![]() Garrett in 1955
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Date of birth | June 19, 1930 |
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Place of birth | Passaic, New Jersey |
Career information | |
CFL status | International |
Position(s) | HB |
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
Weight | 192 lb (87 kg) |
Career history | |
As player | |
1955 | BC Lions |
James W. Garrett (born June 19, 1930) is a former American football player, coach, and scout. He starred as a fullback and linebacker for Rutherford High School in New Jersey (1944–1948) and as a running back playing college football at Utah State University.
He began coaching at the United States Coast Guard Academy and Lehigh University and found success as head coach at Susquehanna University (1960–1965), leading them to a 39–11–1 record which included undefeated seasons in 1961 and 1962. He was fired during the seventh game of the 1965 season for assaulting a player. He spent most of the next 40 years in the National Football League as an assistant coach with the New York Giants (1970–1973), the New Orleans Saints (1976–1977), and the Cleveland Browns (1978–1984), as well as head coach of the Houston Texans of the fledgling World Football League (1974). There was a brief stint in the mid-1970s as head coach at Millburn High School in New Jersey. His last coaching job as head coach of Columbia University in 1985 was fraught with controversy as the team went 0–10 and accusations of verbal and physical abuse surfaced. After the season, his sons John, Jason and Judd, who were enrolled at Columbia, transferred to Princeton University.