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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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George Frederick “Fred” Hoaglin, who went from a skinny high school athlete in eastern Ohio to an NFL Pro Bowl center and later an offensive line coach on two Super Bowl championship teams, died Aug. 1 in South Carolina. He was 82.
Hoaglin was born Jan. 28, 1944, in Alliance, Ohio, and grew up in nearby East Palestine. He was a three-sport athlete at East Palestine High School, helping the football team win a Tri-County League championship in 1960. He graduated in 1962 and later was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.
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Hoaglin did not initially envision a professional football career. He recalled being tall but thin, weighing only 170 pounds when Pittsburgh assistant coach Steve Petro offered him a scholarship. At Pitt, he moved from tackle to center and became a starter in 1965. He also played in the North-South All-Star Game and earned a degree in industrial engineering in 1968.
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The Cleveland Browns selected Hoaglin in the sixth round of the 1966 NFL draft, 93rd overall. An injury to starting center John Morrow gave him his first opportunity, and Hoaglin started the final six games of his rookie season.
Hoaglin became a full-time starter in 1967 and helped Cleveland win three consecutive division titles from 1967 through 1969. In 1969, he was selected to the only Pro Bowl of his career.
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Later, Hoaglin played for the Baltimore Colts, Houston Oilers, and the expansion Seattle Seahawks, finishing an 11-year playing career with 142 games and 89 starts.
Hoaglin found an even longer second career on the sideline. He began coaching with Detroit in 1978 and became the New York Giants’ offensive line coach in 1985. He remained there through 1992, working under Bill Parcells and alongside coaches including Tom Coughlin.
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The Giants won Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXV during Hoaglin’s tenure. In eight seasons, the Giants went 79-48, and their 7-2 playoff record made Hoaglin, by the franchise’s own accounting, its most successful offensive line coach.
Years later, Harry Carson recalled asking Hoaglin about reuniting the 1986 championship team. Hoaglin told him that whenever he drove to practice, he felt lucky to have those players because they made his job easy. “They were the best group of guys that he ever coached,” Carson said.
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Hoaglin followed Parcells to New England in 1993 and coached the Patriots’ offensive line through their 1996 AFC championship season. He then joined Coughlin in Jacksonville, coaching tight ends through 2001. The Jaguars reached the AFC championship game in 1999.
Hoaglin is survived by his wife, Jan, two children, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
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