Chuck Priefer

Charles John Priefer (born July 26, 1941) is an American former football coach who held a variety of defensive and special teams coaching positions at the college and professional levels of the sport, including 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).

He attended Boromeo High School in Wickliffe, Ohio before matriculating to John Carroll University.

He graduated from John Carroll in 1963 with a degree in history and Latin and earned a master’s degree in American history (emphasis in American-Russian relations) from John Carroll in 1967.

Priefer is the father of NFL special teams coordinator Mike Priefer.

Priefer began his coaching career at Padua Franciscan High School in Parma, Ohio as an assistant football, baseball and basketball coach in 1963.

He was named head baseball coach in 1965 and assistant athletic director in 1966.

From 1972-76 he was the head football coach, posting a 34-15 record.

In 1977, he jumped from the prep ranks to Miami University (Ohio) where he coached one season before moving on to North Carolina.

He spent six seasons (1978–83) with the Tar Heels—one season as defensive backfield coach and five years as defensive line coach.

North Carolina went to five straight bowl games during that time, posting a 50-20-1 record.

Preceding his tenure at Georgia Tech, Priefer spent two seasons (1984–85) as the special teams coach for the Green Bay Packers.

He also assisted with the Packers’ linebackers.

In 1984, Priefer’s kickoff coverage team led the NFL by allowing only 16.0 yards per return and the special teams finished with the top average ranking in the NFC Central division.

Prior to his tenure at Georgia Tech, Priefer spent the 1986 season as the defensive coordinator at Kent State.

While at San Diego, the Chargers’ special teams under Priefer also consistently ranked among the best in the NFL.

KR Darrien Gordon led the AFC and was second in the NFL with a 14.9-yard punt return average.

Priefer coached the defensive backfield at Georgia Tech from 1987–91 and went on to San Diego in 1992.

At Georgia Tech, Priefer cultivated a pass defense that ranked No. 1 in the country for several weeks in both the 1988 and 1990 seasons.

Tech’s pass defense ranked eighth in the country in 1991 and ranked in the top 15 three times.

Priefer possesses 29 years of college and pro coaching experience on his resume.

In 1994, return specialist Andre Coleman became the first player in Chargers’ history to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in a single season, and he also returned a kickoff for a score in Super Bowl XXIX.

In 1994, the Chargers’ punt return and kickoff return teams ranked second and third, respectively, in the league.

During the 1994 regular season, San Diego was the only team to return two punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns.

Punt returner Darrien Gordon led the AFC and ranked second in the NFL with a 13.2-yard average.

In 1994, kicker John Carney led the NFL in scoring with 135 points en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.

He repeated that feat and also returned a punt for a score in 1995.

He also averaged an AFC-high 11.6 yards per punt return in 1995.

In 1995, Bennett, a former Australian Rules Football player, ranked second in the NFL with a 44.7-yard average and earned a Pro Bowl spot in his first season of organized football.

Bennett’s Pro Bowl appearance was the second consecutive by a Priefer student.

In 1996, punter Darren Bennett, followed his standout campaign of 1995 with a record-setting season as he averaged a team-record 45.6 yards per punt.

Since the arrival of Priefer in 1997, the Lions have seen a noticeable upturn in production from K Jason Hanson, who scored his 1,400th career point in 2005, as well as with its "Hard Core" coverage units.

Hanson has enjoyed nine outstanding seasons under Priefer's direction, being named to the Pro Bowl following both the ‘97 and ‘99 campaigns.

He has been over the 100-point barrier in six of the past nine seasons and became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer in 2002.

Punter Nick Harris enjoyed his finest NFL season in his second full year under Priefer.

From 2002-05, the Lions recorded more special teams return touchdowns (kickoff return, punt return, blocked punt return and blocked field goal return) than any other team in the NFL.

Over that four-year span, the Lions scored 11 touchdowns via special teams returns.

During Priefer’s nine-year tenure in Detroit, he has had five different players return kicks for touchdowns (Terry Fair, Desmond Howard, Az-Zahir Hakim, Eddie Drummond and Reggie Swinton).

Harris’ career-high 34 punts downed inside-the-20 in 2005 led the NFL and was the best single-season mark in franchise history.

He also tied for the second-fewest touchbacks in the NFL with two, which gave him the best net differential between punts downed inside the 20-yard line and touchbacks in the league (32).

Over the past four years, the Lions special teams return units have been the best in the NFL when it comes to scoring touchdowns.