Richie Petitbon

American football player and coach (born 1938)

American football player
Richie Petitbon
No. 17, 16
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1938-04-18) April 18, 1938 (age 86)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:206 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Jesuit
(New Orleans, Louisiana)
College:Tulane (1957–1958)
NFL draft:1959 / Round: 2 / Pick: 21
Career history
As a player:
  • Chicago Bears (1959–1968)
  • Los Angeles Rams (1969–1970)
  • Washington Redskins (1971–1972)
As a coach:
  • Washington Redskins (1978–1980)
    Defensive backs coach
  • Washington Redskins (1981–1992)
    Defensive coordinator
  • Washington Redskins (1993)
    Head coach
Career highlights and awards
As a player
As a coach
Career NFL statistics
Interceptions:48
Interception yards:801
Fumble recoveries:13
Defensive touchdowns:3
Head coaching record
Career:4–12 (.250)
Player stats at PFR
Coaching stats at PFR

Richard Alvin Petitbon (born April 18, 1938) is an American former football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Petitbon first attended Loyola University New Orleans on a track and field scholarship and left after his freshman year to play college football for the Tulane Green Wave.[1] After playing as a quarterback at Tulane,[2] he played as a safety for the Chicago Bears from 1959 to 1968, the Los Angeles Rams in 1969 and 1970, and the Washington Redskins in 1971 and 1972. Petitbon recorded the second most interceptions in Bears history with 37 during his career, trailing Gary Fencik.[3] Petitbon also holds the Bears' record for the longest interception return, after scoring on a 101-yard return against the Rams in 1962.[4] As of 2019[update], he also holds the Bears record for the most interceptions in a game—3 against the Green Bay Packers in 1967—and most interception return yards in a season (212 in 1962).[5]

Coaching career

He returned to the Redskins in 1978 as the defensive backs coach under Jack Pardee. From 1981 to 1992, he was the Redskins' defensive coordinator under head coach Joe Gibbs, either alone or sharing the job with Larry Peccatiello. During this time period, Petitbon was considered one of the top coordinators in football. When Gibbs initially retired in 1993, Petitbon was named his successor. He did not find the same success as a head coach, lasting only one season. Aging and underachieving, the team finished 4–12 and Petibon was dismissed by Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke in favor of archrival Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Following his firing, Petitbon never took another job in the NFL.

Personal life

His brother, John Petitbon, also played in the NFL. Both Petitbon brothers are members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame.[6]

Head coaching record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
WAS 1993 4 12 0 .250 5th in NFC East

References

  1. ^ "Richie Petitbon". lasportshall.com. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  2. ^ "Gridiron great". Tulane News.
  3. ^ Mayer, Larry. "Tillman repeats stellar performance". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2012-10-08.
  4. ^ "Reed rumbles 108 yards for NFL record | Longest interception returns by team". Pro Football Hall of Fame. 2008-11-24. Retrieved 2014-06-02.
  5. ^ "NFL Interception Return Yards Single-Season Leaders". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  6. ^ NOLA.com

External links

  • Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
  • v
  • t
  • e
Tulane Green Wave starting quarterbacks
  • Lyle Richeson
  • Lester Lautenschlaeger (1924–1925)
  • Johnny Menville (1927–1928)
  • Dick Baumbach
  • Red Dawson (1931)
  • Barney Mintz
  • Dick Page
  • Bobby Kellogg (1939)
  • Jim Ely (1940)
  • Bobby Glass (1941)
  • Lou Thomas (1942)
  • Dub Jones (1943)
  • Bennie Ellender (1944, 1947)
  • Ernest Crouch (1945)
  • Jim Keeton (1946)
  • Joe Ernst (1948–1950)
  • Fred Dempsey (1951)
  • Peter Clement (1952–1953)
  • Fred Wilcox (1954)
  • Gene Newton (1955–1956)
  • Carleton Sweeney (1957)
  • Richie Petitbon (1958)
  • Phil Nugent (1959–1960)
  • Jack Domingue (1961)
  • Ted Miller (1962)
  • Al Burguieres (1963)
  • David East (1964)
  • Bobby Duhon (1965–1967)
  • Wayne Francingues (1968)
  • Rusty Lachaussee (1969)
  • Mike Walker (1970–1971)
  • Steve Foley (1972–1974)
  • Terry Looney (1974)
  • Buddy Gilbert (1975)
  • Roch Hontas (1976–1979)
  • Nickie Hall (1980)
  • Mike McKay (1981–1982)
  • Bubby Brister (1983)
  • Jon English (1983)
  • Wade Elmore (1983)
  • Mark Massey (1983)
  • Ken Karcher (1984–1985)
  • Terrence Jones (1986–1988)
  • Deron Smith (1989–1990)
  • Jerome Woods (1991)
  • Billy Duncan (1992)
  • Shawn Meadows (1992)
  • Craig Randall (1993)
  • Tracey Watts (1994)
  • Aley Demarest (1995)
  • Shaun King (1995–1998)
  • Patrick Ramsey (1999–2001)
  • J. P. Losman (2000–2003)
  • Lester Ricard (2004–2006)
  • Richard Irvin (2004)
  • Scott Elliott (2005, 2007)
  • Anthony Scelfo (2007)
  • Kevin Moore (2008, 2010)
  • Joe Kemp (2009)
  • Ryan Griffin (2009–2012)
  • Devin Powell (2012–2015)
  • D.J. Ponder (2012)
  • Nick Montana (2013–2014)
  • Tanner Lee (2014–2015)
  • Jordy Joseph (2015)
  • Glen Cuiellette (2016)
  • Johnathan Brantley (2016–2017)
  • Jonathan Banks (2017–2018)
  • Justin McMillan (2018–2019)
  • Keon Howard (2020)
  • Michael Pratt (2020–2023)
  • Kai Horton (2021, 2023)
  • Justin Ibieta (2022)
  • v
  • t
  • e
Chicago Bears 1959 NFL draft selections
  • v
  • t
  • e
Washington Commanders head coaches
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021)

# denotes interim head coach

  • v
  • t
  • e
Chicago Bears 1963 NFL champions
  • v
  • t
  • e
Washington Redskins Super Bowl XVII champions
  • v
  • t
  • e
Washington Redskins Super Bowl XXII champions
  • v
  • t
  • e
Washington Redskins Super Bowl XXVI champions
  • v
  • t
  • e
90 Greatest Washington Commanders
Administration
George Allen
Bobby Beathard
Joe Bugel
Ray Flaherty
Joe Gibbs
Larry Peccatiello
Richie Petitbon