Neill Armstrong

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Neill Armstrong
Date of birth	March 9, 1926 (1926-03-09) (age 82)
Place of birth	Tishomingo, Oklahoma
Position(s)	Wide receiver
College	Oklahoma A & M
NFL Draft	1947 / Round 1
Career Record	30-34
Playing Stats	DatabaseFootball
Coaching Stats	DatabaseFootball
Team(s) as a player
1947-1951	Philadelphia Eagles
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1962-1963 1964-1969 1970-1977 1978-1981 1982-1989	Houston Oilers Edmonton Eskimos Minnesota Vikings Chicago Bears Dallas Cowboys

For the astronaut, see Neil Armstrong.

Neill Ford Armstrong (born March 9, 1926 in Tishomingo, Oklahoma) is a former American football player and coach whose career spanned more than 40 years at both the collegiate and professional levels.

Armstrong played college football at Oklahoma A & M from 1943-1946, and was drafted in the 1947 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Playing both at wide receiver and defensive back, Armstrong helped the team capture the NFL championship in both 1948 and 1949.

In 1962, his professional coaching career began when he was hired as an assistant coach with the American Football League Houston Oilers. After serving two years in that capacity, he shifted back to Canada as head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos. In his six years, the team reached the postseason three times.

Armstrong was hired as an assistant with the Minnesota Vikings in 1970, and became an integral part of developing the team's dominating defense. After helping the team reach the postseason in all but one of the next eight years, he was hired as head coach of the Chicago Bears on February 16, 1978.

In four years at the helm of the Bears, he was only able to compile a record of 30-35, with one playoff appearance in 1979. He was fired on January 3, 1982, but hired less than two months later as an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys. He spent the next eight seasons with the team before announcing his retirement on February 22, 1990.

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