Former New England Patriots and Boston College Eagles head coach Mike Holovak passed away at the age of 88 on Sunday just hours before his former team left for Arizona to play in Super Bowl XLII.
“Mike Holovak was a great coach and a wonderful person,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement issued by the team. “I remember watching Mike’s Boston College teams in the 1950s and his Patriots teams in the 1960s.”
“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend time with him on several occasions. Our team has lost one of its founding fathers and the entire Patriots family is saddened by Mike’s passing.”
Holovak, the second winningest coach in Patriots history behind current coach Bill Belichick, coached at Boston College in the 1950’s, then became the Patriots head coach in 1961 replacing Lou Saban just five weeks into the season. The team was 2-3 and finished 9-4-1 after he took over. In 1963 he led the Patriots to AFL Championship game against the San Diego Chargers were they lost 51-10. Holovak was let go after the 1968 season and had a record of 53-47-9 with New England.
Former AFL MVP Gino Cappelletti weighed in on the loss:
“Mike was a mentor, a coach, a friend, and above all, a consummate gentleman. His contributions as coach and general manager in the critical early years of the Patriots’ franchise were monumental.”
He later moved on to become the vice president of player personnel and general manager of the Houston Oilers. He was still with the team in the 1990’s when they relocated to Tennessee and became the Titans.
“Mike was the quintessential ‘football guy,'” Titans owner Bud Adams Jr. said in a statement issued by Boston College. “It is rare when you see a person excel in all three areas of the sport: a great player in college, a successful coach and great talent evaluator, but Mike was one of the special people.”
He also coached or held administrative positions with the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders and New York Jets. He also played in the NFL with Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams.
A memorial service is planned for February 9th on the campus of Boston College.
