| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 21 1942 Bronx, New York |
| Playing career | |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall |
38–73–1 (NFL) 16–19–1 (college) |
| Bowls | 1–0 |
Daniel Ernest "Dan" Henning, (born June 21, 1942) is a former American football player and coach. A quarterback, he played college football at The College of William & Mary and professional football in 1966 for the American Football League's San Diego Chargers. Henning served as the head coach of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons (1983–1986) and San Diego Chargers (1989–1991). He was also the head football coach at Boston College from 1994 to 1996. Henning then returned to the NFL as an offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills in 1997. After Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy retired, reportedly partially due to his reluctance to fire Henning, Henning left Buffalo.
Coaching career[]
While the head coach of Boston College, Henning discovered a major sports betting scandal among his own players. After losing, 45–17, to Syracuse on October 26, 1996, he heard that some of his players might have bet against their own team. Henning informed the appropriate university officials, and the resulting inquiry resulted the suspension of 13 players for the rest of the season, with six banned permanently. With the effects of the scandal and a 16–19–1 record after three seasons, Henning retired at the end of the 1996 season.[1]
Henning had two stints as the offensive coordinator with the Washington Redskins (1981–82, 1987–88). He won two Super Bowl rings during this time.
Most recently, Henning was named offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins, throwing wrinkles in the offense which put Ronnie Brown as quarterback leading to a 38–13 win at the New England Patriots.[2] The implementation of the "Wildcat" or single-wing offense was covered heavily by the media, and soon adopted by several other NFL teams in 2008 and 2009.
He was previously the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers from 2002 until January 2007. Henning helped lead his team to the Super Bowl after the 2003 season. After the 2005 season in which the Panthers returned to the NFC Championship game, they were considered Super Bowl contenders in 2006. However, the offense struggled due to injuries and what critics deemed conservative play-calling by Henning, resulting in an 8–8 season and his firing.[3]
His son, Dan, played college football as a quarterback at Maryland under head coach Bobby Ross.[4]
Head coaching record[]
College[]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College Eagles (Big East Conference) (1994–1996) | |||||||||
| 1994 | Boston College | 7–4–1 | 3–3–1 | 5th | W Aloha | 22 | 23 | ||
| 1995 | Boston College | 4–8 | 4–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1996 | Boston College | 5–7 | 2–5 | 6th | |||||
| Boston College: | 16–19–1 | 9–11–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 16–19–1 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
| #Rankings from final Coaches' Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll. | |||||||||
References[]
- ↑ Jeff Merron (June 2, 2007). Biggest Sports Gambling Scandals. ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved on January 14, 2009.
- ↑ "Judge: Vick can keep bonus", Associated Press, 2008-02-05. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ↑ Mike Cranston. "Panthers fire coordinator Dan Henning", Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved on 2008-02-09. [dead link]
- ↑ ROSS' POST WITH BILLS CONTINGENT, The Richmond Times, December 23, 1986.
External links[]
- Dan Henning at the College Football Data Warehouse
- Dan Henning article at Wikipedia
