Former Detroit Lions quarterback and assistant coach Greg Landy has died. He was 77 years old. The team announced his death Friday night.
The Lions took Landry, a native of Nashua, New Hampshire, with the 11th overall pick in the 1968 NFL Draft out of UMass. He played 11 seasons for the Lions (1968-78), with career record of 40-41-3 during his time in Detroit.
After splitting time with Bill Munson for a few seasons, Landry took over as the Lions' full-time starter in 1971 and earned his only career Pro Bowl selection that year (2,237 passing yards, 16 touchdown passes). His career-high for touchdown passes came in 1972 (18). Injuries derailed his career for a few years after that, but he won Comeback Player of the Year in 1976 (2,191 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns).
Landry was also a prolific runner, with more than 2,500 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns (nine in 1972) on the ground over his time with the Lions.
Former Lions quarterback Greg Landry dead at 77
The Lions traded Landry to the Baltimore Colts in 1979, and he played three seasons there with a 3-10-1 record as the starter. After two years in the USFL, with the Chicago Blitz (1983) and Arizona Wranglers (1984), he made one start back in the NFL for the Chicago Bears in 1984-against the Lions coincidentally.
Landry moved into coaching in 1985 as the quarterbacks coach for the Cleveland Browns under Marty Schottenheimer. He then spent seven seasons (1986-1992) on Mike Ditka's staff with the Bears, first as quarterbacks/wide receivers coach (1986-88) then as offensive coordinator (1989-1992). From there he spent two years as the offensive coordinator at the University of Illinois (1993-1994).
Landry returned to the Lions as quarterbacks coach in 1995, and he held that post for two seasons (1995-1996). Scott Mitchell had the best season of his career in that first season with Landry as his position coach (4,338 yards, 32 touchdowns, 59.3 percent completion percentage), as the Lions' passing attack finished second in the league.
Landry is fifth on the Lions' all-time passing yardage list (12,451 yards), with the fourth-most passing touchdowns in franchise history (80). He was inducted into the UMass Hall of Fame in 1980.
