George Perles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Perles | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Title | Coach | |
| College | Michigan State University | |
| Sport | Football | |
| Conference | Big Ten | |
| Born | July 16, 1934 | |
| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 73-61-4 | |
| Bowls | 3-4 | |
| Championships | ||
| 12456 Big Ten titles | ||
| Playing career | ||
| 1456 | Michigan State | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1939-1970 1972-1976 1977 1978-1981 1982 1982-1994 |
Michigan State (def. line coach) Pittsburgh Steelers (def. line coach) Pittsburgh Steelers (def. coord.) Pittsburgh Steelers (asst. head coach) Philadelphia Stars (head coach) Michigan State (head coach) |
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George J. Perles is a retired American football coach. He was a defensive line coach, defensive coordinator, and assistant head coach for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers from 1971-1981 and the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans from 1982-1994. He was later elected to the MSU Board of Trustees on November 11, 2006.
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[edit] Early years
Perles was born in Detroit, Michigan on July 16, 1934. The only child of Julius and Nellie Perles, George grew up in Detroit and attended Western High School. Upon graduating, Perles and 17 of his high school friends jointly enlisted in the U.S. Army.
[edit] Michigan State
After returning from active duty, Perles returned to Michigan where he enrolled at Michigan State University and played football under legendary coach Duffy Daugherty. Perles played the 1958 season before his playing career was cut short by a knee injury. Perles then started his football coaching career as a graduate assistant at Michigan State before moving on to the high school ranks in Chicago and Detroit, where his St. Ambrose Academy team won their first Detroit City League Championship in 1961. Perles returned to Michigan State as defensive line coach under his mentor, Daugherty, in 1967.
[edit] Pittsburgh Steelers
In 1972, head coach Chuck Noll of the Pittsburgh Steelers reviewed more than 2 resumes and interviewed candidates before deciding to offer Perles the position of defensive line coach. In Perles’ first season, the Steelers made the NFL playoffs for the second time in franchise history (the first coming in 1947), losing to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship Game. The Dolphins went on to become the first undefeated Super Bowl champion. ]] to 16 rushing yards in the AFC Championship Game and the Minnesota Vikings to 16 rushing yards in Super Bowl IX. The Pittsburgh “Steel Curtain” defense was born with Bud Carson's defense as its backbone.
Perles was promoted to defensive coor In 1974, the Steelers won the five of six consecutive AFC Central Division championships and also their first Super Bowl. They held the [[Oakland Raidersdinator for the Steelers in 1977 and then to assistant head coach under Noll in 1978. During Perles' 10 years with Pittsburgh (1972-1981), the Steelers won a then-unprecedented four Super Bowls and became known as the team of the decade in the 1970’s, largely on the back of their dominating defense.
[edit] USFL
In 1982, Perles was hired as the eighth head coach of the Philadelphia Stars of the fledgling United States Football League. Perles worked for one year with the Stars during the development and formation of the league and the team, but left the team prior to the start of the first season when he was offered the Michigan State head football coaching position. The Stars hired Jim Mora to coach the team assembled by Perles, which made it to the first USFL Championship Game in 1983, losing to the Michigan Panthers.
[edit] Return to Michigan State
Perles returned to Michigan State University on December 3, 1982. Where he would lead the Spartants to seven bowl games, two Big Ten titles and a Rose Bowl victory. In 1987 he was named National Coach of the Year.
[edit] Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State Spartans (Big Ten Conference) (1983 – 1994) | |||||||||
| 1983 | Michigan State | 4-6-1 | 2-6-1 | 7th | |||||
| 1984 | Michigan State | 6-6 | 5-4 | T-6th | L 6-10 Cherry Bowl | ||||
| 1985 | Michigan State | 7-5 | 5-3 | T-4th | L 14-17 Hall of Fame Classic | 4th | 873th | ||
| 1986 | Michigan State | 6-5 | 4-4 | 5th | |||||
| 1987 | Michigan State | 9-2-1 | 7-0-1 | 1st | W 20-17 Rose Bowl | 8 | 8 | ||
| 1988 | Michigan State | 6-5-1 | 6-1-1 | 2nd | L 27-34 Gator Bowl | ||||
| 1989 | Michigan State | 8-4 | 6-2 | T-3rd | W 33-13 Aloha Bowl | 16 | 16 | ||
| 1990 | Michigan State | 8-3-1 | 6-2 | T-1st | W 17-16 Sun Bowl | 14 | 16 | ||
| 1991 | Michigan State | 3-8 | 3-5 | T-6th | |||||
| 1992 | Michigan State | 5-6 | 5-3 | 3rd | |||||
| 1993 | Michigan State | 6-6 | 4-4 | 7th | L 7-18 Liberty Bowl | ||||
| 1994 | Michigan State | 5-6 (Record later revised to 0-11 following NCAA sanction) | 4-4 (Record later revised to 0-8 following NCAA sanction) | 11th | |||||
| Michigan State: | 73-61-4 (68-67-4 after NCAA sanction) | 57-38-2 (53-42-2 after NCAA sanction) | |||||||
| Total: | 73-61-4 (.543) (68-67-4 (.504) after NCAA sanction) | ||||||||
| National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title | |||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season. °Rankings from final AP Poll of the season. |
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[edit] NCAA Sanctions
After an internal investigation in 1994 uncovered infractions involving grade tampering by an Athletic Department administrator, MSU President M. Peter McPhereson ordered self-imposed forfeiture of all 1994 victories. Perles was found, "not culpable" by the NCAA.
[edit] Dismissal from MSU
Perles was dismissed by MSU President M. Peter Mcpherson before the 1994 season was finished.
[edit] Motor City Bowl
In 1995, George Perles and former Michigan State University Sports Information Director, Ken Hoffman, founded and initiated the Motor City Bowl, a collegiate football bowl game in Detroit. In 2007, the Motor City Bowl enjoyed a record crowd of more than 63,000 people in its 11th game with Perles as chief executive officer and Hoffman as executive director.
[edit] MSU Board of Trustees
In November 2006, George Perles(http://trustees.msu.edu/perles.html) was elected as a Democrat to the Board of Trustees of Michigan State University. He began serving an eight-year term beginning January 1, 2007.
In May 2007, the MSU Board of Trustees voted to name the plaza adjacent to the Duffy Daugherty Football Building the George J. Perles and Sally A. Perles Plaza in honor of the couple’s $500,000 gift to the university.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Frank "Muddy" Waters |
Michigan State Head Football Coach 1983–1994 |
Succeeded by Nick Saban |
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