Lindy Infante, who was chosen the NFL’s coach of the year in 1989 in Green Bay and later coached the Colts, has died at the age of 75.
Infante was a well-regarded offensive mind who led the Packers to a 10-6 record in that 1989 season, ending a long run of futility in Green Bay that had seen the Packers fail for 16 straight years to win more than eight games. He was fired as head coach of the Packers after going 4-12 in 1991. He returned as a head coach in 1996 with the Colts and took the team to the playoffs in his first season, but he was fired after going 3-13 in his second season. (The Colts had the worst record in the NFL that year and would go on to select Peyton Manning with the first overall pick in the draft.)
Infante played college football at Florida, where he was a very good running back. He’s a member of the school’s Hall of Fame. Infante also started his coaching career as an assistant at Florida and had several college jobs before he left for the NFL. In 1982 he was the offensive coordinator of a Bengals team that made it to the Super Bowl, and the next year he left the NFL to become head coach of the Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League. After the USFL went belly-up, Infante became offensive coordinator of the Browns and did well there for two years, leading the Packers to hire him.
Although Infante’s career head-coaching record was only 36-60, he’ll be remembered for innovative offenses that moved NFL passing games forward.