19 Facts About Mike Holovak

Michael Joseph Holovak was an American football player, coach, and executive.

Mike Holovak played college football at Boston College, where he was an All-American at fullback in 1942.

Mike Holovak was the fifth overall selection of the 1943 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Rams.

Mike Holovak was the general manager of the Houston Oilers from 1989 to 1993.

Mike Holovak was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1985.

Two years later, Mike Holovak served as co-captain of the Eagles' squad that entered the final weeks of the 1942 campaign as the top-ranked college team in the country.

Mike Holovak earned consensus first-team All-American honors and was fourth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.

Mike Holovak then enlisted in the US Navy and attended Officer Candidate School.

Mike Holovak went on to command a PT boat that sank nine Japanese ships, and later battling malaria.

Mike Holovak officially signed with the Rams on December 29,1944, but didn't take the field until 1946, by which time the franchise had relocated to Los Angeles.

Two weeks after his dismissal, Mike Holovak signed as a scout with the fledgling Patriots, then was named an assistant under Lou Saban on March 29,1960.

The defeat was softened somewhat when Mike Holovak again won the league's Coach of the Year accolade.

Mike Holovak would remain the winningest coach in Patriots history until Bill Belichick passed him in 2005.

Mike Holovak worked with Connie Carberg, the NFL's first female scout, during his time with the Jets.

Mike Holovak then announced his resignation on May 20,1977, citing personal reasons.

However, after Herzeg left in a contract dispute after the season, Mike Holovak was named general manager on February 2,1989.

Mike Holovak remained in that role until the end of 1993 NFL season, but remained a scout for the franchise, which later shifted to Tennessee, until retiring for good in 1999.

On January 27,2008, Mike Holovak died in Ruskin, Florida from complications from pneumonia.

Mike Holovak was laid to rest at Florida's National Cemetery.