Pawnee Rock's Crosby honored by Hall of Fame

BY JIM MISUNAS

jmisunas@gbtribune.com

Kansas Hall of Fame inductee Steve Crosby credits Lorin Miller for believing in his lifetime goals.

Miller was the head football coach at Pawnee Rock High School prior to his legendary Barton Cougar Hall of Fame basketball coaching career. Miller met each football player to ask how football figured into their future life goals.

"I was a 14-year-old freshman (5-6, 110 pounds) when I told our football coach Lorin Miller my goal was to play professional football," Crosby said. "I wanted to coach professional football with (Don) Shula with the Miami Dolphins."

At Pawnee Rock, the Braves finished unbeaten during Crosby's senior football season in a graduation class of a dozen.

Crosby achieved his dream of playing in the NFL for the New York Giants along with a multi-faceted NFL coaching career that will be honored during a Kansas Hall of Fame induction July 25 at Mulvane's Kansas Casino.

"Coach Miller believed in me," Crosby said. "He's the coach who fed into what I accomplished. To this day, he still can't believe that a 14-year-old youngster could call his lifetime goals like that. It's unbelievable those dreams came true."

Coach Miller agreed that the best young football coach in the NFL was Don Shula.

Crosby (5-11, 205) earned All-America honors while playing quarterback and fullback at Fort Hays State while missing the 1971 season due to a U.S. Army commitment.

In the NFL, Crosby was an undersized but athletic fullback.

"Giants coach Bill Arnsbarger compared me to Jim Taylor of the Green Bay Packers," he said. "He told me, 'don't let your size take away anything that you want to accomplish.' "

He coached with Miami's Don Shula, San Diego's Marty Schottenheimer and Cleveland's Bill Belichick.

"Shula, Schottenheimer and Belichick are three of the best," Crosby said. "Shula was the best coach. He won more NFL games than anyone coaching against Tom Landry, Vince Lombardi, George Halas and Bud Grant."

Crosby coached with Shula's 1982 team, which lost the Super Bowl to John Riggins and the Washington Redskins.

"My fourth year, I'm coaching in the Super Bowl," Crosby said. "I coached in several conference championship games and we lost every one of them. You've got to keep players healthy and have some good luck."

Schottenheimer was Crosby's second-favorite NFL coach.

"Marty is the best coach I've seen who didn't win a Super Bowl," Crosby said. "He had the worst playoff luck of any NFL coach. Marty was a great coach, a terrific communicator who had great rapport with players."

Schottenheimer's best San Diego team (14-2) lost its 2006 home playoff game 24-21 to New England and quarterback Tom Brady.

The Chargers led 21-13 when Marion McCree fumbled the ball away after intercepting a Brady pass that could've sealed the playoff victory. The Patriots won 24-21 in overtime. The Indianapolis Colts beat the Patriots and Chicago Bears 29-17 to win the Super Bowl.

"In 2006, San Diego had the best team in the NFL," Crosby said.

Crosby coached with Miami, Atlanta, Cleveland, New England, Philadelphia and Vanderbilt University.

"Coaching at the NFL level is all about networking," Crosby said. "When I started, I was one of the youngest coaches in the NFL. I switched jobs because of better opportunities and coaching changes. I coached with Nick Saban in Cleveland. Coach Schottenheimer said I was the best running backs coach he ever had."

Crosby was notified of the Hall of Fame invitation by Fort Hays State radio broadcaster Gerard Wellbrock.

"I was aware I was nominated, but I was surprised. Until it happens, you don't know a lot about how it works."

https://www.kshof.org/event-details/2026-induction-ceremony-wichita-2

STEVE CROSBY RESUME

1974-1976—New York Giants, player

1977-1982—Miami Dolphins, scout, special teams, LB

1983-84; 1986-1989—Atlanta Falcons, RB, QB

1985—Cleveland Browns, RB

1990—New England Patriots, special teams, TE

1991-1995—Cleveland Browns, offensive coordinator, RB, QB

1996-1997—Philadelphia Eagles, scout

1998-2001—Vanderbilt, offensive coordinator, QB