Jack Bicknell (born February 20, 1938) is a retired American football coach, most recently known for his long involvement in NFL Europa and its predecessor, the World League of American Football (WLAF). He served as the head football coach at the University of Maine from 1976 to 1980 and at Boston College from 1981 to 1988, compiling a career college football record of 77–90–2. In 1984, Bicknell coached his Boston College Eagles team to a 10–2 mark including a victory in the Cotton Bowl Classic. His quarterback that season, Doug Flutie, was awarded the Heisman Trophy.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 20, 1938 North Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1959 | Montclair State |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 196?–1967 | Governor Livingston HS (NJ) |
| 1968–1975 | Boston College (backfield) |
| 1976–1980 | Maine |
| 1981–1990 | Boston College |
| 1991–2003 | Barcelona Dragons |
| 2004 | Scottish Claymores |
| 2005–2007 | Hamburg Sea Devils |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 77–90–2 (college) 71–74–1 (WLAF/NFL Europe) 28–6–2 (high school) |
A native of North Plainfield, New Jersey, Bicknell played quarterback at North Plainfield High School, graduating in 1955 and earning a scholarship to attend Rutgers University.[1][2]
Coaching career
editCollege
editBicknell was the head football coach at the University of Maine from 1976 to 1980, earning an 18–35–1 record. After that, he went to coach at Boston College, where he stayed for ten years. At Boston College, he was 59–55–1, and was head coach in 1984 when Heisman Trophy-winner Doug Flutie completed his famous Hail Flutie pass to Gerard Phelan to beat the Miami Hurricanes as time expired. Bicknell's son, Jack Jr., was the center for BC at the time of Flutie's miracle pass.
NFL Europe
editBicknell was named the head coach of the Barcelona Dragons from their inception in 1991 to their demise after the 2003 season. In October 2003 he was named head coach of the Scottish Claymores, a franchise which in 2005 was relocated to Germany as Hamburg Sea Devils, as rival to the local semi-pro Hamburg Blue Devils which had won several German and European titles.
"Cowboy Jack" Bicknell has an overall record of 59–55 in his NFL Europe career. He made four World Bowl appearances, and had been to three title games in six years. In 1991, El Caballero led the Barcelona Dragons to an 8–2 mark and a berth in the playoffs for the first World Bowl after surprisingly defeating the unbeaten London Monarchs in Wembley, but got shut out by them two weeks later in World Bowl '91 itself. In 1997, his Dragons won the first half of the season and went on to win World Bowl '97 in Barcelona. In 1999, the Dragons posted a league-best 7–3 mark before losing to Frankfurt in the World Bowl. His team posted a league-best 8–2 record in 2001 before losing World Bowl IX to the Berlin Thunder in Amsterdam. On 28 March 2007, at age 69, Bicknell stepped down as head coach of the Hamburg Sea Devils, citing health issues as the reason for his resignation.
Personal life
editBicknell is nicknamed "Cowboy Jack" because of his love for country music and horse riding. He and his wife, Lois, have three children, Jack, Jr., Wendy and Bob and five grandchildren. Both of his sons played for him at Boston College and are currently football coaches, Bob with the New England Patriots and Jack, Jr. with the Wisconsin Badgers
Head coaching record
editCollege
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine Black Bears (Yankee Conference) (1976–1980) | |||||||||
| 1976 | Maine | 6–5 | 2–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1977 | Maine | 3–7 | 1–4 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1978 | Maine | 3–7–1 | 0–4–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1979 | Maine | 2–9 | 0–5 | 6th | |||||
| 1980 | Maine | 4–7 | 1–4 | 5th | |||||
| Maine: | 18–35–1 | 4–20–1 | |||||||
| Boston College Eagles (NCAA Division I-A independent) (1981–1990) | |||||||||
| 1981 | Boston College | 5–6 | |||||||
| 1982 | Boston College | 8–3–1 | L Tangerine | ||||||
| 1983 | Boston College | 9–3 | L Liberty | 20 | 19 | ||||
| 1984 | Boston College | 10–2 | W Cotton | 4 | 5 | ||||
| 1985 | Boston College | 4–8 | |||||||
| 1986 | Boston College | 9–3 | W Hall of Fame | 18 | 19 | ||||
| 1987 | Boston College | 5–6 | |||||||
| 1988 | Boston College | 3–8 | |||||||
| 1989 | Boston College | 2–9 | |||||||
| 1990 | Boston College | 4–7 | |||||||
| Boston College: | 59–55–1 | ||||||||
| Total: | 77–90–2 | ||||||||
Professional
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona Dragons (WLAF) (1991–1992) | |||||||||
| 1991 | Barcelona Dragons | 8–2 | 2nd European | L 0–21 World Bowl I | |||||
| 1992 | Barcelona Dragons | 5–5 | 1st European | L 15–17 WLAF Playoffs | |||||
| Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) (1995–2003) | |||||||||
| 1995 | Barcelona Dragons | 5–5 | 3rd | ||||||
| 1996 | Barcelona Dragons | 5–5 | 4th | ||||||
| 1997 | Barcelona Dragons | 5–5 | 4th | W 38–24 World Bowl V | |||||
| 1998 | Barcelona Dragons | 4–6 | 4th | ||||||
| 1999 | Barcelona Dragons | 7–3 | 1st | L 24–38 World Bowl VII | |||||
| 2000 | Barcelona Dragons | 5–5 | 3rd | ||||||
| 2001 | Barcelona Dragons | 8–2 | 1st | L 24–17 World Bowl IX | |||||
| 2002 | FC Barcelona Dragons | 2–8 | 6th | ||||||
| 2003 | FC Barcelona Dragons | 5–5 | 4th | ||||||
| Barcelona Dragons: | 61–55 | ||||||||
| Scottish Claymores (NFL Europe) (2004) | |||||||||
| 2004 | Scottish Claymores | 2–8 | 6th | ||||||
| Scottish Claymores: | 2–8 | ||||||||
| Hamburg Sea Devils (NFL Europe) (2005–2006) | |||||||||
| 2005 | Hamburg Sea Devils | 5–5 | 4th | ||||||
| 2006 | Hamburg Sea Devils | 3–6–1 | 5th | ||||||
| Hamburg Sea Devils: | 8–11–1 | ||||||||
| Total: | 71–74–1 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ Gildea, William via The Washington Post. "Bicknell Found His Place--Boston College", Los Angeles Times, September 15, 1985. Accessed July 5, 2018. "Having played quarterback for North Plainfield High School in New Jersey, Bicknell received a scholarship to Rutgers."
- ^ Lewis, Brian. "Bicknell interested in Rutgers coaching job", Courier-News, December 7, 1995. Accessed July 5, 2018. "Now, North Plainfield native Jack Bicknell would love nothing more than to come home as the next Rutgers football coach.... A 1955 North Plainfield grad, and a former Watchung Hills assistant, Bicknell's roots are strictly Central Jersey."