John Merritt

John Ayers Merritt (January 26, 1926 – December 15, 1983) was an American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Jackson State University from 1952 to 1962 and Tennessee State University from 1963 to 1983, compiling a career coaching record of 235–70–12. Merritt was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

Merritt was born in Falmouth, Kentucky, and is an alumnus of Kentucky State University, where he played guard on the football team from 1947 to 1949. He earned the nickname "Big John". He graduated in 1950 and earned a master's degree from the University of Kentucky in 1952.

He coached Jackson State University from 1953 to 1962, where he compiled a record of 63–37–5. Merritt led Jackson State to back-to-back appearances in the Orange Blossom Classic in 1961 and 1962 before being hired by what was then Tennessee A&I. At Tennessee State (as Tennessee A&I was renamed in 1968), Merritt had four undefeated seasons, claimed four Midwest Athletic Association titles, seven black college football national championships: (1965, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1979 and 1982) and earned the school's first-ever NCAA Division I-AA playoff victory in 1982.

Merritt coached many players who went on to the National Football League (NFL), including Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Joe Gilliam, Claude Humphrey, Mike Hegman, and Richard Dent. His coaching record at Tennessee State was 172–33–7 with an .828 winning percentage—far and away the best in program history. He had the opportunity to become the first black head coach of a major college football in 1973 when he was offered the head coaching job at Wichita State, but chose to remain at Tennessee State out of loyalty to his players and assistants.

Death and honors Merritt died on December 15, 1983, at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, after suffering from heart disease.

John Merritt Boulevard in Nashville, Tennessee and the John Ayers Merritt Memorial Bridge in his hometown of Falmouth, Kentucky are named in his honor. The Tennessee State football team usually opens every home season with the John Merritt Classic game at Nissan Stadium, traditionally against Alabama A&M University, but more recently the game has also headlined other from other universities.

Head coaching record