Brian Billick

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brian Billick
Date of birth	February 28, 1954 (1954-02-28) (age 54)
Place of birth	Fairborn, Ohio
Position(s)	Head coach; Tight end
College	BYU
NFL Draft	1977 / Round 11/ Pick 295
Career Highlights
Regular Season	80-64-0
Postseason	5-3
Career Record	85-67-0
Super Bowl       Wins	2000 Super Bowl XXXV
Championships       Won	2000 AFC Championship
Stats
Coaching Stats	Pro Football Reference
Coaching Stats	DatabaseFootball
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1978 1981-1985 1986-1988 1989-1991 1992-1998 1999-2007	Brigham Young (graduate assistant) San Diego State (tight ends coach) Utah State (offensive coordinator) Stanford (assistant head coach and tight ends coach) Minnesota Vikings (offensive coordinator) Baltimore Ravens (head coach)

Brian Harold Billick^[1] (February 28, 1954) is a former coach in the National Football League, most recently head coach of the Baltimore Ravens from January 19, 1999 to December 31, 2007.

Billick led the Ravens to a 34-7 victory over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, the franchise's only Super Bowl appearance.

[edit] Playing career

Billick, who played football and basketball at Redlands High School in Redlands, California had his No. 17 jersey retired by the school in March 2001.^[2] He played both quarterback and cornerback in high school and holds the state record with 21 career interceptions.

After spending his freshman season as a linebacker at the United States Air Force Academy, Billick transferred to Brigham Young University ^[3] and became a tight end. He later told friends that he left the Air Force Academy because he learned, after he'd already enrolled, that his height and size (6-foot-4, 230 lb.) precluded him from ever becoming a fighter pilot. He received All-Western Athletic Conference and honorable mention All-America honors in 1976.

Billick was selected in the 11th round of the 1977 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers but was cut by the 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, and never played in the NFL.

[edit] Coaching career

[edit] College

Billick worked as a graduate assistant at Brigham Young for one season (1978) before joining the 49ers as the assistant director of public relations for two years (1979-1980).

He returned to coaching with San Diego State University, serving as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator for five seasons (1981-1985). After being named the offensive coordinator of Utah State University, Billick improved the second-worst offense in Division I-A into a top-ten offense in only three seasons (1986-1988).

Billick was then hired as the assistant head coach and tight ends coach at Stanford by Dennis Green, serving both roles for three seasons (1989-91).

[edit] National Football League

[edit] Assistant Coach

When Green became the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings in 1991, he hired Billick as his tight ends coach. Three games into their second season, Billick was promoted to offensive coordinator and quickly began developing one of the most explosive offenses in the league.

The Vikings made the playoffs during six of the seven seasons (1992-1998) that Billick spent with the team, and set several offensive records in the process. In 1998, Minnesota set an NFL record for most points scored in a season (556) and set a team record with 41 touchdown passes.

[edit] Head Coach

[edit] Baltimore Ravens

Billick became the second coach in Ravens history on January 19, 1999, when he was hired to replace Ted Marchibroda. He had a 85-67 record in nine seasons (1999-2007) with the team, including 5-3 in the playoffs.

Although Billick had the opportunity to interview for the head coaching job of the reactivated Cleveland Browns and was rumored to be their top candidate, he chose to interview with the Ravens first.^[4] He signed with Baltimore in under 24 hours after his initial interview.

In his first season with the Ravens, Billick led the team to its first non-losing record (8-8) in the franchise's brief four-year history.

The next season, Baltimore finished with a 12-4 record and earned its first playoff berth. Prior to reaching the playoffs, Billick forbade his players from using either the term "playoffs" or the term "Super Bowl," with the idea of keeping them focused on winning each game instead of on their more distant prize. Billick felt this approach would help them reach that prize, and went so far as to fine Tony Siragusa for violating this rule. In response, the players borrowed the term "Festivus" from the television series Seinfeld for the playoffs, and the term Festivus Maximus for the Super Bowl. When they reached the playoffs, Billick lifted this ban. The Ravens took advantage of their vaunted defense, which allowed an NFL record-low 165 points in the regular season, during the playoffs to advance to and win Super Bowl XXXV.

Billick led the Ravens to a 10-6 record and a victory over the Miami Dolphins in a 2001 wild card playoff game before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round. Baltimore finished 7-9 and missed the playoffs in 2002, but bounced back in 2003 with a 10-6 record and the franchise's first division title; the key game of this season was a wild 44-41 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks in which the Ravens scored 20 unanswered points from the 10:14 mark of the fourth quarter through overtime; the win launched the then-5-5 Ravens into the division title. The Ravens lost to the Titans, 20-17, in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.

The Ravens missed the playoffs in 2004 (9-7) and 2005 (6-10) before bouncing back in the 2006 season. Billick fired offensive coordinator Jim Fassel on October 17, 2006, assuming the role for the remainder of the season, as the Ravens earned a franchise best 13-3 record, won the AFC North and earned the first playoff bye in team history. Baltimore, however, lost to eventual Super Bowl champions, the Indianapolis Colts, 15-6, in the divisional round.

[edit] Dismissal from Ravens

On December 31, 2007, Billick was fired from his position as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.^{[5] [6]} This came after a season in which the team went 5-11, including 1-5 in the division, and lost to the otherwise winless Miami Dolphins. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti described the decision to fire Billick as the toughest decision he has ever had to make. Billick, in a short statement, said Bisciotti did what he believed was best for the Ravens, and asserted that the two men are and will remain friends.^[7]

[edit] Head Coaching record

[edit] Coaching Tree

Assistant coaches under Brian Billick that became head coaches in the NFL:

• Jack Del Rio Jacksonville Jaguars
• Marvin Lewis Cincinnati Bengals
• Mike Nolan San Francisco 49ers
• Mike Smith Atlanta Falcons

[edit] Broadcasting

When the Ravens were eliminated from the playoffs in 2003, Billick was used as a studio analyst by ABC Sports. After being fired by the Ravens, Billick was a draft analyst for the NFL Network during the 2008 NFL draft. Billick will be a game analyst for the NFL on FOX during the 2008 NFL season. ^[8]

[edit] Trivia

Shortly before beginning his coaching career, Billick appeared as a contestant on Match Game PM, losing to Marla Marshall ^[9]. Panelist Richard Dawson remarked after Billick's loss: "Failed at football. Failed at Match Game. Where will you go now?" ^[10]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick
• Brian Billick at the Internet Movie Database