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John Gregory (American football coach)

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John Gregory
Born:(1938-11-22)November 22, 1938
Webster City, Iowa, U.S.
Died:December 12, 2022(2022-12-12) (aged 84)
Gastonia, North Carolina, U.S.
Career history
As administrator
1969–1971Iowa Central (Athletic director)
1995–2003Iowa Barnstormers (General manager)
As coach
1969–1971Iowa Central (assistant)
1972–1981South Dakota State
1982Northern Iowa (OC)
1983–1986Winnipeg Blue Bombers (OL)
1987–1991Saskatchewan Roughriders
1991–1994Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1995–2003Iowa Barnstormers/New York Dragons
2004Carolina Cobras
2005–2007Arkansas Twisters
2008–2011Iowa Barnstormers
2012Tampa Bay Storm (OC)
Career highlights and awards
Awards1995 AFL Coach of the Year
1996 AFL Coach of the Year

John Gregory (November 22, 1938 – December 12, 2022) was an American football head coach. He coached college football and at the professional level in the Canadian Football League (CFL), Arena Football League (AFL), and Indoor Football League (IFL).

Coaching career

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Early years

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Gregory's first coaching job was at Iowa Central Community College, where he was assistant head coach and athletic director of the new football program. In Gregory's three years there, the program had a 24–3–1 record and won the Wool Bowl in 1969. John Matuszak, who was recruited by Gregory, went on to become the number one pick in the 1973 NFL draft.

His first college head coaching job was at South Dakota State, where he had 55–50–3 record from 1972 to 1981. Gregory is third in school history in coaching victories and his 1979 team had a single season best record of 9–2. SDSU didn't have a winning record the previous 11 seasons before Gregory's arrival.

After serving as Northern Iowa offensive coordinator in 1982, Gregory was the offensive line coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the six seasons. In 1984 Winnipeg won the Grey Cup in part due to Gregory's offensive line that helped set a CFL single season rushing record.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

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After the 1986 season he was hired to coach Saskatchewan Roughriders, a team that had no playoff appearances in the past 10 years. While the Saskatchewan Roughriders finished in 4th (and last) place in the CFL West Division with a 5-12-1 record in his first season at the helm of the Western Riders in 1987, the following year, he led the Riders to an 11–7 record and a playoff berth. He won the Annis Stukus Trophy as the league's coach of the year. In 1989, the Roughriders finished 9–9 and won the 77th Grey Cup, their first since 1966. After a 1–6 start in 1991, he was fired and replaced by Don Matthews. He had a 35–43–1 overall record in Saskatchewan.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

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That same season, he was hired to replace David Beckman as head coach of the 0–8 Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He made the postseason two of the four years he was with the team and finished with a 24–40 record.

Arena Football

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In 1995, Jim Foster hired Gregory to build an Arena Football League expansion team in Des Moines, Iowa. Gregory coached the Iowa Barnstormers to five division titles in six seasons and led the team to two ArenaBowls. Quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Aaron Garcia are considered two of the greatest AFL players ever. Gregory was named AFL Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996. The Barnstormers relocated to New York in 2001, becoming the New York Dragons; and Gregory left the team in 2003. Gregory later joined the Carolina Cobras as offensive coordinator under Ed Khayat; after a 2–4 start to the 2004 season, Khayat was fired and Gregory took over. In his first game as Carolina's interim head coach, playing the defending ArenaBowl champion Tampa Bay Storm, the Cobras scored 24 unanswered points in the third quarter to win 54–43; it was the team's first home win since 2002.[1] However, the Cobras suffered a losing streak that dropped them to 3–7, leading to Gregory's dismissal with six games left in the season.[2]

In 2005, Gregory came out of retirement to coach the Arkansas Twisters. He went 5–7 in his first season and 10–6 in the 2006 season, losing the National Conference Championship to the Spokane Shock. In 2007, the Twisters improved to a 12–4 record, a franchise best, but lost to the Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings in the first round of the playoffs.

In 2007, it was announced that Gregory would return to Iowa to coach the new expansion Iowa Barnstormers.[3]

On May 17, 2011, Gregory resigned from his position with the Barnstormers.[4]

In 2012, Gregory was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Storm. It is his first position where he has not been a team head coach for more than two decades.[5]

Gregory was the commissioner of the National Arena League during its first season in 2017.[6]

Personal life and death

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Gregory died on December 12, 2022, at the age of 84.[7]

Head coaching record

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College

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
South Dakota State Jackrabbits (North Central Conference) (1972–1981)
1972 South Dakota State 6–5 2–5 6th
1973 South Dakota State 5–5–1 2–4–1 6th
1974 South Dakota State 6–5 4–3 4th
1975 South Dakota State 7–4 4–3 4th
1976 South Dakota State 5–4–1 4–1–1 2nd
1977 South Dakota State 5–4–1 3–3–1 T–4th
1978 South Dakota State 5–6 3–3 T–3rd
1979 South Dakota State 9–3 4–2 T–2nd L NCAA Division II Quarterfinal
1980 South Dakota State 3–8 1–5–1 7th
1981 South Dakota State 4–6 2–4–1 6th
South Dakota State: 55–50–3 29–33–5
Total: 55–50–3

CFL

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
SAS 1987 5 12 1 .294 4th in West Division – – – –
SAS 1988 11 7 0 .611 2nd in West Division 0 1 .000 Lost West Semi-Final
SAS 1989 9 9 0 .500 3rd in West Division 3 0 1.000 Won Grey Cup
SAS 1990 9 9 0 .500 3rd in West Division 0 1 .000 Lost West Semi-Final
SAS 1991 1 6 0 .143 4th in West Division – – – Fired
HAM 1991 3 7 0 .300 4th in East Division – – – –
HAM 1992 11 7 0 .611 2nd in East Division 1 1 .500 Lost East Final
HAM 1993 6 12 0 .333 2nd in East Division 1 1 .500 Lost East Final
HAM 1994 1 5 0 .167 5th in East Division – – – Fired
Total 61 82 1 .426 0 Division
Championships		 5 4 .555 1 Grey Cups

AFL & af2

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
Iowa 1995 7 5 0 .583 2nd in AC Central 1 1 .500 Lost in AC Semifinals
Iowa 1996 12 2 0 .857 1st in AC Central 2 1 .667 Lost in ArenaBowl X
Iowa 1997 11 3 0 .786 1st in AC Central 2 1 .667 Lost in ArenaBowl XI
Iowa 1998 5 9 0 .357 3rd in AC Central – – – –
Iowa 1999 11 3 0 .786 1st in AC Central 1 1 .500 Lost in AC Final
Iowa 2000 9 5 0 .643 1st in AC Central 0 1 .000 Lost in AC Semifinal
NY 2001 8 6 0 .571 1st in NC Eastern 0 1 .000 Lost in Wild Card
NY 2002 3 11 0 .214 4th in NC Eastern – – – –
NY 2003 0 4 0 .000 4th in NC Eastern – – – –
CAR 2004 6 10 0 .375 2nd in NC Eastern – – – –
ARK 2005 5 7 0 .417 3rd in AC South – – – –
ARK 2006 10 6 0 .625 1st in NC Midwest 2 1 .667 Lost in NC Final
ARK 2007 12 4 0 .688 1st in NC Central 0 1 .000 Lost in First round
Iowa 2008 6 10 0 .375 5th in AC Midwest – – – –
Iowa 2009 12 4 0 .750 1st AC in Midwest 0 1 .000 Lost in First round
Iowa 2010 7 9 0 .438 4th NC in Midwest – – – –
Iowa 2011 2 7 0 .222 4thth NC in Central – – – –
Total 117 90 0 .565 8 9 .471

References

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  1. ^ Cannon, Keith (March 22, 2004). "Storm Skid Reaches 3 With Loss To Carolina". The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved February 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Dorsey, David (April 16, 2004). "Firecats coach not free to leave". The News-Press. Retrieved February 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Barnstormers Rehire Former Coach John Gregory | KCRG-TV9 Cedar Rapids, Iowa | Sports Archived May 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Barnstormers: Head Coach John Gregory Resigns". Iowa Barnstormers. May 17, 2011. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  5. ^ "Tampa Bay Storm - The Official Web Site :: Coaching Staff". Archived from the original on May 5, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  6. ^ "CHRIS SIEGFRIED ANNOUNCED AS NAL COMMISSIONER John Gregory Steps Down Following Successful 2017 Season". National Arena League. October 9, 2017. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ "Former CFL head coach John Gregory dies at the age of 84". Sports Net. December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
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Preceded by Grey Cup winning Head Coach
77th Grey Cup, 1989 		Succeeded by
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