Turn out the lights, the Pardee’s over

Jack Pardee, the Don King of NFL head coaches, has died of gall bladder cancer at the age of 76. Pardee started in Coach Bear Bryant’s infamous “Junction Boys” camp at Texas A&M and after being one of only 35 (from 100 who entered) to survive the 10 days of brutal drills in oppressive heat, he emerged as a College Football Hall of Fame linebacker and fullback. After a 13-year pro career that included 2 All-Pro seasons, he had stints coaching the Chicago Bears, returning the Bears to the playoffs for the first time since George Halas, and Washington Redskins, where he won Coach of the Year honors, but never made the playoffs. He returned to the college game as a coach at the University of Houston, employing a Run and Shoot offense that netted Andre Ware a Heisman Trophy. In the NFL, he made the playoffs 4 years in a row with the Houston Oilers, making Warren Moon a star, but is probably best remembered for arranging sideline fisticuffs by putting Buddy Ryan and Kevin Gilbride on the same coaching staff. In addition to the NCAA and NFL, Pardee also was a head coach in the USFL (1984-85 Houston Gamblers, 1986 New Jersey Generals), World Football League (1974 Washington Ambassadors/Virginia Ambassadors/Florida Blazers) and the Canadian Football League (1995 Birmingham Barracudas), making him the only man to get second-guessed in such a varied collection of sports leagues.