Ray Malavasi was an American football coach who served as head coach of two professional teams: the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams.
17 Facts About Ray Malavasi
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Ray Malavasi then entered the US Military Academy at West Point, starting at offensive guard for the Cadet football team.
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Under head coach Earl Blaik and line coach Vince Lombardi, Ray Malavasi played two years, with Blaik rating him as the greatest line prospect during his tenure at the academy.
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That potential disappeared when Ray Malavasi was one of 90 cadets who left in the wake of a cheating scandal in August 1951.
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Ray Malavasi took a similar position with Memphis State University in 1958.
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Ray Malavasi gained his first position in professional football in 1962 as the personnel director of the American Football League's Denver Broncos.
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In 1963, Ray Malavasi took on the duties of defensive line coach for the Broncos, and shifted to the offensive line prior to the start of the 1966 season.
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Ray Malavasi accepted the defensive line assistant's position with the Buffalo Bills on February 3,1969 and stayed for two seasons under head coach John Rauch.
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Ray Malavasi left to work for the Oakland Raiders in 1971 under head coach John Madden, but resigned after just two years, citing the frustration with the team keeping him from advancing his career.
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Ray Malavasi's resignation caused controversy when Madden accused another team of tampering with Ray Malavasi's services.
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Ray Malavasi was looked at as head coach for the Rams after the departure of Knox for Buffalo following the 1977 season, but stayed as defensive coordinator under George Allen in 1978.
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In 1983, Ray Malavasi worked as a color commentator for NFL games on Mutual radio.
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Ray Malavasi served as a consultant and unofficial spokesman for the proposed International Football League, a league that served the dual purpose of introducing professional football abroad as well as serving as an antagonist to the United States Football League.
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The IFL folded without any teams organizing; after the league's failure, Ray Malavasi resurfaced as an assistant with the USFL's Oakland Invaders in early 1984.
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Ray Malavasi left that position just after the start of the season to become defensive coordinator of the league's Los Angeles Express, but the financial woes of the team ended his brief tenure in the final weeks of the season.
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Ray Malavasi was never again on the sidelines for an NFL team, but he did coach the first ever Australian national American football team in 1987.
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Less than two months after returning from the tour with the Australian team, Ray Malavasi died at age 57 of a sudden heart attack on December 15,1987, He died at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, and was buried at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar.