Ed Biles facts for kids
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 18, 1931 Reading, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | April 5, 2020 (aged 88) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Miami (OH) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1953 | Woodward HS (OH) (assistant) |
| 1954–1956 | Woodward HS (OH) |
| 1956–1961 | Xavier (freshman HC) |
| 1962–1968 | Xavier |
| 1969–1970 | New Orleans Saints (assistant) |
| 1971–1973 | New York Jets (scout/DB) |
| 1974–1980 | Houston Oilers (DB/DC) |
| 1981–1983 | Houston Oilers |
| 2005 | Cincinnati Marshalls |
| 2006 | Texas Copperheads (assistant) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 39–28–3 (college) 9–22 (NFL) |
Edward G. Biles (born October 18, 1931, died April 5, 2020) was a famous American football coach. He is best known for being the head coach of the Houston Oilers in the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1983.
Ed Biles grew up in Reading, Ohio. He was an amazing athlete in high school, earning 12 "letters" (awards for playing sports) and helping his school win the state baseball championship in 1946. He then went to Miami University and played on their football team. Sadly, an injury ended his playing career. After that, he started helping out as an assistant coach while still in college. This was the start of his long coaching journey.
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Early Coaching Days: High School and College
In 1953, Ed Biles started as an assistant coach at Woodward High School in Cincinnati. At the same time, he was also finishing his master's degree. The very next year, he became the head coach at Woodward.
After that, he moved to Xavier University in Cincinnati. He became the freshman football coach there and had a great record of 20 wins and only 4 losses over six years. Because of his success, he was promoted to head coach of the main Xavier team on November 24, 1961.
Leading the Xavier Musketeers
As the head coach at Xavier, Biles led the team for two seasons, getting 11 wins, 8 losses, and 1 tie. He was even offered a job as a defensive assistant coach at the University of Notre Dame in 1964. The head coach there, Ara Parseghian, had been Biles's coach when Biles played at Miami University. However, Biles decided to turn down the offer because he wanted to remain a head coach.
He stayed at Xavier for five more seasons. His best year was 1965, when his team finished with 8 wins and 2 losses. Overall, his record as Xavier's head coach was 39 wins, 28 losses, and 3 ties.
Moving to the NFL
On January 27, 1969, Biles left Xavier to become an assistant coach for the New Orleans Saints in the NFL. He worked there for two seasons. When the Saints' head coach, Tom Fears, was fired in November 1970, Biles also lost his job.
But he quickly found new work! The next year, he became a scout for the New York Jets. A scout's job is to find talented players. After one year as a scout, Biles was chosen to be the Jets' defensive backs coach on June 24, 1972. He coached under head coach Weeb Ewbank for two seasons. When Ewbank retired after the 1973 NFL season, Biles was again out of a job.
Coaching the Houston Oilers
Because of his connections from Miami University, Ed Biles got a coaching job with the Houston Oilers in 1974. He worked under his former Miami coach, Sid Gillman. When Gillman retired at the end of that season, Bum Phillips became the new head coach, and Biles was promoted to the team's defensive coordinator. This meant he was in charge of the team's defense.
Over the next six seasons, the Oilers' defense got better and better. The team even reached the AFC Championship game (a very important playoff game) in both 1978 and 1979.
Becoming Head Coach of the Oilers
In 1980, the Houston Oilers made it to the playoffs. However, they lost badly to the Oakland Raiders. Three days later, the Oilers' owner, Bud Adams, fired coach Bum Phillips. On January 2, 1981, Ed Biles was chosen to be the new head coach of the Oilers.
Biles took over a team that was getting older. It was hard for him to keep the team winning. In the 1981 season, they won 7 games and lost 9. Then, in the 1982 NFL season, which was shorter because of a player strike, they only won 1 game and lost 8.
In the next year, 1983, the team lost its first six games. This meant they had lost 13 games in a row! Biles decided to resign (step down) on October 10, 1983. He was replaced by the defensive coordinator, Chuck Studley. Biles was very frustrated at his last press conference, saying he felt like he had been "in the eye of the hurricane" for two and a half years.
Head Coaching Record
Here is Ed Biles's record as a head coach in the NFL:
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| HOI | 1981 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3rd in AFC Central | – | – | – | – |
| HOI | 1982 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 | 13th in AFC | – | – | – | – |
| HOI | 1983 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 4th in AFC Central | – | – | – | – |
| HOI Total | 8 | 23 | 0 | .258 | – | – | – | |||
| Total | 8 | 23 | 0 | .258 | ||||||
Later Career and Legacy
Ed Biles never coached in the NFL again after leaving the Oilers. However, he stayed involved with football. He worked as a commentator, explaining the games for the Houston Gamblers (a team in another league called the USFL) from 1984-1985. He also commented on Texas high school football playoff games and college football games in Texas.
Biles was honored for his contributions to football. He was inducted into the Halls of Fame for both Hamilton County (Ohio) and Xavier University, as well as his old high school, Reading High School.
In 2005, he became the head coach of the Cincinnati Marshalls in the National Indoor Football League. He resigned from that job in May 2005. In late 2006, Biles was hired as an assistant coach for the Texas Copperheads, a team in a minor league called the af2.
Death
Ed Biles passed away on April 5, 2020, in Houston, Texas, at the age of 88. He had been suffering from leukemia.
