Les Steckel
Encyclopedia
Les Steckel was head coach of the Minnesota Vikings
in 1984. He has also worked as an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers
, New England Patriots
, Denver Broncos
, Tennessee Titans
, Buffalo Bills
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
.
and attended the University of Kansas
, where he was a Golden Gloves boxing champion and graduated in 1968 with a triple degree in social work, human relations, and political science. He volunteered on the Robert F. Kennedy
presidential campaign that year. He was soul brothers with Rosie Grier.
He then enlisted in the Marines
and served in Vietnam
as infantry. He recently retired from USMC Reserves after thirty years of service with the rank of Colonel.
After his return from Vietnam in 1970, Steckel was stationed in Quantico, Va., where he played football for the Quantico Marine football team until 1971. He joined the USMC Reserves in 1972. He then worked as an assistant football
coach at the University of Colorado
from 1973 to 1976. He was an assistant at Navy
in 1977, then an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers in 1978.
Steckel joined the Minnesota Vikings
coaching staff as the receivers coach in 1979 and remained an assistant coach through the 1983 season. He was promoted to head coach of the Vikings for the 1984 season after longtime coach Bud Grant
retired. As a coach with a military background, Steckel emphasized discipline. He was fired after one season, in which the team posted a 3-13 record. He was succeeded by Grant, who briefly came out of retirement to fill the post.
He later worked as an assistant coach or coordinator with the New England Patriots
from 1985 to 1988, then with Brown University
in 1989, followed by another two years at the University of Colorado from 1991 to 1992, then two years with the Denver Broncos
from 1993 to 1994, followed by five years with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans
, then a year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(2000) where he served as offensive coodinator and posted a Buccaneers team record 388 points in a season, and a year with the Buffalo Bills
(2003). He became President of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
on March 1, 2005 after taking time off to coach his son's high school team, which won the Tennessee state championship during his one year coaching at the high school. He is married to the former Chris Picket and they have three children - Lesley, a recent graduate of Baylor University, Luke, who currently plays football at Princeton University, and Christian, also a Baylor graduate, is lead sports anchor for WAPT-TV, the ABC affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi, and works college basketball games for ESPNU.
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 1984. He has also worked as an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, 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...
, Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
, Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
.
Biography
Steckel was born in Whitehall, PennsylvaniaWhitehall, Pennsylvania
Whitehall is the name of some places in the State of Pennsylvania in the United States of America:* Whitehall, Adams County, Pennsylvania in Adams County, Pennsylvania* Whitehall, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania...
and attended 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...
, where he was a Golden Gloves boxing champion and graduated in 1968 with a triple degree in social work, human relations, and political science. He volunteered on the Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
presidential campaign that year. He was soul brothers with Rosie Grier.
He then enlisted in the Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and served in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
as infantry. He recently retired from USMC Reserves after thirty years of service with the rank of Colonel.
After his return from Vietnam in 1970, Steckel was stationed in Quantico, Va., where he played football for the Quantico Marine football team until 1971. He joined the USMC Reserves in 1972. He then worked as an assistant football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach at the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
from 1973 to 1976. He was an assistant at Navy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
in 1977, then an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers in 1978.
Steckel joined 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...
coaching staff as the receivers coach in 1979 and remained an assistant coach through the 1983 season. He was promoted to head coach of the Vikings for the 1984 season after longtime coach Bud Grant
Bud Grant
Harry Peter "Bud" Grant, Jr is the former longtime American football head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League for eighteen seasons. Grant was the second and fourth head coach of the team...
retired. As a coach with a military background, Steckel emphasized discipline. He was fired after one season, in which the team posted a 3-13 record. He was succeeded by Grant, who briefly came out of retirement to fill the post.
He later worked as an assistant coach or coordinator with the 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...
from 1985 to 1988, then with Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
in 1989, followed by another two years at the University of Colorado from 1991 to 1992, then two years with the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 1993 to 1994, followed by five years with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
, then a year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
(2000) where he served as offensive coodinator and posted a Buccaneers team record 388 points in a season, and a year with the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
(2003). He became President of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a non-profit interdenominational Christian organization founded in 1954 and that has been based in Kansas City, Missouri since 1956. It falls within the tradition of Muscular Christianity. Although established by evangelical Protestants, the concept has...
on March 1, 2005 after taking time off to coach his son's high school team, which won the Tennessee state championship during his one year coaching at the high school. He is married to the former Chris Picket and they have three children - Lesley, a recent graduate of Baylor University, Luke, who currently plays football at Princeton University, and Christian, also a Baylor graduate, is lead sports anchor for WAPT-TV, the ABC affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi, and works college basketball games for ESPNU.