John Mazur obit

 Football Player and Coach John Mazur Has Died

He was not on the list.

John Mazur was a football coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1962 to 1980, finishing his career as the defensive coordinator of the New York Jets. Over his sixteen years of coaching his teams compiled a cumulative win/loss record of 89-131-6. He was the head coach of the New England Patriots from 1971 until the 1972 season, during which time the Patriots went 9-19-0. During his career he was a head coach for two seasons. He resigned from the Patriots.

John Mazur Coaching Tree

Before he was a head coach, Mazur served as an assistant coach for Lou Saban, Joe Collier, Clive Rush, Mike McCormack, Dick Vermeil, and Walt Michaels. Four of these years were spent on Saban's coaching staff. One assistant coach from his coaching staffs, Sam Rutigliano, was eventually hired as a head coach. After coaching on John Mazur's coaching staff, he was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns for seven seasons where he combined for a regular season record of 47-50-0 and 0-2 in the playoffs.

Personal Information

Mazur was born on Tuesday, June 17, 1930 in Plymouth, Pennsylvania. He died on Friday, November 1, 2013 at the age of 83.

His outstanding quarterbacking skills caught the attention of Notre Dame coaches, leading him to play for the Fighting Irish from 1949 to 1951, starting for the 1951 squad that finished 7–2–1. The following year, Mazur went into the Marine Corps, playing quarterback for both the Quantico and Camp Pendleton Marines. Upon his discharge in 1954, Mazur headed to Canada, where he spent one year with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League before suffering a career-ending ankle injury.

On January 22, 1962, Mazur was hired as backfield coach of the American Football League Buffalo Bills, spending seven seasons with the team as offensive coordinator, helping them capture AFL titles in both 1964 and 1965. By his final year with Buffalo in 1968, Mazur had seen the team collapse with the worst record in professional football, a dubious distinction that helped them select O. J. Simpson in the NFL Draft.

Looking for other options, Mazur was hired as an assistant with the Boston Patriots on February 6, 1969. However, the team struggled under new head coach Clive Rush, who resigned on November 3, 1970, elevating Mazur to his first and only head coaching role.

Mazur was re-hired at the end of the 1970 NFL season, and selected quarterback Jim Plunkett with the first pick in the 1971 draft. Leading the team to a 6–8 mark that year, which included upsets of the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Colts and Oakland Raiders, the team enjoyed its best record since 1966, and Mazur was awarded a new contract with a substantial pay increase. That excitement would be short-lived as the Patriots won only two of their first nine games. Mazur then resigned on November 13, 1972, one day after a 52–0 shutout by Miami, and was replaced by Phil Bengtson.

 

History

Year     Position            Record            Playoff record

1980 New York Jets            Defensive Coordinator            4-12-0            0-0

1976 Philadelphia Eagles            Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Backs Coach            4-10-0            0-0

1975 Philadelphia Eagles            Defensive Backs Coach  4-10-0            0-0

1974 Philadelphia Eagles            Defensive Backs Coach  7-7-0            0-0

1973 Philadelphia Eagles            Defensive Backs Coach  5-8-1            0-0

1972 New England Patriots Head Coach  2-7-0            0-0

1971 New England Patriots Head Coach  6-8-0            0-0

1970 Boston Patriots Interim Head Coach            1-6-0            0-0

1970 Boston Patriots            Offensive Backfield Coach  1-6-0            0-0

1969 Boston Patriots            Offensive Backfield Coach  4-10-0            0-0

1968 Buffalo Bills      Wide Receivers Coach / Offensive Backfield Coach  1-12-1            0-0

1967 Buffalo Bills      Wide Receivers Coach / Offensive Backfield Coach  4-10-0            0-0

1966 Buffalo Bills      Wide Receivers Coach / Offensive Backfield Coach  9-4-1            0-1

1965 Buffalo Bills      Wide Receivers Coach / Offensive Backfield Coach  10-3-1            1-0

1964 Buffalo Bills      Wide Receivers Coach / Offensive Backfield Coach  12-2-0            1-0

1963 Buffalo Bills      Wide Receivers Coach / Offensive Backfield Coach  7-6-1            0-1

1962 Buffalo Bills      Wide Receivers Coach / Offensive Backfield Coach  7-6-1            0-0

Coach history guide

Seasons with a championship win            Seasons with a conference championship

Coach facts

Years as head coach: 2

Named the interim head coach during the 1970 season for the Boston Patriots

Years as a coordinator: 2

Championships won: 1964 and 1965

Past teams coached for: New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Boston Patriots/New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills

Date of Birth: Tuesday, June 17, 1930 (83 years old), Plymouth, Pennsylvania