Robert "Bob" Dozier is a 1993 inductee to the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame; he was a highly successful educator and football coach at Detroit's Mackenzie High School

Mackenzie High School (Michigan)

Mackenzie High School was a public secondary education facility in Detroit, Michigan.-The early years: 1928–1940s :Located on Detroit's west side, David Mackenzie High School was named to honor the innovative educator who had served as principal of Central High School, and as first dean of the...

. Dozier's thirty-three year career spanned five decades (1969–2002). Six of Bob Dozier's athletes would eventually take their talents to the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

; three of those players performed on Super Bowl

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

 Championship teams. Toward the conclusion of his career at Mackenzie, Dozier served as the school's Athletic Director. In 2003, Robert Dozier was inducted into the Olivet College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Early years

Robert Dozier (born 1946) is a Detroit native and 1964 graduate of Cass Technical High School

Cass Technical High School

The Cass Tech Technicians football team is a high school football program in Division 1 Public School League, representing the prestigious Cass Technical High School in Detroit, MI. Cass Tech High School has long been recognized nationwide for its extraordinary football program dating back to its...

. Dozier left Detroit during the fall of 1964 to attend Olivet College

Olivet College

Olivet College is a coeducational, liberal arts college located in Olivet, Michigan, United States, south of Lansing and west of Detroit. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, and accredited by the North Central...

 in south central Michigan; Dozier was an All-MIAA

Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association is an athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The nine teams in the conference are all located in the states of Michigan and Indiana. The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association was established on March 24, 1888, making...

 football player and javelin thrower for the Comets of Olivet. Upon earning a bachelors degree in 1968, Dozier returned to Detroit.

Right man for the job: Mackenzie High School

In the summer of 1969 Robert Dozier accepted an offer from the Detroit Board of Education to teach and coach at Mackenzie. Throughout the late 1960s, the school and surrounding neighborhoods faced difficulties accommodating a rapid transition to a predominantly African-American population; the Board saw Dozier as the right man for the challenge of building peace and restoring order.

In his early years of coaching football at Mackenzie, Robert Dozier teamed with former Wayne State University

Wayne State University

Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...

 Hall of Fame running back, Elbert Richmond. During the teacher strike-shortened 1967 season, Richmond's Mackenzie football team went 5-0; his defensive squad yielded only two points. One of Richmond's defensive backs, Richard Byas Jr., went on to a rewarding career with the Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 of the NFL. During the next ten seasons, from 1969 to 1978, the coaching tandem of Elbert Richmond and Robert Dozier would compile an impressive record of 63-20 (.759%); including an undefeated season in 1969.
From the very start of his career, Robert Dozier instilled school pride and a positive attitude among Mackenzie students, athletes, and faculty members. Bob Dozier's most noteworthy accomplishments began to take shape during the 1980s.

Mentor of future professionals

The first of Dozier's football players to reach the National Football League was Kevin Brooks

Kevin Brooks

Kevin Brooks may refer to:*Kevin Brooks , American basketball player*Kevin Brooks , former Dallas Cowboys football player*Kevin Brooks , writer of Candy*Kevin Brooks...

, who graduated from Mackenzie in 1981; prior to his professional career, Brooks played collegiately for the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. Kevin Brooks went on to play six seasons in the NFL, with the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

 and Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

. In 1982, the second of Dozier's future professionals - Thomas Pepper Johnson

Pepper Johnson

Thomas "Pepper" Johnson is a former American football linebacker, and the current defensive line coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League.-College:...

 - graduated from Mackenzie before moving on to the Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

. Incredibly, Pepper Johnson would eventually earn a total of five Super Bowl Championship rings; two as a player with the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, and three more as a defensive coach with the 2001, 2003, and 2004 Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

.

Five seasons passed before Dozier's next future NFL player - Reggie Thornton - graduated from Mackenzie. Thornton played college football at Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...

 prior to a brief career in the NFL, with Indianapolis (1991) and Cincinnati (1993). Dozier's next future-professional was Gilbert Brown

Gilbert Brown

Gilbert Jesse Brown, is a former nose tackle who played for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . Brown played 125 Packers games recording 292 tackles and seven sacks. Nicknamed "The Gravedigger," in honor of his celebratory dance following a thunderous tackle, Brown played in...

, who graduated from Mackenzie in 1989. Brown played college football for the University of Kansas

University of Kansas

The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

 - he was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

 in 1993. Gilbert Brown ended up with a starting position on the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

 where he earned a Super Bowl Championship ring in 1996. Sylvester Wright, who graduated from Mackenzie in 1989, became the fifth of Coach Dozier's players to perform at the professional level. Following a collegiate football career at the University of Kansas, Wright played two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in 1995 and 1996.

The last of Robert Dozier's former athletes to play professional football was Jerome Bettis

Jerome Bettis

Jerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...

, who graduated from Mackenzie in 1990. Bettis played college ball at Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

 before starting a professional career with the Los Angeles Rams; in Los Angeles, Bettis was voted 1993 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. After three seasons with the Rams, Bettis was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

. Jerome Bettis played ten years with Pittsburgh; including the 2005-06 Super Bowl Championship season, during which he would win the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award.