Frank Coughlin

Francis Edward Coughlin (February 28, 1896 – September 8, 1951) was an American football player and coach.

Biography War and college football During World War I, Coughlin served in the United States Navy aboard a minesweeper. After the war, he played at the collegiate level at the University of Notre Dame. He was named captain of the 1920 football squad after the team's current captain, George Gipp withdrew from the University.

NFL career For the 1921 season, Coughlin was named as a player-coach for the Rock Island Independents of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which was renamed the National Football League in 1922.

Coughlin promised to bring to Rock Island a Notre Dame-style offense based upon tough line play and precise, short forward passes. Assisting Coughlin with the Independents was lefthalf Jimmy Conzelman. Coughlin then spent the rest of the 1921 season playing for the Detroit Tigers and the Green Bay Packers.

After football In 1923, Coughlin became a prosecutor in St. Joseph County, Indiana. From 1945–1949, he served as the assistant Attorney General of Indiana, under Governors Ralph Gates and Henry Schricker.