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Jack Neumeier

1919 – 2004

American football coach

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About Jack Neumeier

Lived 1919 – 2004 (aged 84–85). Jack Neumeier was an american football coach.

Jack "Cactus Jack" Neumeier (19192004) was an American high school football coach from 1946 to 1978. He invented American football's modern spread offense, also known as the one-back spread offense, and originated the phrase "basketball on grass" to describe this offense.

Career Neumeier was inventor of American football's spread offense (1969-70) as the head coach at Granada Hills High School from 1960 to 1978 and won the Los Angeles City championship in 1970. He was California football Coach of the Year in 1970. His most famous player was John Elway, who played for Neumeier from 1976 to 1978. Dennis Erickson, who first met Neumeier through Jack Elway, while serving as Jack Elway's offensive coordinator at San Jose State, learned about the spread offense directly from Neumeier. Erickson, Joe Tiller and other coaches subsequently coached national championship teams and Heisman Trophy winners using Neumeier's offense, which is now utilized in some form by almost every football team at every level of play, NFL, college, high school and youth football. He continued to mentor other coaches utilizing variations of his spread offense until Neumeier's death in 2004.

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Important facts

Born
1919
Birth century
Died
2004
Also known as
Jack

People in Jack Neumeier's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Jack Neumeier's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Jack Neumeier?

American football coach

When was Jack Neumeier born?

Jack Neumeier was born in 1919.

When did Jack Neumeier die?

Jack Neumeier died in 2004.

What was Jack Neumeier's occupation?

Jack Neumeier was an american football coach.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Jack Neumeier

· Wikidata: Q27178656

· DBpedia: Jack Neumeier

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jack Neumeier. https://biography.guide/jack-neumeier/

MLA: "Jack Neumeier." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jack-neumeier/.

Chicago: "Jack Neumeier." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jack-neumeier/.

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