Barry Switzer (created October 5, 1937) is a former football coach. He’s among the best winning percentages of any school football coach ever, and is one of just three head coaches to win both a college football national championship as well as a Super Bowl, the others being Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carroll.
Switzer resurfaced in training in 1994 with the Dallas Cowboys. Switzer stepped in following the departure of Jimmy Johnson, who as head coach had won the last two Super Bowls. Johnson had collided with owner Jerry Jones (leading to his departure) and many believed that Switzer was more inclined to cooperate with Jones’ thoughts. Yet, in the match he was criticized for making two crucial mistakes. In the very first half, with all the Cowboys down 24-14, he preferred to not run out the clock, giving the 49ers an opportunity to score one last touchdown before the half finished. Afterwards, in the fourth quarter, with all the Cowboys still down 38-28 and attempting to beat up, he was penalized for touching an official along with his hip while showing how San Francisco’s Deion Sanders had committed pass interference against Dallas’ Michael Irvin–which hadn’t been called. This stopped the Cowboys’ chances of a recovery. In August 1997, Switzer was detained following a loaded .38-caliber revolver was discovered in his bag in the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Switzer, who had been returning to the team’s training camp facility in Austin, said there were kids at his Dallas home and he set the gun in his bag to conceal it from them. He explained he inadvertently forgot to take out the firearm in the bag before heading to the airport. Two days after, he was fined $75,000 by Jones. Following a disappointing 6-10 season in 1997, Switzer stepped down as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys with a 40–24 livelihood NFL training record.
Becky Switzer (m. 2000), Kay McCollum (m. 1963–1981)
Parents
Mary Louise Switzer, Frank Switzer
Siblings
Donnie Switzer
Nicknames
The King
Movies
Any Given Sunday, Varsity Blues
TV Shows
Fox NFL Sunday, BCS Selection Show
Star Sign
Libra
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Fact
1
He and 'Jimmy Johnson' (III), whom he succeeded as the Cowboys' head coach in 1994, are the only coaches to win both a national championship and a Super Bowl. (Johnson guided the Miami Hurricanes to the No. 1 ranking in 1987, after beating Switzer's Oklahoma Sooners 20-14 in Orange Bowl.).
2
As an assistant football coach at the University of Arkansas in the 1960s, two of his players were Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson. Jones purchased the NFL's Dallas Cowboys in 1989, and in 1994, hired Switzer to replace Johnson.
3
Coached football player-turned-actor Brian Bosworth at Oklahoma from 1983-1986.
4
Head coach of Oklahoma University football team from 1973-1988, guiding the Sooners to national championships in 1974, '75, and '85.
5
Head coach of the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys, 1994-1997.