30 Facts About Bill Arnsparger

William Stephen Arnsparger was an American college and professional football coach.

Bill Arnsparger was born and raised in Paris, Kentucky, served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, and graduated from Miami University in 1950.

Immediately upon graduation, Bill Arnsparger was hired as an assistant coach with the Miami football program, beginning a long career in the profession.

Bill Arnsparger is best known for two stints as the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League.

Bill Arnsparger served as a defensive assistant for several college football teams before moving to the NFL, and his first job in the league was as an assistant with the Baltimore Colts, under Shula.

Between his two stints with the Dolphins, Bill Arnsparger served as the head coach of the New York Giants in the mid-1970s, and after his second stint in Miami, he served as the head coach of the Louisiana State University Tigers in the mid-1980s.

Bill Arnsparger left LSU to accept the position of athletic director at the University of Florida, a post he held from 1986 until 1992, when he returned to the professional coaching ranks as the defensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers.

Bill Arnsparger retired after helping lead the Chargers to their first Super Bowl berth in 1994.

Bill Arnsparger attended Paris High School, where he was an all-state football player under the school's longtime football and basketball coach, Blanton Collier.

Bill Arnsparger graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in 1950.

In 1954, Bill Arnsparger re-connected with his high school coach Blanton Collier, who had been hired as head football coach at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.

Bill Arnsparger was hired as defensive line coach at Kentucky and remained there for the eight years until Collier was fired on January 2,1962.

Bill Arnsparger moved on to an assistant position with Tulane University in New Orleans, in 1962.

In 1964, Bill Arnsparger became the defensive line coach for the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League.

When Shula left to become head coach with the Miami Dolphins after the end of the 1969 NFL season, he brought along Bill Arnsparger, who was promoted to defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Bill Arnsparger added the title of assistant head coach in 1973.

Bill Arnsparger coached the Giants in three different home stadiums during his tenure: the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1974; Shea Stadium, home of the cross-town rival Jets in 1975; and finally, Giants Stadium in 1976.

Just two days after his dismissal from the Giants, Bill Arnsparger was rehired by Shula and was restored to his previous position as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach.

Bill Arnsparger again had created an elite defensive unit, known as the Killer B's.

On December 2,1983, Bill Arnsparger was introduced as the head football coach at Louisiana State University, though he stayed on as the Dolphins' defensive coordinator until the end of the NFL season.

Shortly after the final regular season game in 1986, Bill Arnsparger announced he was resigning to become the athletic director at Florida.

At Florida, Bill Arnsparger was tasked with cleaning up an athletic department which had been roiled by NCAA violations and subsequent punishments.

The Florida Gators football team had been found in violation of many NCAA rules in the early 1980s and was still suffering under significant sanctions and probation when Bill Arnsparger arrived, a situation which weakened the financial strength of the entire athletic department.

In December 1989, Bill Arnsparger hired Duke University's Steve Spurrier as Florida's new football coach.

The university's overall athletic program improved under Bill Arnsparger; Florida won its first three SEC All-Sports Trophies during his tenure, beginning an ongoing period in which the Gator sports program has been named the conference's best for 28 out of the next 32 years.

On January 13,1992, Bill Arnsparger resigned to become the defensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers.

Just days after the team's Super Bowl appearance, Bill Arnsparger announced his retirement, citing the prostate cancer surgery he had undergone the year before.

Bill Arnsparger retired in 1995 and split time between homes in Kentucky and Alabama.

Bill Arnsparger was survived by his wife, his son David, his daughter Mary Susan, and his grandchildren Stephen, Christian, Sarah, Elisabeth, and Callie.

Bill Arnsparger is buried at Paris Cemetery, at Paris, Kentucky.