1. Donald Eugene Nehlen was born on January 1,1936 and is an American former college football player and coach.
16 Facts About Don Nehlen
1. 2.
Don Nehlen was head football coach at Bowling Green State University and at West Virginia University.
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Don Nehlen was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005 and has served as a president of the American Football Coaches Association.
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Don Nehlen was a multi-sport athlete at Lincoln High School where he excelled in football, basketball, and baseball.
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Don Nehlen played quarterback at Bowling Green and led the team to a Mid-American Conference championship in 1956.
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Don Nehlen began his coaching career in 1958 at Mansfield Senior High School and then served as head coach at Canton South High School and Canton McKinley High School.
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Don Nehlen was later an assistant coach at the University of Cincinnati, Bowling Green, and the University of Michigan.
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Don Nehlen received the 2002 Distinguished West Virginian Award from the West Virginia Broadcasters Association.
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Don Nehlen served as the quarterbacks coach at the University of Michigan under Bo Schembechler from 1977 to 1979 before taking the head coaching job at West Virginia.
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Don Nehlen became West Virginia's 29th head football coach on December 7,1979, replacing Frank Cignetti, who had posted four straight losing seasons.
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Don Nehlen hired a number of coaches he worked with at Bowling Green.
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One of Don Nehlen's most famed assistants was Doc Holliday, who served the assistant head coach and recruiting coach for almost 20 years before leaving for North Carolina State University.
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When Don Nehlen arrived at West Virginia, he introduced the Mountaineers' first "home and away uniforms" and a new helmet logo, "The Flying WV," which became the official logo of West Virginia athletics and, eventually, the university itself.
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In 1984, Don Nehlen's squad posted wins against Boston College, led by eventual Heisman Trophy winner, Doug Flutie, and over Penn State for the Mountaineers' first defeat of the Nittany Lions since 1955.
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In 1988, Don Nehlen was recognized with three national coaching awards, the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, and the AFCA Coach of the Year.
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Don Nehlen was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.