Jim Eddy

James Franklin "Jim" Eddy (May 2, 1936 – October 27, 2016) was a football coach who worked in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, as well as in college.

Eddy's coaching career began in 1968 when he joined the coaching staff of the New Mexico State Aggies at his alma mater, New Mexico State University.^[1] In 1972, he left NMSU to join Tommy Hudspeth's UTEP Miners coaching staff as the defensive backfield coach.^[2] Eddy next coaching job was as the defensive coordinator of Saskatchewan Roughriders, which he held until he was promoted to head coach in 1977. In Eddy's first season, the Roughriders went 8–8 and missed the playoffs only one season removed from playing the Ottawa Rough Riders in the 64th Grey Cup. Eddy was fired during the 1978 season after the Riders lost their first five games. In 1979, Eddy joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaching staff, where he was reunited with his former boss in Saskatchewan, John Payne. His next coaching job was with the Montreal Alouettes, first as the defensive backfield coach, then as the Als interim head coach.^[3] In 1982, Eddy moved to the front office as director of player personnel of the Toronto Argonauts . Along with head coach Bob O'Billovich, Eddy rebuilt an Argonauts team that had gone 2–14 the prior season into a team that won the East Division championships in both of Eddy's seasons there and won the 71st Grey Cup in 1983.^[4] Eddy was the defensive coordinator of the Houston Gamblers for both of the team's seasons in the United States Football League (USFL).

In 1986, Jack Pardee hired Eddy to become defensive coordinator of the Houston Cougars football team. Eddy followed Pardee to the Houston Oilers, where he remained the coach's defensive coordinator in 1990. Eddy was fired following the Oilers 1992 playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills in an infamous game which would become known as The Comeback.^[5] Eddy joined the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff in 1993 as a defensive assistant and later as the team's linebackers coach.^[6] While in Dallas, Eddy helped win two Super Bowls. In 1996, Eddy became the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator.^[7] He would hold that job for only one season. In 2000 Eddy was a finalist for the vacant Dallas Cowboys head coaching position, but lost the job to Dave Campo ^[8] He died on October 27, 2016 at the age of 80. At the time of his death, he had Alzheimer's disease.^[9][10]

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