Mike Nixon
Encyclopedia
Mike Nixon is a former American football
player, coach and scout who spent close to a half-century connected to the game. His most prominent positions have been as head coach of the National Football League
's Washington Redskins
and Pittsburgh Steelers
.
and attended the University of Pittsburgh
, where he played three seasons under the legendary Jock Sutherland
, including action in the 1933 Rose Bowl
. At Pitt, he won All-America recognition as a running back, while also working summers in the same coal mines as his father. He then advanced to the NFL, but played just one season with the Steelers in 1935 before entering the coaching fraternity at his alma mater the next year.
During this same period, he also played third base in minor league baseball's Southern Association
, while seeking other coaching opportunities. When Sutherland resigned on March 6, 1939, Nixon stayed on for a year before joining Bill Kern
's staff at West Virginia University
. It was shortly after this period that Nixon changed his name from its original "Nicksick," basing the decision on a discussion with Sutherland, who said it would help him with respect to coaching positions in the South.
. With player shortages beginning that year due to World War II
, Nixon briefly resumed his playing career by signing a contract with the team on November 19, 1942. Nixon himself eventually left to serve as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy for three years, but returned in 1946 as a Steelers assistant under his former coach Sutherland.
He stayed in that role for the next six seasons, but left on June 3, 1952 to join Joe Kuharich
, who had been named head coach with the Chicago Cardinals
. Kuharich's tenure with the team was brief, but when he was named as head coach of the Redskins after the 1953 NFL season
, Nixon followed him to the nation's capital.
Kuharich's five-year tenure in Washington was only slightly better than his Cardinals stint, with the mentor leaving for the head coaching position at the University of Notre Dame
following the conclusion of the 1958 NFL season
. On December 22 of that year, Nixon earned his first head coaching position when he was promoted by Redskins' owner George Preston Marshall
.
The next two years would be miserable for Nixon, who watched his team compile a record of 4-18-2, predictably resulting in his dismissal after the 1960 NFL season
had ended. After seeking another head coaching job, Nixon settled for an assistant's role on February 11, 1961 back with the Steelers under Buddy Parker
. After a 6-8 campaign in his first year, the team improved to a 9-5 record the following year, and was one game away from winning the Eastern Conference title in 1963. However, by the time the next season started, age and injuries had caught up with the Steelers. Two weeks before the start of the 1965 NFL season
, Parker abruptly quit. Nixon was promoted to head coach the next day, but endured (up to that time) the franchise's worst season with a 2-12 mark.
Nixon was fired after the season ended, but found work a few months later, again with Kuharich, now the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles
. Following a 9-5 season in 1966, the team won three less games the following year, then bottomed out with a 2-12 mark in 1968. Once again, Nixon was looking for work after Kuharich was dismissed after the arrival of new owner Leonard Tose
.
On July 1, 1969, Nixon was signed as a scout for the Cleveland Browns
, spending his first season looking only at teams in the American Football League. The strategy was for Nixon to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of the teams that would be facing the Browns after they changed leagues because the NFL-AFL merger. In subsequent years, Nixon would focus on college scouting, becoming the team's director of college scouting on February 20, 1974. He would keep that role until his retirement in the early 1980s.
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...
player, coach and scout who spent close to a half-century connected to the game. His most prominent positions have been as head coach of 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...
's Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
and 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...
.
Early life
The son of a coal miner, Nixon was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area community of Masontown, PennsylvaniaMasontown, Pennsylvania
Masontown is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 3,611 at the 2000 census. The town is served by the Albert Gallatin Area School District...
and attended the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
, where he played three seasons under the legendary Jock Sutherland
Jock Sutherland
Dr. John Bain "Jock" Sutherland, D.D.S., was an American football coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College and the University of Pittsburgh and professional football for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Steelers...
, including action in the 1933 Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
. At Pitt, he won All-America recognition as a running back, while also working summers in the same coal mines as his father. He then advanced to the NFL, but played just one season with the Steelers in 1935 before entering the coaching fraternity at his alma mater the next year.
During this same period, he also played third base in minor league baseball's Southern Association
Southern Association
The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A , Class A1 and Class AA...
, while seeking other coaching opportunities. When Sutherland resigned on March 6, 1939, Nixon stayed on for a year before joining Bill Kern
Bill Kern
William Franklin "Bill" Kern was an American football player and coach. He played college football as a tackle at the University of Pittsburgh in 1925 and 1927 and then with the Green Bay Packers of the NFL in 1929 and 1930...
's staff at West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
. It was shortly after this period that Nixon changed his name from its original "Nicksick," basing the decision on a discussion with Sutherland, who said it would help him with respect to coaching positions in the South.
Professional coaching career
Nixon departed after two seasons to return to the professional level as an assistant with the NFL's Brooklyn DodgersBrooklyn Dodgers (NFL)
The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field. In 1945, because of financial difficulties, the team was merged with the Boston Yanks...
. With player shortages beginning that year due to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Nixon briefly resumed his playing career by signing a contract with the team on November 19, 1942. Nixon himself eventually left to serve as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy for three years, but returned in 1946 as a Steelers assistant under his former coach Sutherland.
He stayed in that role for the next six seasons, but left on June 3, 1952 to join Joe Kuharich
Joe Kuharich
Joseph Lawrence Kuharich was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of San Francisco from 1948 to 1951 and at the University of Notre Dame from 1959 to 1962, compiling a career college football record of 43–37...
, who had been named head coach with the Chicago Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Kuharich's tenure with the team was brief, but when he was named as head coach of the Redskins after the 1953 NFL season
1953 NFL season
The 1953 NFL season was the 34th regular season of the National Football League. The names of the American and National conferences were changed to the Eastern and Western conferences....
, Nixon followed him to the nation's capital.
Kuharich's five-year tenure in Washington was only slightly better than his Cardinals stint, with the mentor leaving for the head coaching position at the University of 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...
following the conclusion of the 1958 NFL season
1958 NFL season
The 1958 NFL season was the 39th regular season of the National Football League.The Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants, 23–17, in the first sudden-death overtime in an NFL Championship Game...
. On December 22 of that year, Nixon earned his first head coaching position when he was promoted by Redskins' owner George Preston Marshall
George Preston Marshall
George Preston Marshall was the owner and president of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League from 1932 until his death in 1969.-Contributions:...
.
The next two years would be miserable for Nixon, who watched his team compile a record of 4-18-2, predictably resulting in his dismissal after the 1960 NFL season
1960 NFL season
The 1960 NFL season was the 41st regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Pete Rozelle was elected NFL commissioner as a compromise choice on the twenty-third ballot. Meanwhile, the league expanded to 13 teams with the addition of the Dallas Cowboys. Also, the Cardinals...
had ended. After seeking another head coaching job, Nixon settled for an assistant's role on February 11, 1961 back with the Steelers under Buddy Parker
Buddy Parker
Raymond "Buddy" Parker is a former football player and coach in the National Football League who served as head coach for three teams: the Chicago Cardinals, the Detroit Lions and the Pittsburgh Steelers....
. After a 6-8 campaign in his first year, the team improved to a 9-5 record the following year, and was one game away from winning the Eastern Conference title in 1963. However, by the time the next season started, age and injuries had caught up with the Steelers. Two weeks before the start of the 1965 NFL season
1965 NFL season
The 1965 NFL season was the 46th regular season of the National Football League.Because the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Colts ended up tied in the Western Conference standings after the regular season ended, a conference playoff game was held in Green Bay. Although the Packers had defeated the...
, Parker abruptly quit. Nixon was promoted to head coach the next day, but endured (up to that time) the franchise's worst season with a 2-12 mark.
Nixon was fired after the season ended, but found work a few months later, again with Kuharich, now the head coach of 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...
. Following a 9-5 season in 1966, the team won three less games the following year, then bottomed out with a 2-12 mark in 1968. Once again, Nixon was looking for work after Kuharich was dismissed after the arrival of new owner Leonard Tose
Leonard Tose
Leonard Hyman Tose was an owner of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1969–1985. He made a fortune in the trucking industry and was known for his lavish lifestyle...
.
On July 1, 1969, Nixon was signed as a scout for the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, spending his first season looking only at teams in the American Football League. The strategy was for Nixon to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of the teams that would be facing the Browns after they changed leagues because the NFL-AFL merger. In subsequent years, Nixon would focus on college scouting, becoming the team's director of college scouting on February 20, 1974. He would keep that role until his retirement in the early 1980s.