Ron Erhardt, who coached the Patriots from 1979 to 1981 and ran the offenses for two Super Bowl winning Giants teams, has died at the age of 80.
The Patriots announced the sad news on Wednesday afternoon and North Dakota State University, which Erhardt coached to great success, also released a statement. Erhardt coached the Patriots to a 21-27 record during his three years as a head coach, including the 1980 season when the Pats set a club record with 441 points that was not broken until 2007.
After leaving the Patriots, Erhardt went to the Giants where he ran the offense under Bill Parcells. The Giants won Super Bowls XXI and XXV with Erhardt calling the plays for a powerful rushing attack. The latter win came with Jeff Hostetler at quarterback after Phil Simms was injured late in the season and featured a fine job by Erhardt as he helped keep the powerful Bills offense off the field by dominating time of possession in a 20-19 victory.
Erhardt moved on to Pittsburgh after Parcells left the Giants and was the offensive coordinator for the team that lost Super Bowl XXX to the Cowboys. During that season, Erhardt helped give Kordell Stewart his “Slash” nickname by utilizing him in a variety of ways on offense. He wound up his NFL coaching career back in New York under Parcells with the Jets.