Tommy Hudspeth Tommy Hudspeth ( born September 14 , 1931 in Cherryvale , Kansas ) was a football coach at both the collegiate and professional levels . He served as head coach at Brigham Young University , the University of Texas - El Paso , the National Football League ' s Detroit Lions and the Canadian Football League ' s Toronto Argonauts . Career . Hudspeth graduated from Tulsa University in 1953 after completing his playing career at the school . He moved into the coaching ranks that Fall as an assistant coach at Norman High School in Oklahoma , then served the next two years in the military . Upon his release , he accepted an assistant position at Tulsa Central High School in 1956 . Returning to his alma mater the following year , Hudspeth served as an assistant for the next four years , then moved up north to the CFL , working in a similar capacity with the Calgary Stampeders from 1961 - 1963 . Coaching Career at BYU . In 1964 , Hudspeth became a head coach for the first time , taking over the Brigham Young Cougars struggling football program . Husdspeth recruited a number of ex - Marines to play for the Cougars in his first couple of seasons and BYU saw a dramatic rise in its football fortunes . In his second season 1965 BYU won its first Western Athletic Conference championship and posted a 6 - 4 record . Hudspeth led the Cougars to an 8 - 2 mark in 1966 and had two more winning seasons in 1967 and 1969 . in an eight year span , he compiled a record of 39 - 42 - 1 . Hudspeth is credited with recruiting the program ' s first black player in 1970 . Despite early successes , the Cougar program grew stagnant in Hudspeth ' s final three seasons - which included three consecutive losses to archrival Utah . Hudspeth also drew ire from some fans because he frequently lost his temper during postgame interviews . On January 22 , 1972 , Hudspeth finally resigned and was replaced by one of his assistant coaches , Lavell Edwards . Edwards built BYU into a national power by the end of the decade and later led the school to its first and only football national championship in 1984 . " I can ' t take any credit for what LaVell did at BYU , " Hudspeth said . " LaVell was a brilliant coach . When we worked together back in the 1960s , LaVell already had a great understanding of what to do on offense . I recommended him when I left to take the job at UTEP , but everyone knew what a smart young coach he was . " Collegiate career after BYU . Hudspeth accepted a job as offensive coordinator at the University of Texas - El Paso shortly after leaving BYU . He became interim head coach on October 22 , 1972 when head coach Bobby Dobbs resigned following a 56 - 7 loss . Hudspeth closed out the year 1 - 3 , but followed up with a disastrous 0 - 11 record the next year . He was subsequently fired from UTEP . Pro career . The advent of the new World Football League in 1974 provided a new job opportunity for Hudspeth . He was hired as an offensive backs coach for the Chicago Fire . A major reason he was hired was because he had coached Chicago ' s quarterback Virgil Carter , at BYU . However , during the course of the season , the team ' s weak defense , coupled with severe financial troubles , eventually saw Hudspeth also take over the defensive backfield coaching duties . Escaping from the ill - fated league , Hudspeth took an off - the - field job the next year as the coordinator of personnel and scouting for the Detroit Lions . He remained in that position until October 5 , 1976 , when Lions ' head coach Rick Forzano resigned following a 1 - 3 start and Hudspeth was tabbed to replace him . The new coach had mixed results during the remainder of the 1976 NFL season , with team owner William Clay Ford actively pursuing Los Angeles Rams head coach Chuck Knox to replace Hudspeth . After Knox elected to stay with the Rams , Hudspeth was re - hired on February 9 , 1977 , signing a three - year contract . Only 11 months later , Hudspeth was dismissed , ending his Lions ' tenure with an 11 - 13 mark . On March 7 , 1979 , Hudspeth returned to Canada when he signed a three - year contract to become the general manager of the CFL ' s Toronto Argonauts . He would return as a head coach on September 14 , 1981 , when he replaced Willie Wood with the reeling Argonauts sporting an 0 - 10 record . Once again , he closed out the season , then returned to the front office . < br clear = all > Return to Univ . of Tulsa . In 2006 , Hudspeth was hired by University of Tulsa Director of Athletics Lawrence ( Bubba ) Cunningham as an assistant in the area of development and fundraising for TU athletics .