Gary Campbell (American football coach) facts for kids

Gary Campbell was born on February 15, 1951. He is a former American football player and a very successful coach. He is best known for being the running backs coach for the University of Oregon football team for many years.

Playing Football at College

Gary Campbell played college football as a fullback. He played for the UCLA team from 1969 to 1973. A fullback is a player who helps block for other runners and sometimes carries the ball himself.

Coaching Football

After his playing days, Gary Campbell became a football coach. He coached at several universities before joining the Oregon Ducks in 1983. He stayed with the Oregon team until 2016, making him one of their longest-serving coaches. He was especially good at coaching running backs.

Coaching 1,000-Yard Rushers

One of Gary Campbell's biggest achievements was helping many players become "1,000-yard rushers." This means a player ran for 1,000 or more yards in a single football season. It's a big deal for a running back!

Coach Campbell helped 19 different players reach this goal. Some players, like Maurice Morris and Onterrio Smith, did it twice. An amazing player named LaMichael James even achieved it three times! This shows how skilled Coach Campbell was at developing talented running backs.

In 2001 and 2008, the Oregon team had two different players each run for over 1,000 yards in the same season. This is very rare and shows how strong the running game was under Coach Campbell.

Here is a list of the players Gary Campbell coached who achieved 1,000-yard rushing seasons:

Players Who Played in the NFL

Coach Campbell also helped many of his players go on to play in the NFL. The NFL is the highest level of professional football in the United States. This shows how well he prepared his players for a career in sports.

Here are some of the players he coached who later played in the NFL: