Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Florida legend recipient of Bryant Award
Schnellenberger led Miami to title, founded FAU program
Howard Schnellenberger, who led the Miami Hurricanes to their first national championship and was FAU’s inaugural football coach, will be the 2021 Paul “Bear” Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
According to the award’s website, the honor recognizes the career accomplishments of college football’s best coaches and “highlights the outstanding achievements and extraordinary contributions which have reflected honor and sportsmanship to the game of football throughout the coach’s career.”
Schellenberger said he was “truly honored” to be the recipient of the accolade, which has been awarded to coaches such as Bill Snyder (2020), Frank Beamer (2019) and Steve Spurrier (2018) in recent years.
“It is an even greater honor to be placed with past honorees, most of whom have been friends and colleagues at one time or another,” Schellenberger said after hearing the news, according to an American Heart Association news release. “I am reflecting on the five years we were with Coach Bryant at Alabama and the three national championships. Coach Bryant was always a mentor and friend, and one of my favorite memories is being tasked by Coach Bryant to recruit Joe Namath. We look forward to celebrating this Lifetime Achievement Award with everyone.”
Schnellenberger led the Miami Hurricanes to their first national championship in 1983. Hired by UM in 1979 after his tenure as offensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins, Schnellenberger installed a pro-style passing attack in Coral Gables that revitalized the program.
Schnellenberger also revolutionized how Miami recruited high school football talent, building a theoretical fence around South Florida and dubbing it the “State of Miami.”
With his offense and an emphasis on keeping local talent at home, the Hurricanes went 9-3 in the 1980 season, 9-2 in 1981 and 7-4 in 1982 before going 11-1 in 1983 and finishing with a No. 1 ranking in both major polls. Miami was ranked No. 5 heading into the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1984, when it beat then-top-ranked Nebraska 31-30 to win the title.
Schnellenberger gave way to the Jimmy Johnson era at UM when he became partowner, president, general manager and coach of The Spirit of Miami of the United States Football League following the championship. The franchise, relocating from Washington, instead moved to Orlando, where Schnellenberger would not follow it.
He began coaching Louisville in 1985, and the USFL ultimately ceased operation in 1986.
Schnellenberger founded the Owls football program for his final coaching stop after originally being hired as a consultant in 1998 to explore starting a football team at FAU. He became the head coach one year later ahead of the program’s first season in 2001.
The Owls went 4-6 in their inaugural season under Schnellenberger, 2-9 in 2002, 11-3 in 2003 and 9-3 in 2004 before becoming an NCAA Division I-A program and playing a full FBS opponent slate for the first time in 2005.
FAU took a step back in 2005 and 2006 before going 8-5 during the 2007 season, winning the 2007 Sun Belt Conference title and 2007 New Orleans Bowl for the program’s first bowl victory, a 44-27 win against Memphis. Schnellenberger was named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year for the 2007 season. He led the Owls to a 7-6 record the next season and their second consecutive bowl victory, winning the 2008 Motor City Bowl 24-21 over Central Michigan.
Schnellenberger coached at FAU’s on-campus stadium in Boca Raton during his final season with the Owls in 2011. FAU went 10-26 in its final three years under Schnellenberger before his retirement, and the stadium’s field was named after him in 2014. He was inducted into Palm Beach County’s Hall of Fame in 2008 and FAU’s Athletics Hall of
Fame in 2019.
For his career, Schnellenberger was a collegiate head football coach at Miami (1979-1984), Louisville (1985–1994), Oklahoma (1995) and FAU (1999-2011). He was also the Baltimore Colts head coach from 1973-74. During his college head coaching stints, he recruited more than 100 players who were later drafted by the NFL.
Schnellenberger finished his collegiate coaching career with a record of 158-151-3, 6-0 in bowl games, and was named the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year — awarded annually to a college coach by the Football Writers Association of America — after his final season with the Hurricanes.
He’ll accept the Lifetime Achievement Award at an annual awards dinner on Jan. 13, 2021, in Houston.