caption player_team death_date death_place coach_years birth_place player_positions overall_record player_years coach_team cfbdwid sport birth_date image article_title name
dennis fitzgerald , 1960 michigan 14 january 2001 allison park , pennsylvania 1963 1970 1971 & ndash ; 1974 1975 & ndash ; & 1977 1978 & ndash ; 1980 1981 1982 & ndash ndash ; 1986 1987 & ndash ; 1988 1992 1994 & ; ndash ; 1996 1995 & ndash ; 1996 1997 1998 1968 & ndash ; 1999 1969 & ndash ; ann arbor , michigan halfback 18 & ndash ; 16 1959 & ndash ; 1960 michigan state -lrb- dc -rrb- kent state syracuse -lrb- dc -rrb- -lrb- tulane -lrb- dc -rrb- pittsburgh steelers -lrb- lb -rrb- pittsburgh assistant steelers -lrb- st -rrb- las vegas aces -lrb- dc -rrb- -rrb- grand valley state -lrb- assistant -rrb- albany firebirds -lrb- dc kentucky -rrb- james madison -lrb- assistant -rrb- albany firebirds -lrb- dc -lrb- -rrb- dc -rrb- kent 774 football , freestyle wrestling 13 march 1936 dennis fitzgerald.png dennis fitzgerald
 dennis fitzgerald
dennis fitzgerald

joseph dennis fitzgerald -lrb- march 13 , 1936 -- january 14 , 2001 -rrb- was an american freestyle wrestler and football player and coach .
fitzgerald played college football as a halfback at the university of michigan and was selected as named the most valuable player on the 1960 michigan wolverines football team .
he holds the university of michigan record for the longest kickoff return at 99 yards .
fitgerald also competed as a wrestler , winning big ten conference championships in 1960 and 1961 and winning a gold medal representing the united states as the 1963 pan american games in são paulo , brazil .
fitzgerald spent more than 35 years working as a football coach for several university and professional football teams .
he held assistant coaching positions at , among others , the university of michigan , university of kentucky , syracuse university , tulane university and grand valley state university .
he was the head football coach at kent state university from 1975 to 1977 and spent seven years -lrb- 1982 -- 1988 -rrb- as an assistant coach for the pittsburgh steelers under head coach chuck noll .
his final coaching position was as the defensive coordinator for the albany firebirds of the arena football league .
