Chuck Long Joins OU Football Staff

Dec. 14, 1999

NORMAN, Okla. - When offensive coordinator Mike Leach left the University of Oklahoma to become the head coach at Texas Tech, OU head coach Bob Stoops said that he would fill the vacancy with someone who "fit into our system." This afternoon, Stoops announced that University of Iowa assistant coach Chuck Long will join the Sooner staff as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator.

Assistant head coach Mark Mangino, who served this past season as OU's run game coordinator and offensive line coach, will assume the role of offensive coordinator.

"I've known Chuck for a number of years," said the first-year OU head coach. "He is a leader and has had success throughout his life. He understands what quarterbacks go through -- the techniques, the disciplines of it and all of the things necessary to be successful at the position. I believe our players will relate well with him and that our offense will continue to grow."

Long, a former consensus All-America quarterback at the University of Iowa and winner of the 1985 Maxwell Trophy and Davey O'Brien Award, just finished his fifth season on the Hawkeye coaching staff. It was his second year as the quarterbacks coach after working with the defensive secondary for three seasons.

A newly enshrined member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Long is believed to be the only collegiate player to play in five bowl games. He played in the 1981 Rose Bowl (only two plays). He won the starting job as a redshirt freshman in 1982 and led the Hawkeyes to the Peach, Gator, Freedom and Rose Bowls during the next four years.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to work with Bob and the entire coaching staff at the University of Oklahoma," said Long. "I have a long history with the city of Norman and OU football. I grew up on Sooner football and followed it my entire life. OU had one of the most exciting offenses in the nation this season and I look forward to working within the system. I'm very familiar with the great season Josh Heupel is having but I have been impressed with the way the offense has operated."

As Iowa's career passing leader, Long is the only Big Ten player to ever pass for more than 10,000 yards (10,461). During a sparkling senior season, he passed for 3,297 yards and a school-record 27 touchdowns. Long also holds the Big Ten and Iowa record for career touchdown passes with 74 and he owns the Big Ten's best career completion percentage (.650).

Long was selected first-team All-Big Ten three times and was the Big Ten Athlete of the Year as a senior. In four years as a starter, Long led Iowa to a 35-13-1 overall mark.

A consensus all-American his final season, he won the Maxwell Trophy, presented to the nation's outstanding college football player by the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia, and the Davey O'Brien Award, honoring the No. 1 quarterback in the nation by the Davey O'Brien Educational and Charitable Trust of Fort Worth.

Under the direction of Long, the Hawkeyes won the 1985 Big Ten title and were ranked No. 1 in the nation for five weeks. Long finished second to Bo Jackson in the closest balloting ever for the 1985 Heisman Trophy after placing seventh in the voting following his junior season. Long earned his bachelor's degree in marketing from Iowa in 1985.

In 1986, Long was the No. 1 draft pick of the Detroit Lions where he spent eight of his nine NFL seasons. While in the NFL, Long passed for 3,747 yards and 19 touchdowns. His first pass in the NFL went for a 37-yard touchdown. In his second season, he completed 33 of 47 passes in a game against Green Bay. After spending the 1990 season with the Los Angeles Rams, he returned to Detroit as the Lions advanced to the NFC championship game in 1991.

Long began his coaching career when he returned to his alma mater in 1995. The play of the Iowa defensive secondary for three seasons under Long's direction was outstanding. In 1997, Iowa ranked fourth in the nation in pass efficiency defense and tied for third with 22 interceptions. DBs Plez Atkins, Kerry Cooks and Eric Thigpen each earned All-Big Ten recognition.

The Hawkeyes allowed an overall completion percentage of just 44.9%, the lowest percentage allowed at Iowa since 1976. In 1996, Iowa ranked second in the Big Ten and 15th in the nation in pass defense efficiency, with a completion percentage low of 46.8%. The Hawkeyes intercepted 17 passes, 14 of those thefts by the defensive backs.

Safety Damien Robinson earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and cornerback Tom Knight was a second-team selection in 1996. Knight was selected by Arizona as the ninth player taken in the NFL draft and Robinson was a fourth-round selection of the Philadelphia Eagles. Knight became the highest draft pick for Iowa since Long was the 12th player selected in 1986.

Three different quarterbacks saw extensive action under Long in 1998. Redshirt freshman Kyle McCann, who passed for 1,179 yards, became the first Iowa freshman since Long in 1982 to lead the team in passing yards. This past season, Hawkeye quarterbacks completed 53 percent of their passes for 2,275 yards and six touchdowns.

While Long was raised in Illinois, he was born in Norman and has deep ties to the University of Oklahoma. His grandparents and parents graduated from OU, and his grandfather was the mayor of Norman in the 1950s. A prep standout at North High School in Wheaton, Ill., Long captained the football and baseball team as a senior and led Wheaton to the state 4A football title as a junior.

Born on Feb. 18, 1963, Long and his wife, Lisa, have three daughters (Lindsay, Samantha and Katherine Madison) and two sons (Nathan and Zachary).

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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