Harold Moreland Herring was an American football player and coach.
29 Facts About Hal Herring
1.
2.
Hal Herring played college football at Auburn University and professionally as a center and linebacker for the Buffalo Bills in the All-America Football Conference and the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League.
3.
Hal Herring later was a defensive coach at Auburn and for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and San Diego Chargers.
4.
Hal Herring returned in 1946 and played football at Auburn through the 1948 season, when he was team captain and was named an All-Southeastern Conference player by sportswriters.
5.
Hal Herring was an occasional starter at linebacker in Cleveland for three seasons.
6.
Hal Herring ended his playing career to accept a position overseeing Auburn's defense in 1953.
7.
Hal Herring was hired in 1966 as the Falcons' first defensive coordinator, serving in the position for three seasons.
8.
Hal Herring was the linebackers coach for the Chargers in 1970, but then left the professional ranks to oversee sports at a junior college outside of Atlanta.
9.
Hal Herring grew up in Lanett, Alabama and attended the local Lanett High School.
10.
Hal Herring later went to West Point High School in Cullman, Alabama.
11.
Hal Herring then left Auburn to serve in the US military during World War II and was stationed in France and Germany.
12.
Hal Herring came back to Auburn after the war and played on the football team as a center in the 1946,1947 and 1948 seasons.
13.
Auburn posted losing records in all three of those seasons, but Hal Herring was named an All-SEC player and was Auburn's Most Valuable Player in 1948, his senior year.
14.
Hal Herring graduated in 1949 with a bachelor's degree in education.
15.
Hal Herring joined Phi Kappa Tau fraternity while in college and was later inducted into its Hall of Fame.
16.
Hal Herring was selected by the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League in the ninth round of the 1949 draft, but chose instead to sign with the Buffalo Bills of the rival All-America Football Conference.
17.
In Cleveland, Hal Herring joined a team that had won all four of the AAFC's championships behind an offense that featured quarterback Otto Graham and fullback Marion Motley.
18.
Hal Herring played as a linebacker, helping replace Lou Saban following his retirement, and had two interceptions.
19.
Hal Herring remained with the Browns for the 1951 and 1952 seasons, both of which ended with a loss in the NFL championship game.
20.
Hal Herring was captain of the defense during his Browns career.
21.
Hal Herring ended his playing career in April 1953 to accept an assistant coaching position at Auburn, replacing former Auburn and New York Giants player Travis Tidwell.
22.
Auburn was fined $2,000 by the SEC in December 1955 after Herring gave $500 each to Harry and Robert Beaube, a pair of twins he was recruiting to play halfback.
23.
Hal Herring stayed through the 1965 season, a 13-year tenure during which his defenses led the nation in fewest points allowed six times and were always among the top ten.
24.
Hal Herring coached for the Falcons for three seasons before being released in 1968 in the wake of Hecker's firing and replacement by Norm Van Brocklin.
25.
The Falcons did not win more than three games in any of Hal Herring's seasons coaching in Atlanta.
26.
In 1970, Hal Herring was named linebackers coach for the San Diego Chargers, a position he held for one season.
27.
Hal Herring was named sports director at DeKalb Junior College outside Atlanta, Georgia in July 1971.
28.
Hal Herring stayed there through the 1970s and 1980s, overseeing sports and coaching the tennis and golf teams.
29.
Hal Herring attended graduate school following his playing career, and wrote a doctoral dissertation entitled "Defensive Tactics and Techniques in Professional Football".