Greg Landry

Gregory Paul Landry (December 18, 1946 – October 4, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL) from 1968 to 1984. He played college football for the UMass Minutemen from 1965 to 1967 and was selected in the first round of the 1968 NFL draft with the 11th overall pick. Landry played in the NFL for the Detroit Lions, Baltimore Colts and Chicago Bears. He became an assistant coach after his playing career. Landry is considered a forerunner of the dual threat quarterback.

Early life Landry was born on December 18, 1946, in Nashua, New Hampshire to Alvin and Felixa "Fannie" (Worsowicz) Landry, both of whom were factory workers. Fannie's parents had emigrated from Poland. He attended Nashua High School, where he played on the football team, graduating in 1964. He was co-captain of the football team in his senior year, and received the Buddy Harvey trophy after his teammates selected him as Most Valuable Player. He also starred in baseball and was named the school's Athlete of the Year in 1964.

Landry also played shortstop in American Legion baseball. He was considered a fine major league prospect in baseball. The team's record with Landry was 20–7, and 14–1 in the Yankee Conference. He was in the 1968 Chicago Charities All Star Game, playing with the collegians against the NFL champion Green Bay Packers. Landry threw a touchdown pass to future Lions teammate Earl McCullough. In 1967, he received the George Bulger Lowe Award from the Gridiron Club of Boston as the outstanding college football player in New England. In 1980, he was inducted into the UMass Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was named to the Yankee Conference 50th Anniversary Team.

Playing career Detroit Lions Landry was selected in the first round of the 1968 NFL/AFL draft (eleventh overall) by the Detroit Lions, and was the first quarterback taken in that draft.

Landry's request to be traded was granted when he was acquired by the Colts from the Lions for fourth- and fifth-round selections in 1979 and a 1980 third-round pick on April 29, 1979. During his eleven seasons with the Lions, he had a 40–41–3 record, and passed for 12,451 yards and 80 touchdowns. Landry ranked second in quarterback wins for the Lions to Bobby Layne, while only Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff have since passed him. He then played for George Allen on the Chicago Blitz and Arizona Wranglers in the United States Football League (USFL) in 1983 and 1984. He started one game as an emergency quarterback for the Chicago Bears in 1984 before retiring as a player.

Legacy Landry was also notable as a rusher; in the 1970 opener at Green Bay, he ran for 76 yards on a quarterback sneak, which was for a time the longest rush by a quarterback in NFL history. Over his entire career, Landry passed for 16,052 yards, had 98 touchdown passes and 103 interceptions; and he rushed for another 2,655 yards and 21 touchdowns. He ranks fifth on the all-time Lions career passing yardage list (12,451), and ranks fourth in touchdown passes with 80.

Landry is considered a forerunner of the modern dual threat quarterbacks, who are both runners and passers. There were running quarterbacks in his era who could scramble and run when a play broke down, such as Fran Tarkenton; but unlike those quarterbacks, the Lions designed running plays for the and physically imposing Landry. The Lions even ran option plays with his Lions running backs Steve Owens and Altie Taylor. In 1971, Sports Illustrated writer Tex Maule said Landry "probably has ... the pro offense of the future, only he has it right now."

Following the 1992 season, Landry was hired as the offensive coordinator at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign for two seasons. The 1994 Illinois Fighting Illini had the second-best passing offense in the Big Ten Conference, which carried the team to a 30–0 win in the 1994 Liberty Bowl over East Carolina.

The following year, Landry returned to the Lions as quarterbacks coach, helping them to become the top offensive unit in the NFL and guiding Scott Mitchell to record-setting passing numbers that season.

NFL career statistics Legend Led the league Bold Career high

Year Team Games Passing Rushing 1968 DET 4 2 0–2 23 48 47.9 338 7.0 80 2 7 45.7 7 39 5.6 14 1 1969 DET 10 7 5–2 80 160 50.0 853 5.3 43 4 10 48.3 33 243 7.4 26 1 1970 DET 12 6 5–1 83 136 61.0 1,072 7.9 58 9 5 92.5 35 350 10.0 76 1 1971 DET 14 14 7–6–1 136 261 52.1 2,237 8.6 76 16 13 80.9 76 530 7.0 52 3 1972 DET 14 14 8–5–1 134 268 50.0 2,066 7.7 82 18 17 71.8 81 524 6.5 38 9 1973 DET 7 7 2–4–1 70 128 54.7 908 7.1 84 3 10 52.5 42 267 6.4 18 2 1974 DET 5 3 1–2 49 82 59.8 572 7.0 45 3 3 77.9 22 95 4.3 19 1 1975 DET 6 3 2–1 31 56 55.4 403 7.2 36 1 0 84.2 20 92 4.6 14 0 1976 DET 14 12 5–7 168 291 57.7 2,191 7.5 74 17 8 89.6 43 234 5.4 28 1 1977 DET 11 11 4–7 135 240 56.3 1,359 5.7 39 6 7 68.7 25 99 4.0 13 0 1978 DET 5 5 1–4 48 77 62.3 452 5.9 20 1 1 77.4 5 29 5.8 19 0 1979 BAL 16 12 2–10 270 457 59.1 2,932 6.4 67 15 15 75.3 31 115 3.7 17 0 1980 BAL 16 1 1–0 24 47 51.1 275 5.9 32 2 3 56.6 7 26 3.7 14 1 1981 BAL 11 0 – 14 29 48.3 195 6.7 34 0 1 56.0 1 11 11.0 11 0 1984 CHI 1 1 1–0 11 20 55.0 199 10.0 55 1 3 66.5 2 1 0.5 1 1 Career 146 98 44–51–3 1,276 2,300 55.5 16,052 7.0 84 98 103 72.9 430 2,655 6.2 76 21

Honors In 2012, Landry was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame, with former Lions teammate and Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Charlie Sanders giving the induction speech.