The Colts announced the death of longtime defensive line coach John Teerlinck on Sunday night.
Teerlinck, who was 69 at the time of his death, finished his time as an NFL assistant by coaching the defensive line in Indianapolis from 2002 to 2012. Teerlinck coached stars like Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis during his time with the Colts and Mathis called Teerlinck the best pass rushing coach of all time in a Twitter post after Teerlinck’s death.
Teerlinck played defensive line at Western Illinois and was a 1974 fifth-round pick of the Chargers. He appeared in 20 games over two seasons and then moved into coaching on the college level.
He jumped to the NFL as the defensive line coach with the Browns in 1989 and went on to hold the same role with the Rams, Vikings, Lions and Broncos before joining the Colts. He coached Hall of Famers Chris Doleman and John Randle while with the Vikings and Randle chose Teerlinck to present him at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Our condolences go out to Teerlinck’s family and friends on their loss.