Former Memphis football coach Stobart dies at 90
Chuck Stobart, who was the coach for Memphis football from 1989-94, died Tuesday in Arizona, his son Greg confirmed to The Commercial Appeal. He was 90.
Stobart was 29-36-1 during his Memphis tenure. He led the Tigers to three consecutive winning seasons from 1992-94. It was the longest streak in the program since the Tigers had five consecutive winning seasons from 1973-77.
“He was a mentor to me. He poured himself in to me as a young coach,” said Randy Fichtner, who coached with Stobart at both USC and Memphis. “He was a really hard worker and loved the game. He was just always a forward-thinker offensively and did a lot of good things.”
Stobart was also the coach at Toledo (1977-81) and Utah (1982-84) as well as offensive coordinator at Pittsburgh (1985), Arizona (1986) and USC (198788). He ended his coaching career as Ohio State offensive coordinator in 2000, where he spent his final six seasons.
Following his retirement, Stobart moved to Arizona with his wife Diana.
Greg Stobart recalled his father was still competitive after his coaching days. It wasn’t surprising that when he played golf or cornhole with his children and their friends, the elder Stobart would always find ways to win.
“He was a father, a friend, leader, companion. He loved life. He loved people,” Greg Stobart said. “He was a blessing to us as a family. An extremely hard worker . ... he just learned that work ethic that’s hard to instill in people but had that work ethic you can admire. The drive he had was phenomenal.”
On Stobart’s watch, the Tigers had two road wins over nationally ranked teams. The Tigers defeated No. 17 USC 24-10 in 1991 and No. 25 Mississippi State 45-35 in 1993. Both are the last times Memphis has beaten a ranked team away from home.
The 1993 Tigers finished with three wins over SEC opponents, including wins at Arkansas and at home over Ole Miss. The 1994 Tigers (6-5) were the last Memphis team to finish with a winning record until 2003.
Stobart was a former quarterback at Ohio from 1955-59. He later served as Marshall offensive coordinator in 1965 and was an assistant under Bo Schembechler at both Miami of Ohio (1967-68) and Michigan (1969-76).
At Toledo, he was named MAC Coach of the Year in 1979 and led the school to the MAC Championship in 1981.
Nineteen players under Stobart were selected in the NFL Draft, including Steve Matthews, Russell Copeland and Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Isaac Bruce. Two of his former players Bruce and Danton Barto - have their numbers retired by the program.
Several of Stobart’s assistants also had productive coaching careers. Keith Butler, the Tigers’ linebacker coach under Stobart, spent 19 seasons as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers, including serving as defensive coordinator from 2015-21.
Fichtner, who served as Memphis quarterbacks coach from 1990-93 and offensive coordinator from 2001-06, spent 14 seasons as an assistant with the Steelers. He was the Steelers offensive coordinator from 2018-20 and credited Stobart with helping develop his coaching acumen.
“As far as a mentor and someone that deeply touched my career,” Fichtner said. “Chuck would be as strong as anybody that ever helped me. He guided me to make wise decisions and do things right.”