Dick Coury obit

Dick Coury, coach of two Portland pro football teams, father of Lake Oswego coach Steve Coury, dies at 90

 

He was not on the list.

Dick Coury, who coached Portland’s short-lived WFL and USFL pro football teams in the 1970s and ’80s, died Saturday at 90.

Coury, father of long-time Lake Oswego football coach Steve Coury, was the head coach of the World Football League’s Portland Storm in 1974-75. Coury later coached the Breakers, Portland’s United States Football League franchise, in 1985.

Coury was an NFL assistant coach for nine different teams over a 30-year period, as well a stint in college and high school. Coury was defensive coordinator at USC when the Trojans won the 1967 national title. Coury also served as an assistant coach on the Philadelphia Eagles’ 1981 Super Bowl team.

Dick Vermeil, who had Coury on NFL coaching staffs at Philadelphia and St. Louis, told The Oregonian in 1999 that “people relate well to Dick Coury. Coaches, players, office people, secretaries, they all love Dick. He was the best.”

Coury came to Oregon in 1974 to coach the WFL’s Storm (first called the Portland Thunder), which one year later became the Thunder. The team won only one of its first 10 games in 1974, but finished 7-12-1 after winning six of 10 down the stretch. The Thunder played 11 games in 1975 when the league ceased operations.

"You want to talk about a real struggle," Coury told The Oregonian in 2012. "The league couldn't even pay the players. They just stopped paying the guys after a while. The fans in Portland were so good they brought sandwiches to the games for the players, or they'd stop at practices and bring picnic lunches. "They knew we were struggling, and were trying to make life pleasant. I'll never forget that."

Coury returned in 1985 with the Breakers, the USFL franchise on its third city after stops in Boston and New Orleans. Coury was the coach at each stop. The Breakers went 6-12 during their one-year Portland run. The franchise folded after losing some $17 million over three years.

Coaching career (HC unless noted),


1957–1965, Mater Dei HS (CA)


1966–1968, USC (DC)


1969, Pittsburgh Steelers (assistant)


1970–1971, Cal State Fullerton


1972–1973, Denver Broncos (WR)


1974, Portland Storm


1975, San Diego Chargers (LB)


1976–1981, Philadelphia Eagles (WR)


1983, Boston Breakers


1984, New Orleans Breakers


1985, Portland Breakers


1986–1990, Los Angeles Rams (QB)


1991–1992, New England Patriots (OC)


1993, Minnesota Vikings (assistant)


1994, Houston Oilers (OC)


1995–1996, Houston Oilers (OA/PG)


1997–1998, St. Louis Rams (WR)