Pass-rushing tutor Teerlinck dies at age 69
INDIANAPOLIS, May 13, (AP): John Teerlinck loved teaching the art of pass rushing. His top students considered him the best instructor in league history.
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay announced Sunday on Twitter that Teerlinck, who spent nearly a quarter-century creating mayhem for NFL quarterbacks, had died. The Colts confirmed it was from Irsay’s account. Teerlinck was 69.
“Rest In Peace, John Teerlinck,” Colts owner Jim Irsay wrote on Twitter, announcing the death late Sunday. “One of our sport’s all-time greatest assistant coaches. And a Horseshoe guy, through-and-through.”
His prized pupils routinely showed everyone what they learned.
The late Chris Doleman, John Randle and Kevin Greene went on to have Hall of Fame careers. Four more players - Al “Bubba” Baker, Neil Smith, Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney - all finished their careers with at least 100 sacks. Thirty-one players made the Pro Bowl and at his final stop, Indianapolis, Teerlinck put together one of the most dynamic pass-rushing combinations in recent memory with Mathis and Freeney.
And yet, Teerlinck never served as a defensive coordinator or head coach in the league.
But those who knew Teerlinck understood without his imposing presence, booming voice and demanding tackling dummy drills, they would not have become household names.
“He was an innovator and his teachings were way ahead of his time,” Freeney said in a statement released by the Colts. “He taught me so much and I definitely would not have had the career I had if it wasn’t for him. I will miss him. Rest in peace my friend, the greatest dline coach of all-time.”
The real genius of Teerlinck was his ability to adapt his style to whomever he worked with.
When he took over as Minnesota’s defensive line coach, under defensive coordinator Tony Dungy in 1992, he inherited a proven pass-rushing demon in the late Chris Doleman and an emerging one in the previously undrafted Randle. Doleman recorded 27 sacks over the next two seasons and Randle made his first two Pro Bowl appearances under Teerlinck’s tutelage.
In 1995, Teerlinck left for Detroit where he took promising defensive end Robert Porcher and turned him into a three-time Pro Bowler. Porcher finished his career with 95 1/2 sacks.
“He was a great tactician, who taught me a lot, including telling me Brett Favre was going to get the snap when he opened his hands under center,” Porcher recalled. “He also had a big personality and a big body.”
After surviving a controversy in Detroit over allegedly teaching his players to tackle quarterbacks low, Teerlinck landed in Denver. There, he helped the Broncos finish in the league’s top 10 for sacks in 1997 and 1998 - both Super Bowl winnning seasons.