George Dyer

Coaching Record

Years Coached Record Win % Playoff record Playoff win %
22 185-159-0 53.78% 10-6 62.50%

Biography

Career Summary

George Dyer was a football coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1982 to 2003, finishing his career as the defensive line coach of the Detroit Lions. Over his twenty-two years of coaching his teams compiled a cumulative win/loss record of 185-159-0.

Personal Information

Dyer was born on Monday, February 7, 1876. He died on Tuesday, June 22, 1948 at the age of 72.

Dyer has had a long and prosperous career on the defensive side of the ball. His coaching has taken him from college to the NFL to the CFL and back. Prior to his coaching career, Dyer played center and linebacker for UC Santa Barbara from 1960-1963. In 1961, Dyer was named a co-captain for his team.

Table of Contents

College Coaching Career

Upon graduation, Dyer began coaching at Humboldt State as an assistant coach. In 1964, the team would achieve an 8-2 record. However, the team would regress each year Dyer was there, going 6-4 in 1965 and 4-6 in 1966. After the season in 1966, Dyer left Humboldt State and took the head coaching position at Coalinga Junior College. Dyer only had this job for one season, but in that time the entire team was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. After his one season as a head coach, Dyer became the Defensive Coordinator at Portland State.

During his four seasons at Portland State (1968-1971) the team put together their best run in school history, going 20-19 over the time span. The 1969 and 1970 teams were the first to ever post back-to-back winning records. After his time at Portland State, Dyer joined Idaho State for one season as an assistant coach, helping the team to a 7-3 record. He then joined Darryl Rogers as an assistant coach for San Jose State University. San Jose finished 5-4-2, 2nd in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference.

First Professional Coaching Stint

After his stint with San Jose State, Dyer had his first foray into professional coaching with his position with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL. Bud Riley hired him as an assistant coach, but the team didn’t have much success during his three years in Winnipeg. The team posted just one winning season (1976) during his stint. After that season, Dyer returned to college coaching.

Return to College

In 1977, Dyer returned to college coaching with Michigan State. He was reunited with Darryl Rogers as his defensive coordinator. With Dyer’s help on defense, the team improved by three games between 1976 and 1977. The improvements continued as the team went 8-3 and won a share of the Big Ten title in 1978. However, the success was short-lived as the team stumbled to a 5-6 record in 1979.

After Michigan State, Dyer moved on to Arizona State with Rogers. Again, the tandem of Rogers and Dyer led to instant improvement of a team. Even though the team was placed on probation by the Pac-10 for extra benefits to athletes, they still finished 7-4, a three game improvement over the previous season. In 1981, the team finished the season ranked #16 in the nation. The defense was led by All-American Mike Richardson (DB) and the team finished 2nd in the conference.

Return to Professional Football

For one season (1982), Dyer joined the Buffalo Bills as the defensive line coach. The Bills missed the playoffs by one game in the strike-shortened season, but Dyer still coached two players, Fred Smerlas and Ben Williams, to All-Pro Honors (First and Second team, respectively).

In 1983, Dyer followed Coach Chuck Knox to Seattle as the defensive line coach. Their success was immediate as the Seahawks made it to the AFC Conference championship game, unfortunately losing to the Raiders. 1984 produced similar success as the team went 12-4, but lost in the second round of the playoffs. That season was the most successful for the Seahawks during Dyer’s tenure, never winning as many games and only advancing to the playoffs twice more (1987, 1988) while he was there. After the 1991 season, Dyer again followed Chuck Knox to a new team.

In 1992, Knox and Dyer coached the Los Angeles Rams, with Dyer serving as both defensive coordinator and defensive line coach. They could not replicate the success they had in Seattle, finishing last in the division each of Dyer’s seasons. In Dyer’s first season, 1992, he was unable to get results from the players and the defense was ranked near the bottom in almost every stat.

After 13 consecutive seasons of working under Knox, Dyer took a job with the Denver Broncos as the defensive line coach for new head coach Mike Shanahan. During Dyer’s time in Denver, the Broncos experienced great success, both individually and as a team. The team won two Super Bowls (1997, 1998), Terrell Davis rushed for a record-breaking 2,008 yards (1998), and Jason Elam tied the record for longest field goal (63 yards, 1998). However, after the 1998 Super Bowl victory, Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway retired and the team struggled to remain competitive. In Dyer’s last three seasons with the team, they only made one playoff appearance (2000). In 2002, Shanahan promoted Dyer to assistant head coach and Jacob Burney took over the defensive line. Dyer coached a final season in the NFL in 2003 with the Detroit Lions, but the team would finish last in the NFC North.

After taking many years off, Dyer reemerged in the CFL as the defensive line coach for the Toronto Argonauts in 2010. In his first season, he helped defensive tackle Kevin Huntley be recognized as a CFL All-Star, leading the team with 9 sacks. The Argonauts struggled in 2011, finishing 6-12 and missing the playoffs. After the poor season, most of the coaching staff, including Dyer, did not return for the 2012 season.

History

Year Position Record Playoff record
2003 Detroit Lions Defensive Line Coach 5-11-0 0-0
2002 Denver Broncos Assistant to the Head Coach 9-7-0 0-0
2001 Denver Broncos Defensive Line Coach 8-8-0 0-0
2000 Denver Broncos Defensive Line Coach 11-5-0 0-1
1999 Denver Broncos Defensive Line Coach 6-10-0 0-0
1998 Denver Broncos Defensive Line Coach 14-2-0 3-0
1997 Denver Broncos Defensive Line Coach 12-4-0 4-0
1996 Denver Broncos Defensive Line Coach 13-3-0 0-1
1995 Denver Broncos Defensive Line Coach 8-8-0 0-0
1994 Los Angeles Rams Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Line Coach 4-12-0 0-0
1993 Los Angeles Rams Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Line Coach 5-11-0 0-0
1992 Los Angeles Rams Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Line Coach 6-10-0 0-0
1991 Seattle Seahawks Defensive Line Coach 7-9-0 0-0
1990 Seattle Seahawks Defensive Line Coach 9-7-0 0-0
1989 Seattle Seahawks Defensive Line Coach 7-9-0 0-0
1988 Seattle Seahawks Defensive Line Coach 9-7-0 0-1
1987 Seattle Seahawks Defensive Line Coach 9-6-0 0-1
1986 Seattle Seahawks Defensive Line Coach 10-6-0 0-0
1985 Seattle Seahawks Defensive Line Coach 8-8-0 0-0
1984 Seattle Seahawks Defensive Line Coach 12-4-0 1-1
1983 Seattle Seahawks Defensive Line Coach 9-7-0 2-1
1982 Buffalo Bills Defensive Line Coach 4-5-0 0-0
1981 Arizona State Sun Devils Defensive Coordinator 9-2-0
1980 Arizona State Sun Devils Defensive Coordinator 7-4-0
1979 Arizona State Sun Devils Defensive Coordinator 6-6-0
1978 Michigan State Spartans Defensive Coordinator 8-3-0
1977 Michigan State Spartans Defensive Coordinator 7-3-1
1976 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Assistant Coach 10-6-0
1975 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Assistant Coach 6-8-2
1974 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Assistant Coach 8-8-0

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