Darrel "Mouse" Davis was born on September 6,1932 and is a retired American football coach and former player.
17 Facts About Mouse Davis
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Mouse Davis is widely regarded as the 'godfather' of the run and shoot offense.
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Mouse Davis was born in Eastern Washington in Palouse on September 6,1932.
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Mouse Davis gained his nickname from older brother Don while a freshman shortstop on the Central High School team in neighboring Monmouth, Oregon.
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Mouse Davis helped make the run and shoot offense famous as a coach, revolutionizing football in the 1960s and 1970s.
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Mouse Davis utilized the offense in a coaching career that included 15 years at the high school level in Oregon, at the college level, and professionally in the NFL, CFL, USFL, WLAF, and Arena League.
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Mouse Davis spent 15 seasons coaching high school football in Oregon, culminating in a 1973 state championship at Hillsboro High School.
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Mouse Davis then moved on to take the head coaching position at Portland State University, where he coached from 1975 to 1980.
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Mouse Davis left Portland State to serve as offensive coordinator at UC Berkeley for the 1981 season.
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Mouse Davis was an inaugural member of the Portland State Athletics Hall of Fame when he was inducted in 1997.
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Mouse Davis was an assistant coach with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions and with the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League.
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In 1982, Mouse Davis joined the Toronto Argonauts as offensive coordinator, and instantly turned the team into a contender.
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In 1984, Mouse Davis headed back to the US to take the offensive coordinator job with the USFL expansion Houston Gamblers.
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Mouse Davis's quarterback was a rookie from the University of Miami named Jim Kelly.
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In 1985, Mouse Davis took his first head coaching job at the professional level when he took the reins of the Denver Gold, bringing his run-and-shoot offense to the Mile High City.
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Mouse Davis had a tandem of QBs in Vince Evans and Bob Gagliano.
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Mouse Davis was slated to become head coach of the St Louis Lightning of the World Indoor Football League in 1988, but the league dissolved before the season began.