship Game as the head coach of the then-San Diego Chargers in the 2007 season. Paul Hackett was never an especially good head coach, but he was a quality offensive coordinator who forged a multi-decade career in coaching. John Jackson was an excellent running back coach who got the most out of Heisman Trophy winner Charles White that season. The Cadillac talent on the 1979 USC roster was matched by the coaching talent in the film room.
"What USC fans might not know — but which Oregon fans definitely know quite well — is that eight years before his 1979 staff made a large imprint on USC, Robinson was part of a coaching staff at Oregon which produced many durable NFL careers. The 1971 Oregon coaching staff did not enjoy on-field success the way the 1979 USC staff did. Whereas the 1979 Trojans finished unbeaten and No. 2 in the polls with a Rose Bowl victory over Ohio State, the 1971 Ducks — with a man named Dan Fouts at quarterback — finished 5-6. Yet, the men who were part of head coach Jerry Frei's last coaching staff at Oregon (before Frei resigned preceding the 1972 season) went on to produce remarkably successful careers, especially in pro football.
"Joining Robinson on that 1971 Oregon staff were men who won multiple Super Bowls as NFL coaches, plus a man who won a Pac-10 title at a non-USC, non-Oregon school. George Seifert was on that 1971 staff in Eugene. He won two Super Bowls as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, three more as a Bill Walsh assistant (two of those as defensive coordinator). When Seifert replaced Walsh as 49er head coach, he brought with him a friend from the 1971 Ducks.
"John Marshall was on Jerry Frei's staff 50 years ago, alongside Seifert. Interestingly enough, Marshall was also on USC's 1979 coaching staff under Robinson, but he was formed as a coach — and developed career-long connections — in Eugene. Marshall was a position coach and coordinator in San Francisco for eight seasons with Seifert, two more with Steve Mariucci. In that 10-year run, Marshall won two Super Bowls and coached in six NFC Championship Games. He also coached in Super Bowl XL for the Seattle Seahawks as the defensive coordinator for Mike Holmgren, who was part of the 49ers' staff under both Walsh and Seifert. Marshall coached in the NFL for 30 years.
"Another longtime NFL coach on Oregon's 1971 staff was Gunther Cunningham. He coached for 34 years in the NFL, including the AFC Championship Game in the 2002 season with Jeff Fisher's Tennessee Titans against the Oakland Raiders. Fisher played for — guess who? — John Robinson on the 1979 USC football team. Cunningham guided the elite Kansas City Chief defenses of the mid-1990s under coach Marty Schottenheimer. The Chiefs couldn't break through in the playoffs, but they improbably gained the No. 1 seed in the AFC two separate times despite having less talent than a number of AFC competitors.
"The non-NFL success story from the 1971 Oregon staff was Bruce Snyder. He improved the California Golden Bears when he arrived at Berkeley, and then when he went to Arizona State, he took the Sun Devils within an eyelash of the 1996 national championship. If Ohio State had not scored a touchdown in the final minute of the 1997 Rose Bowl, the Sun Devils would have finished No. 1 in the country."
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC and Oregon had all-time-great football coaching staffs in 1970s
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