Gene Stallings Eugene Clifton Stallings , Jr . ( born March 2 , 1935 ) is a former American football player and coach . He played college football at Texas A & M University ( 1954 – 1956 ) , where he was one of the " Junction Boys " , and later served as the head coach at his alma mater from 1965 to 1971 . Stallings was also the head coach of the St . Louis / Phoenix Cardinals of the NFL ( 1986 – 1989 ) and at the University of Alabama ( 1990 – 1996 ) . Stalling ' s 1992 Alabama team completed a 13 – 0 season with a win in the Sugar Bowl over Miami and was named the consensus national champion . Stallings is currently a member of the Board of Regents of the Texas A & M University System . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2010 . Early years and playing career . Stalling was born in Paris , Texas . He attended Paris High School , where he played end as a sophomore alongside future NFL star , Raymond Berry . During his senior year , Stallings was the captain of the football , baseball , and golf teams . He was recruited to Texas A & M University to play college football by assistant coach Raymond George . At Texas A & M , Stallings was a member of the famed Junction Boys under head coach Bear Bryant . In 1956 , he helped the team finish 9 – 0 – 1 and capture its first Southwest Conference championship since 1939 . Stallings received his bachelor of science degree from Texas A & M in 1957 . Coaching career . University of Alabama . In 1958 , Stallings joined Bear Bryant ' s original staff at the University of Alabama as a defensive assistant . He was on hand for two of Alabama ' s national championship seasons , in 1961 and 1964 . Texas A & M University . Shortly after helping Alabama win the 1964 national title , Stallings was named the head coach of his alma mater , Texas A & M , at the age of 29 . He coached the Aggies for seven seasons compiling a record of 27 – 45 – 1 . Under his tenure , the Aggies won the Southwest Conference in 1967 , Stallings ' only winning season at A & M . Dallas Cowboys . In 1972 , Stallings joined the staff of the Dallas Cowboys as Tom Landry ' s secondary coach . He remained with the Cowboys for 14 seasons , and helped them win Super Bowl XII . St . Louis / Phoenix Cardinals . In 1986 , Stallings was named the head coach of the St . Louis Cardinals . In parts of four seasons , Stallings compiled a 23 – 34 – 1 record with the Cardinals and was the head coach during the franchise ' s move to Arizona . He came closest to a winning season during the Cardinals ' first two years in Arizona , in 1988 and 1989 . Both times , the Cardinals were doomed by late - season collapses . With five games remaining in the 1989 season , Stallings announced that he would resign at the end of the season . Instead , general manager Larry Wilson ordered Stallings to leave immediately and named running backs coach Hank Kuhlmann as his temporary replacement . University of Alabama . Stallings returned to Alabama as head coach in 1990 . His first team finished with a 7 – 5 record , including a 34 – 7 loss to Louisville in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl . Following Harold Drew , Stallings became only the second Alabama head coach since the renewal of the Iron Bowl in 1948 to defeat Auburn in his first attempt ; Dennis Franchione became the third in 2001 . Stalling ' s 1991 squad finished the season with an 11 – 1 record , including a 30 – 25 victory over Colorado in the 1991 Blockbuster Bowl . In 1992 , Stallings experienced defensive unit led the team to an undefeated regular season and a berth in the first SEC Championship Game where Alabama defeated Florida , 28 – 21 , giving Alabama its 20th SEC title , and its first outright conference title since 1979 . Following a 34 – 13 victory over heavily favored Miami in the 1993 Sugar Bowl to cap a perfect 13 - 0 season , Stallings ' 1992 team won the first Bowl Coalition national championship . In 1993 , Stallings ' squad won a second straight SEC West Division title , compiling a 9 – 3 – 1 record . However , the Tide lost to Florida in the SEC Championship Game . In 1994 , Stallings ' team finished the regular season with a record of 11 – 0 , an 8 – 0 record in the SEC , and captured its third straight SEC West Division title . However , they lost the SEC title game for the second year in a row to Florida . Alabama finished the 1994 season with a 12 – 1 record , including a 24 – 17 victory over Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl . After an investigation that ran from late 1993 to August 1995 , the NCAA found Alabama guilty of four major rules violations during the 1993 season . Stallings was implicated , along with athletic director Hootie Ingram , in falsifying the eligibility of Alabama cornerback Antonio Langham during that season . Langham had signed with a sports agent and applied to enter the NFL Draft following the 1993 Sugar Bowl , but was not subsequently declared ineligible per NCAA rules . Alabama officials only declared him ineligible the week before the 1993 SEC title game . As a result , Alabama ' s football program was placed on three years probation , and docked a total of 30 scholarships from 1995 to 1998 . Alabama was also forced to forfeit eight wins and one tie from its 9 – 3 – 1 1993 season in which Langham participated , resulting in an official record of 1 – 12 . The Crimson Tide were also barred from postseason competition , including the SEC Championship Game and bowl game s , during the 1995 season . Stalling ' s 1994 team proved to be tremendously successful , as Alabama finished the regular season undefeated before losing to Florida in the SEC Championship Game . The team concluded the season by defeating Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl to finish the season 12 - 1 . Alabama went 8 – 3 in 1995 , the only season between 1992 and 1996 that Stallings didn ' t finish first in the SEC West ( although undefeated but NCAA - sanctioned Auburn would have finished first in 1993 , even if Alabama had not later been forced to forfeit its regular - season wins that year ) . However , the Tide would have been ineligible for the SEC Championship Game or a bowl game in any event as a result of the NCAA sanctions . In 1996 , Stallings ' team won ten games and earned a berth in the SEC Championship Game , where they lost to again to Florida , which eventually won the national title that season . Stallings announced on November 23 , 1996 that he would resign at the end of the season . He completed his tenure at Alabama with a 17 – 14 win over Michigan in the 1997 Outback Bowl on January 1 , 1997 . Stallings compiled an official record at Alabama of 62 – 25 ( 70 – 16 – 1 if the 1993 forfeits are disregarded ) . Outside of football . Family . Stallings married Ruth Ann Jack after his graduation from Texas A & M . The couple went on to have five children : Anna Lee , Laurie , John Mark , Jackie , and Martha Kate . As a result of John Mark ' s being born with Down syndrome and a congenital heart defect , Stallings eventually became heavily involved in projects promoting better education and quality of life for the developmentally disabled ; the two appeared in a 1987 NFL public service announcement for the United Way . Following Stallings ' retirement , he moved back to the Paris area with his wife and son to establish Hike - A - Way Ranch , a working cattle ranch in Powderly , Texas . Board leadership . Stallings serves on many boards , including President George W . Bush ’ s Commission on Intellectual Disability , and he was formerly a member of the board of Abilene Christian University . Other boards include Tandy Corporation , People ’ s National Bank of Paris , Paris Regional Medical Center , Disability Resources , the Texas Rangers Law Enforcement Association , the Great Southern Wood Corporation , and the Boys and Girls Club of Paris , Texas . Stallings was appointed to the Texas A & M Board of Regents by Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2005 . He serves on the Committee on Audit and the Committee on Academic and Student Affairs . Stallings is chair of the Policy Review Committee and is a member of the Special Committee on Educational Access . His term expires on February 1 , 2011 . Writing . Stallings co - wrote the book " Another Season : A Coach ' s Story of Raising an Exceptional Son " ( ISBN 0 - 316 - 81196 - 3 ) with AP journalist Sally Cook , which described his and his family ' s relationship with only son John Mark Stallings . John Mark , also known as " Johnny , " was a dedicated follower of his father ' s career , a longtime Crimson Tide fan , and a tour guide in the Crimson Tide facilities . John Mark died on August 2 , 2008 , due to a congenital heart condition ; in 2009 , an updated paperback edition of the book was published with added material on the final years of John Mark ' s life . Two facilities at the University of Alabama were named for the younger Stallings : the Stallings Center that serves as home to the RISE Center for young children with disabilities , in 1994 , and the equipment room in the University of Alabama football building in 2005 . Most recently , Faulkner University in Montgomery , Alabama , named its new football and soccer field after John Mark Stallings on October 8 , 2010 , an honor that had been planned prior to his death two years before : The sports world lost a legend on Aug . 2 in Paris , Texas . He ' s the son of a Junction Boy , which makes him a grandson of Bear Bryant . At the same time , he ' s both a son of Aggieland and a son of Alabama . Gene Stallings ' son , John Mark " Johnny " Stallings , touched a lot of lives in his 46 years , melting even the hardest hearts of the toughest athletes to play for Gene in college at Texas A & M , Alabama or in the NFL with the Cowboys and Cardinals . And Johnny never strapped on the pads for a single play . . . . Johnny made his difference by showing everyone he met , and even those he didn ' t , that someone with Down syndrome or a disability could make a difference in this world . . . . With help from four sisters , the Stallings family raised a man who has become a legend in Alabama for his smile and his positive outlook on life . . . . The outpouring of love given to the Stallings family over the past week is a direct reflection of the love one man had for life and everyone he met . We should all be so lucky to live like that . Awards and honors . Stallings received a number of national coaching awards in 1992 and was the SEC Coach of the Year twice , in 1992 and 1994 . In 2000 , Stallings was awarded Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A & M University . He was awarded the Legends Award from the All Sports Association in Dallas in 2001 . Stallings has also received many humanitarian awards , including the Arthritis Humanitarian Award of Alabama , National Boys Club Alumni of the Year , Dallas Father of the Year , Humanitarian Award of the Lion ’ s Club of Alabama , and Paris Boys Club Wall of Honor . Stallings has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame , Alabama Sports Hall of Fame , Texas Sports Hall of Fame , Texas A & M Hall of Fame , Gator Bowl Hall of Fame and Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame . He also received an honorary doctoral degree from Harding University . Gene Stallings involvement in the disability community , has also been strong . His son , John Mark was born with Trisomy 21 , Down syndrome , and Gene Stallings has a school for children with disabilities named after him on the University of Alabama Campus , for which he hosts a charity golf tournament every year . The playground at the school is called the John Mark Stallings Playground .