Danny Ford
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Danny Lee Ford is a former American football coach, who led Clemson University to its only national football championship in 1981.
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[edit] Early career
After graduating from Gadsden High School in 1966, Ford was an All-SEC selection on the field and off the field under Paul "Bear" Bryant at Alabama, where he played in three bowl games. He received a bachelor's degree in industrial arts in 1970 and later received a master's degree in special education in Tuscaloosa in 1971.
[edit] Career at Clemson
Ford had an auspicious beginning to his head coaching career, following the departure of the Tigers' previous coach, Charley Pell. After nine years as an assistant coach, he debuted with a 17-15 win over Ohio State in the 1978 Gator Bowl. The 30 year-old coach, youngest in Division I at the time, also defeated a college football legend in a contest that truly put Clemson football on the map, as he beat Woody Hayes in the latter's last game.
"When Coach Ford was named coach at Clemson, there were mixed emotions," recalls Jeff Davis, a Clemson Ring of Honor member. "It was obvious that he had so many things to offer. And what he lacked he made up for in working harder than anyone else and communicating his expectations to the players. He blossomed as well as any coach could."
He compiled a 96-29-4 (.760) record at Clemson, including a 6-2 bowl record. He was the third winningest coach in the country on a percentage basis after the '89 season. Ford also coached 21 All-Americans and 41 players who went on to play in the NFL, during his 11 seasons in Tigertown.
In 1981, Ford helped Clemson reach the summit of college football by winning the National Championship, the first by any Clemson team. His Tigers, who were unranked in the preseason, downed three top-10 teams during the course of the 12-0 season that concluded with a 22-15 victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Ford, national Coach of the Year in '81, is still the youngest coach to win a national championship on the gridiron. He also led Clemson to a 30-2-2 record between 1981-1983, best in the nation. The National Championship was tarnished as an NCAA investigation revealed that Clemson was guilty of numerous recruiting violations including paying players to attend the University. Immediately following the 1981 season Clemson was placed on probation by the NCAA.
Clemson won three straight ACC titles under his guidance between 1986 and 1988. In 1989, Clemson registered a 10-2 season and top-12 national ranking for the fourth straight season. After the 1989 campaign, Clemson was again placed on NCAA probation for recruiting violations. Ford, who always wore a block "C" cap and chewed tobacco on the sideline, closed his career with a 27-7 win over West Virginia (and their All-America quarterback Major Harris) in the Gator Bowl. In the decade of the 1980s, Clemson had the nation's fifth-highest winning percentage.
While at Clemson, Ford defeated many College Football Hall of Fame coaches. These include Joe Paterno, Tom Osborne, Barry Switzer, Bobby Bowden, Vince Dooley, and Woody Hayes.
[edit] After Clemson
Ford resigned on January 18, 1990, after a falling out with Clemson administration. He was subsequently cleared in an NCAA investigation that also was announced around that time. Though there is contention among those who attended Clemson at that time as to whether that was the true reason for his forced resignation.
Joe Kines brought Ford to the University of Arkansas in 1992 to help with the clean-up following Frank Broyles' firing Jack Crowe after a loss to The Citadel. Ford took Kines job in 1993, leading Arkansas to an SEC West championship in 1995 on the legs of Madre Hill and the defensive genius of Joe Lee Dunn, after emerging from 2 years of probation imposed under Crowe. Broyles fired Ford following an inappropriate remark caught on television. Ford finished 26-30-1 in five seasons with the Razorbacks.
Ford and his wife, Deborah, have four children, Jennifer, Ashleigh, Elizabeth, and Lee.
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| Preceded by Charley Pell |
Clemson Tigers Head Coach 1979–1989 |
Succeeded by Ken Hatfield |
| Preceded by Vince Dooley |
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award 1981 |
Succeeded by Joe Paterno |
| Preceded by Jack Crowe; Joe Kines (interim) |
University of Arkansas Head Football Coach 1993–1997 |
Succeeded by Houston Nutt |
| Clemson Tigers Head Football Coaches |
|---|
| Riggs • W.M. Williams • Penton • Heisman • Shealy • Cochems • Williams • Shaughnessy • Stone • Dobson • Hart • Donahue • Stewart • Saunders • Cody • Neely • Howard • Ingram • Parker • Pell • Ford • Hatfield • West • Bowden |
| Arkansas Razorbacks Head Football Coaches |
|---|
| Futrall • B.N. Wilson • Searles • Thomas • D.A. McDaniel • A.D. Brown • F.C. Longman • Bezdek • E.T. Pickering • T.T. McConnell • Paine • J.B. Craig • G.W. McLaren • Schmidt • Thomsen • Cole • Tomlin • Rose • Barnhill • Douglas • Wyatt • Mitchell • Broyles • Holtz • Hatfield • Crowe • Kines • Ford • Nutt |
