Mike Scarry Michael Joseph " Mo " Scarry ( February 1 , 1920 – September 9 , 2012 ) was an American football player and coach . He grew up in Pennsylvania and was a star on his high school basketball team . Scarry , however , played football in college at Waynesburg College in Waynesburg , Pennsylvania and went on to join the Cleveland Rams in the National Football League as a center following a stint in the U . S . Army during World War II . The Rams moved to Los Angeles after winning the 1945 NFL championship , and Scarry elected to stay in Cleveland and play for the Cleveland Browns under coach Paul Brown in the new All - America Football Conference . The Browns won the AAFC championship in 1946 and 1947 while Scarry was on the team . Scarry , who coached the basketball team at Western Reserve University in Cleveland during his playing career , retired from pro football after the 1947 season to take up a post as head coach of the school ' s football team . He stayed there for two seasons before moving to Santa Clara University in California as an assistant coach . Scarry then moved in 1952 to Loras College in Iowa as an assistant . After a stint at Washington State University , he spent six years as the line coach for the University of Cincinnati . Scarry served as head football coach at Waynesburg , his alma mater , for three seasons between 1963 and 1965 . He got his first professional coaching job in 1966 with the NFL ' s Washington Redskins , the following year , and became the defensive line coach of the Miami Dolphins three years later . He stayed with the Dolphins for 15 seasons until his retirement ; during his Dolphins career , the team won two Super Bowl s . Scarry was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2000 . High school , college and military service . Scarry grew up in Duquesne , Pennsylvania , where he was a star on his high school basketball team . He also played football , but was not a standout . Scarry attended Waynesburg College , a small school in Waynesburg , Pennsylvania , where he continued to play football and basketball . He served in the U . S . Army during World War II in North Africa , but came down with asthma and was given a medical discharge . He signed with the Cleveland Rams of the National Football League starting in 1944 . Professional career . Scarry began the 1944 season with the Rams at left tackle , but was shifted to center in September . He played on defense and offense , occasionally as a forward passer . After a season in which the Rams contended for but lost the NFL ' s western division , Scarry spent the offseason as a student at Western Reserve University in Cleveland and served as the director of a YMCA camp in Mantua , Ohio . Scarry suffered a knee injury near the beginning of the 1945 season , but soon returned to action as the Rams , led by quarterback Bob Waterfield , won the NFL championship . Scarry was the captain of the Rams during the championship run . The Rams moved to Los Angeles after the 1945 season , and Scarry , along with teammates Chet Adams , Tommy Colella , Don Greenwood and Gaylon Smith , decided to stay in Cleveland and play for the Cleveland Browns , a team under formation in the new All - America Football Conference . The Rams sought an injunction in Federal court to prevent Adams from defecting to the Browns , arguing that he was still under contract with the Rams despite the move . Adams argued that his contract described a team in Cleveland , and was no longer valid because of the Rams ' relocation . A judge ruled in favor of Adams in August of 1946 , clearing the way for him and other former Rams players to join the Browns . While Scarry was playing for the Browns , he was named head basketball coach at Western Reserve , where he had taken classes between games and in the offseason . In his first season , Scarry was a workhorse who often played between 50 and the full 60 minutes of games , lining up on the offensive and defensive lines . Toward the middle of the season , Cleveland coach Paul Brown began to use him as the defensive leader , letting him call the unit ' s formations . In December , Scarry ' s Western Reserve basketball team played its first games ; he had missed numerous practices because of his duties with the Browns . The Browns went on to win the AAFC championship later in the month . Scarry remained with the Browns the following season . In September of 1947 he received a bachelor of science degree from Western Reserve , completing an educational career at Waynesburg that was cut short by the war . By October , he was mentioned as a possible successor to Tom Davies , who had resigned as Western Reserve ' s football coach . While still one of the AAFC ' s top centers , Scarry was bothered by injury and asthma and was considering leaving pro football . The Browns , meanwhile , won a second straight AAFC championship in December . Scarry was named Western Reserve ' s football coach the following January , ending his career with the Browns . Frank Gatski took over as the Browns ' regular center after Scarry ' s retirement . Coaching career . Scarry borrowed Paul Brown ' s coaching techniques at Western Reserve , instituting well - organized practices there . " I had a lot of ideas about coaching before I went to work for the Browns , " he said in 1947 . " But the manner in which Paul organized his practice and all his duties impressed me . I try to do the same here . " With no good passer or runner and a lack of depth , Reserve ' s Red Cats performed poorly in Scarry ' s first season , but he was praised for making the most out of a thin squad . In his second year in 1949 , the Red Cats improved to a 4 – 5 – 1 record , and Scarry was expected to stay on for a third season . The following year , however , he resigned to take an assistant coaching position at Santa Clara University in California under former Browns assistant Dick Gallagher . Scarry stayed at Santa Clara for the 1950 and 1951 seasons before getting a job as an assistant at Loras College in Dubuque , Iowa . He stayed at Loras for two years , moving to Washington State University in 1954 . He left that school in November of 1955 when head coach Al Kircher was fired in the wake of a 1 – 10 season . In February of 1956 , he was hired as a line coach by the University of Cincinnati . During his time at Cincinnati , Scarry served as an assistant to Otto Graham , the former Browns star quarterback , as a coach in the College All - Star Game , a now - defunct annual matchup between the NFL champion and a selection of the best college players from across the country . After seven seasons at Cincinnati , Scarry got his third head coaching job , for the Yellow Jackets at Waynesburg , his alma mater . He was also the school ' s athletic director . Scarry held the position for three seasons , from 1963 until 1965 , and his teams had a 17 – 8 – 1 record during that span . As of the conclusion of the 2010 season , this ranks him 12th at Waynesburg in total wins for a coach and fifth at the school in winning percentage ( ) . Waynesburg won the Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in 1965 , and Scarry was voted the conference ' s coach of the year . Scarry continued to act as the line coach under Graham for the college all - stars in the offseason during his tenure at Waynesburg . In 1964 , he was inducted into football hall of fame of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics , an association of smaller college sports programs . Graham became the head coach of the NFL ' s Washington Redskins in 1966 , and he hired Scarry that year as his defensive line coach . Scarry stayed with the Redskins through 1968 , when Graham resigned after three unsuccessful seasons . He then scouted briefly for the San Francisco 49ers , Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys before taking a job in 1970 as the defensive line coach for the Miami Dolphins under Don Shula , a former Browns player . Scarry spent the remainder of his coaching career with the Dolphins , retiring after 15 years in 1986 . Miami reached the Super Bowl five times while Scarry was a coach there , winning the championship twice , in 1972 and 1973 . Later life and death . After retiring from football , Scarry worked informally for the Dolphins as a volunteer assistant . He moved with his wife , Libby , to Fort Myers , Florida in 1994 . Scarry was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2000 . He died in 2012 at his home in Fort Myers ; he was the last surviving member of the original Browns team . He had four sons and a daughter .