College Football Hall of Famer and former Navy head football coach Wayne Hardin suffered a massive stroke Tuesday and passed away Wednesday morning. He was 91 years old.
Hardin was the Mids head coach from 1959-64. He coached in the first Navy-Air Force game, in which Navy won 35-3 in 1960.
“The Naval Academy is heartbroken over the loss of one of our icons,” said Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk. “He was not only a great coach, but a special person that had the respect of everyone who played for him and knew him as a great leader. Coach Hardin set the bar in how we measure excellence at the Naval Academy. He has remained close to the Naval Academy and many of his former players through the course of his retirement. We have shared some special moments with him over the years when we have invited back some of his greatest Navy teams. He will truly be missed, but Wayne Hardin will never ever be forgotten by the Navy family.”
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Coach Wayne Hardin’s family,” said Navy head football coach Ken Niumatalolo. “Many generations have been blessed by his powerful influence both on the field and off.”
Hardin coached some of the greats in Navy history including Heisman Trophy winners Roger Staubach and Joe Bellino.
“Coach Hardin was such a big part of all of our lives,” said Staubach. “He did a great job of staying in touch with not only all of his former Navy players, but his Temple players as well and we are all going to miss him. Coach Hardin was the first person to teach me how to read defenses. I was a quarterback that would pull the ball down and run at the first opportunity, but he taught me how to stay in the pocket and what to look for. He was one of the true innovators of the game of football.”
After leaving Navy, Hardin coached the Philadelphia Bulldogs in the Continental Football League and then took over as head coach at Temple University. In 19 years as a college head coach, he compiled a record of 118-74-5. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
After his coaching career, Hardin was a color commentator for both CBS Sports and the Baltimore Colts.
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