George Young (football executive)

NFL PlayerCoach
Name=George Young


DateOfBirth=September 22, 1930
Birthplace= Baltimore, MD
DateOfDeath=December 8, 2001 (aged age|1930|9|22|2001|12|8)
Position=Contributor
College=Bucknell
Awards=1997 NFL Executive of the Year
1993 NFL Executive of the Year
1990 NFL Executive of the Year
1986 NFL Executive of the Year
1984 NFL Executive of the Year
Honors=
DatabaseFootball=
Championships=1990 NFC Championship
1986 NFC Championship
1970 AFC Championship
1968 NFL Championship
SuperBowls=Super Bowl XXV
Super Bowl XXI
Super Bowl V
coach=no
coachingyears=1968-1974
1975-1978
1979-1997
1998-2001
coachingteams=Baltimore Colts
Miami Dolphins
New York Giants
NFL
HOF=

George Young (September 22, 1930 - December 8, 2001) was an American football executive. He was named NFL Executive of the Year five times.

Early life

George Bernard Young was born on September 22, 1930, in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was an outstanding football player at Calvert Hall College. He attended Bucknell University where he was a starting defensive tackle for three seasons, team captain in 1951, and a member of the Phi Lambda Theta Fraternity, which today is the Chi Phi Fraternity. He was named to the Little All-America first team and All-East first team in his senior year. Selected to play in the Blue-Gray game, he was drafted by the Dallas Texans.

Young then began a coaching career in the Baltimore school system at Calvert Hall and Baltimore City College High School "City". During a 15-year span, his teams won six Maryland Scholastic Association championships. Tom Gatewood, tight end, [http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=GATEWTOM01] and John Sykes, running back, [http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=SYKESJOH01] were two of Coach Young's City athletes who would make it to the NFL, Kurt Schmoke, quarterback, and Curt Anderson, linebacker, established themselves in the political realm. Young was especially proud of his years as an educator, during which he taught history and political science. During that time he also earned two Master's degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Loyola College. In May 1987, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Western Maryland College.

Before being with the Giants

Prior to joining the Giants, Young was on the staffs of the Baltimore Colts (1968-1974), holding positions of scout, offensive line coach, director of player personnel, and offensive coordinator, and the Miami Dolphins (1975-1978), serving as director of personnel and pro scouting.

New York Giants

George Young joined the National Football League as senior vice president of football operations on February 2, 1998, after serving 19 years as general manager of the New York Giants. The Giants had not made a postseason appearance in 15 years when Young was hired by the club in 1979. In building the Giants he placed special emphasis on the NFL Draft. From his inaugural draft in 1979 through the 1995 selection process, he succeeded in signing every player drafted over that span, and from those drafts, a total of 119 players made the club at one time or another. Instrumental in his reversal of the Giants’ fortunes was his drafting of standout players such as Phil Simms, Lawrence Taylor, Joe Morris, and Carl Banks, and selecting Bill Parcells as the club’s head coach.

uccess

During Young's tenure, the Giants earned eight playoff berths, highlighted by victories in Super Bowls XXI and XXV, and compiled an overall record of 155-139-2. He was named NFL Executive of the Year an unprecedented five times – 1984, 1986, 1990, 1993, and 1997. Young also served as chairman of the NFL’s Competition Committee.

Decline

Despite Young's incredible success along with Giants Head of Player Personnel Tom Boisture during the 1980s, that success would not carry over into the 1990s. Young, an opponent of free agency seemed to lose his touch following the introduction of the free agency cycle following the 1992 regular season. He had difficult adapting to the system and as a result, signed several players to overvalued contracts while losing much of the Giants core talent to other franchises following free agency's inception. In addition, Young's draft magic seemed to disappear. From 1991-1996, The Giants drafted six consecutive first round busts although his later round selections included defensive end Michael Strahan. Young finally retired following the 1997 season, handing his duties over to long-time assistant Ernie Accorsi.

ee also

*History of the New York Giants (1979-1993)
*History of the New York Giants (1994-present)

External links

*"Pro Football Hall of Fame:" [http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=251 HOF 2005 Finalist profile]