Eddie Crowder Eddie Crowder ( August 26 , 1931 – September 9 , 2008 ) was an American football player and coach . He was an All - American quarterback ( QB ) and safety at the University of Oklahoma ( OU ) in the early 1950s and a successful head coach and athletic director ( AD ) at the University of Colorado ( CU ) in the 1960s and 1970s . He is quoted as saying " Life is boring for someone trying to achieve greatness . " Biography . Playing career . Crowder was raised in Muskogee , Oklahoma and played quarterback at Muskogee Central High School , and won the state championship in 1948 . He was a member of Oklahoma ' s first National Football Championship team in 1950 , and led Oklahoma to two Big Seven titles as quarterback in 1951 and 1952 and was selected all - conference the same years . Oklahoma was 26 – 4 – 1 during the 3 years Crowder was there . He was 61 for 110 ( . 555 ) ( might be 60 for 109 ( . 550 ) ) with 11 touchdowns for 1189 ( might be 1179 ) yards passing . He was drafted 9th in the second round ( 22nd overall ) by the New York Giants in 1953 , but declined due to a nerve problem in his throwing arm and served in the U . S . Army Corps of Engineers as quarterback of the Fort Hood team for 1953 . His jersey number was 16 and was listed at 6 ' 0 " and 170 lbs . Although selected in the 2nd round of the 1953 National Football League Draft by the New York Giants , Crowder went to Canada in 1953 and played the first half of the season with the Edmonton Eskimos , alternating starts at quarterback with Claude Arnold . He was cut by head coach Darrel Royal because of limitations on the number of American players that a team could carry past a certain date . Crowder led the Eskimos to victory in all four of his games , but Royal decided to stick with the veteran Arnold . In a game in Calgary on Sept . 5 , Crowder played the full game at quarterback without throwing a single pass ; all the passes were thrown by halfbacks Rollie Miles and Billy Vessels . " Easy Ed " was one of many Oklahoma grads to play for the Eskimos in the 1950s . Coaching career . He was an assistant head coach for Red Blaik at Army in 1955 and for Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma from 1956 to 1962 . Crowder became the head football coach of the Buffaloes in 1963 and restored the program ' s respectability and earned national respect while rebuilding the program . In 1971 , his team finished No . 3 in the nation with a record of 10 – 2 , only behind Big Eight rivals Nebraska ( 1 ) and Oklahoma ( 2 ) . He currently has the 3rd best record as head coach at Colorado ( 67 – 49 – 2 . 576 ) . His teams went to 5 bowl games while he was head coach ( 1967 Bluebonnet ( W ) , 1969 Liberty ( W ) , 1970 Liberty ( L ) , 1971 Bluebonnet ( W ) , 1972 Gator ( L ) ) . He assumed the AD duties in 1965 , and retired from coaching in 1973 . He then hired his replacement , Bill Mallory ( 1974 – 1978 ) , and also hired Chuck Fairbanks ( 1978 – 1981 ) and most importantly , Colorado ' s all - time winningest coach Bill McCartney ( 93 – 55 – 5 ) . He retired from his AD position in 1986 . Jim Mora was a defensive coach for Crowder from 1968 – 1973 . Crowder lived in Boulder , Colorado with his wife , Kate , until his death . He maintained ties to both Oklahoma and Colorado football programs , and helped select Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops and Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins . He was also a voter in the Harris College Football Poll . Crowder battled Hodgkin ' s lymphoma in 2003 .