Dick Crum (American football)

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Dick Crum (born April 29, 1934) is a former American football coach. He grew up in Boardman, Ohio, and played college football mainly as a backup at Muskingum College and Mount Union College, graduating from Mount Union in 1957. He earned a master’s degree from Case Western Reserve University and began his career as a teacher and assistant coach at Ohio high schools, including Boardman, Sandusky, and Warren Harding. His first head coaching job was at Mentor High School (1963–1968), where he went 50–9–1.

Crum moved to college coaching in 1969 as an assistant at Miami University under Bill Mallory. When Mallory left in 1974, Crum became head coach at Miami (1974–1977). He won three Mid-American Conference titles (1974, 1975, 1977) and led Miami to Tangerine Bowl wins over Georgia (1974) and South Carolina (1975). The 1974 and 1975 Miami teams finished the season ranked No. 10 and No. 12 in the AP poll. After a 3–8 season in 1976, the 1977 team went 10–1. Crum’s Miami record was 34–10–1.

In 1978 Crum became head coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a post he held through 1987. His best season came in 1980 when UNC went 11–1, won the ACC championship, and defeated Texas in the Bluebonnet Bowl. He coached several future NFL stars, including Lawrence Taylor. Crum’s later UNC teams were less successful, and he finished at UNC with a 72–41–3 record. He was fired after the 1987 season and Mack Brown replaced him.

Crum then coached Kent State from 1988 to 1990, but did not have a winning season there (7–26). His overall college head coaching record was 113–77–4, with a 6–2 record in bowl games. He also had success as a high school coach, going 50–9–1 at Mentor.

Crum earned MAC Coach of the Year in 1974 and ACC Coach of the Year in 1980, and won three MAC titles and one ACC title.