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American football player and coach (1919?1983)
American football player
Harvey Paul Johnson
(June 22, 1919 ? August 8, 1983) was an
American football
player and coach. He served two separate stints as the head coach for the
Buffalo Bills
, first in the
American Football League
(AFL) and then in the
National Football League
(NFL).
Born and raised in
Bridgeton, New Jersey
, Johnson attended
Bridgeton High School
and
Staunton Military Academy
.
[1]
Playing career
[
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]
Johnson played as a
linebacker
for the
New York Yankees
of the
All-America Football Conference
(AAFC) from 1946 to 1949. In 1951, he played as a linebacker for the NFL's
New York Yanks
.
Coaching
[
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]
After eight years as an assistant coach and then
defensive coordinator
with the Buffalo Bills, Johnson first took the reins as head coach in 1968, when
Joe Collier
was fired two games into the season. The Bills went 1?10?1 with Johnson at the helm, and he was replaced the following year by
John Rauch
. Johnson returned to his role as the Bills' defensive backfield coach for two seasons before resuming the head coaching post in 1971. After finishing with a 1?13 record that year, Johnson was reassigned to the scouting department. He compiled a record of 2?23?1 in his two seasons. Johnson was also on the Buffalo Bills coaching staff when the Bills won the 1965 AFL Championship game. Johnson continued to work as a
scout
for the team until his death in 1983.
It was speculated that Johnson's love of thoroughbred horse racing, a passion he shared with owner
Ralph Wilson
, allowed him to stay on the Bills payroll despite his poor performance in coaching.
[2]
Head coaching record
[
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]
Team
|
Year
|
Regular Season
|
Post Season
|
Won
|
Lost
|
Ties
|
Win %
|
Finish
|
Won
|
Lost
|
Win %
|
Result
|
BUF
|
1968
|
1
|
10
|
1
|
.125
|
5th in AFL Eastern
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
BUF
|
1971
|
1
|
13
|
0
|
.071
|
5th in AFC East
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
Total
[3]
|
2
|
23
|
1
|
.096
|
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
|
---|
# denotes interim head coach
|