Ron Erhardt Ronald Peter Erhardt ( February 27 , 1931 – March 21 , 2012 ) was an American football coach at both the collegiate and professional levels , and from 1979 - 1981 served as head coach of the National Football League ' s New England Patriots . College assistant and high school head coach . A native of Mandan , North Dakota , the outgoing Erhardt graduated from Jamestown College in 1953 , then spent the next two years serving in the military . After leaving the service , he was hired in 1956 as an assistant coach at Williston High School in North Dakota . The following year , he began an outstanding six - year run as a head coach at two North Dakota Catholic high schools : from 1957 – 1959 , his teams at St . Mary ' s of New England compiled a mark of 25 - 3 - 1 , followed by another three - year run at Bishop Ryan High School in Minot , where he was 20 - 6 - 1 from 1960 – 62 College head coach . That success elevated him to the collegiate level , where he served as an assistant at North Dakota State University for three years beginning in 1963 . On February 10 , 1966 , he became head coach at the school , setting the stage for another strong tenure in which he put together a record of 67 - 7 - 1 in his seven years . Erhardt would also serve as the Bison ' s athletic director , winning a pair of college national championships . National Football League career . New England Patriots . On March 14 , 1973 , he moved on to become backfield coach of the New England Patriots , a post he served in for four years before being promoted to offensive coordinator on February 1 , 1977 , following the departure of Red Miller . After missing the playoffs that year , the Patriots seemed ready to challenge for a Super Bowl berth in 1978 . However , prior to the last regular season game on December 18 , head coach Chuck Fairbanks announced he was leaving the team to accept a contract offer from the University of Colorado . In response , the team suspended Fairbanks and made Erhardt and fellow assistant Hank Bullough co - coaches for the final game . The Patriots dropped that contest , then lost their opening round matchup to the Houston Oilers . Fairbanks was allowed to leave for Colorado , with Erhardt officially taking the reins of the team on April 6 , 1979 . Noting his . 890 winning percentage at North Dakota State upon taking the position , Erhardt said , " I ' ve never been a loser in football and I don ' t intend to start now . " The Patriots underachieved to a 19 - 13 record in the 1979 and 1980 seasons , missing the playoffs by one game each year ; the 441 points scored in 1980 was a club record not broken until 2007 . But then the Patriots finished with a 2 - 14 record in 1981 . Citing the fact that Erhardt " was just too nice a guy , " owner Billy Sullivan dismissed him on December 22 , two days after the conclusion of the season . New York Giants . Just over a month later , in January 1982 , Erhardt was hired as offensive coordinator of the New York Giants by head coach , and former fellow Patriots assistant Ray Perkins , the first since Joe Walton filled the position under head coach Alex Webster in 1973 . During the latter portion of that first season , Perkins announced he was leaving to become head coach at the University of Alabama , with Bill Parcells replacing him . Parcells had been Erhardt ' s linebackers coach with the Patriots in 1980 , and kept his former boss in the same position . That decision would prove to be the right one as the Giants went on to win two Super Bowl s , with Erhardt working around a key injury during the run toward Super Bowl XXV . Quarterback Phil Simms had suffered a season - ending injury late in the season , but his replacement , Jeff Hostetler , navigated the team to the title . Parcells retired after that game , with Ray Handley being promoted to head coach . Handley then demoted Erhardt , which resulted in the latter ' s departure for a similar position with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992 . Emphasizing the run , Erhardt ran the offense for four years , helping the team reach Super Bowl XXX in 1996 . However , after the season , the conflict over the offensive philosophy between Erhardt and Steelers ' head coach Bill Cowher resulted in Erhardt ' s resignation . New York Jets . Erhardt then became offensive coordinator of the New York Jets under Rich Kotite . A disastrous 1 - 15 mark marked the end of Kotite ' s brief era , with Parcells replacing Kotite . Erhardt announced his retirement on January 12 , 1998 . Personal life . He lived in Boca Raton , Florida with his wife Anita , until his death on March 21 , 2012 .