Bruce Coslet

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Bruce Coslet (born August 5, 1946) is a former American college and professional football player and professional football coach.

A tight end, he played for the University of the Pacific and in 1969 debuted with the American Football League's Cincinnati Bengals.

He played for the Bengals in the NFL through 1976.

Early life

Coslet was born in Oakdale, California and graduated from Oakdale High School. He played college football at the University of the Pacific before playing for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1969 to 1976.

Personal life

Coslet is a member of The Delta Upsilon fraternity.

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Coaching career

Under head coach Sam Wyche, Coslet was named the Bengals' offensive coordinator in 1986. In his first year in the position, Cincinnati's offense ranked first in total yards and third in total points scored, while the Bengals finished the season with a 10-6 record. The team did not win the playoffs, but they were one of four teams in the AFC that finished 10-6 and did not have any tiebreakers favoring them. In 1987, the Bengals ranked fifth in total yards under Coslet, but they were unable to score many points and ended the season with a 4-11 record.

However, Coslet's offensive unit had the best scoring and top yardage producing offense in 1988, which was yet to come. It helped the Bengals finish 12-4 and reach the Super Bowl, but the Bengals lost to the San Francisco 49ers. Despite Cincinnati's inability to return to the playoffs in 1989, Coslet's team was ranked fourth most points and third most total yards in the league when they earned their fourth most points and third most total yards in the league.

With his success as an assistant, Coslet discovered himself as a head coach and was hired by the New York Jets for the 1990 season.

Coslet took over a Jets team that had finished 4-12 under Joe Walton last year and also raised the team's fortunes marginally. For the first half of the season, the Jets were hovering around.500, but a five-game losing streak took away any hopes of that. The Jets defeated the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their last two games of the year.

The Jets did not start out particularly well in 1991 as the team lost their first three games against Tampa Bay in the first week. In eight games, Coslet led the team to six victories in the team's next eight games, putting the Jets into playoff contention at 7-5. The Jets were left 7-8 after losing their next three games. Nonetheless, the Jets were in charge of their own playoff destiny, as a victory in Week 17 would guarantee a Wild Card berth. In the finale, the Jets knocked off the Miami Dolphins, giving Coslet his first playoff appearance as a head coach. The Houston Oilers lost in the Wild Card round, but the Houston Oilers were up for second in the Wild Card round.

The 1992 Coslet team was plagued by injuries and ineffective instruction by Coslet, preventing them from doing any favors for the new starting quarterback Browning Nagle, who was named the starter after longtime veteran starter Ken O'Brien was suspended for most of the first half of the season. Two of the injuries were expected to be career-limiting. Al Toon, the Denver Broncos' quarterback, sustained his ninth concussion of his career in Week 10 and was forced to leave the game after the game. Then, against the Kansas City Chiefs, a defensive ends Scott Mersereau and Dennis Byrd collided with defensive end Dennis Byrd leaving Byrd with a fractured neck and briefly paralyzed. Despite the fact that the Jets went 4-12, two of the team's victories came against AFC East division champion Miami and the eventual AFC champion Buffalo Bills.

Coslet was retained for 1993, but the Jets also made an attempt to upgrade the quarterback position by trading for veteran Boomer Esiason, whom Coslet had worked with during his time in Cincinnati. However, he was given a concrete instruction by management: if the Jets did not make the playoffs in 1993, Coslet would be fired at the end of the season, regardless of the team's record. The Jets were 2-4 and playing in a Halloween matchup against their in-stadium rivals, the 5-1 Giants, and things didn't get off to a promising start after the first six games. The Jets managed to put on an upset by beating the Giants 10-6 and then building on that momentum to victories in their next four games, led by a 6-0 victory over the Patriots to advance to 7-4.

However, the Jets' fortunes changed drastically after that time. The Indianapolis Colts, a lowly Indianapolis Colts team, had only won three times and had lost seven of their previous eight games. The Jets then traveled to Washington to face the battling Redskins, who had also lost three games, but they were able to pull out a 3-0 win. The Dallas Cowboys, the defending world champions, lost 28-7 at home and after a 16-14 loss in Buffalo, the Jets were left with a must-win game against the Houston Oilers in Week 18. The Oilers had started the game on a ten-game winning streak and had not lost a single game in the Astrodome all season; the overmatched Jets lost 24-0, and Coslet was fired the next day.

In 1994, Coslett returned to the Bengals, where they now under Dave Shula's guidance, and retook his offensive coordinator role. Since the team was one of the league's most consistently losing teams, Cincinnati was not the same place Coslet had left. In his first two years as coordinator Coslet's offensive unit hovered around the middle of the league in yards and points scored, though the Bengals won a total of ten games. Starting with a change in philosophy, the team did start to show some promising spots on offense, starting with a change in philosophy. After seven games, the Bengals finally gave up on poor first round draft pick David Klingler and benched him in favour of Jeff Blake, who had been recalled from the Jets where Coslet had worked him. Blake nearly beat the Dallas Cowboys in his first game after the change paid dividends right away, and the two-time super bowl champions were almost unveiled. Blake developed a rapport with young wide receivers Carl Pickens and Darnay Scott, who were his two primary targets, and Coslet's playcalling exploited it to his advantage.

Pickens had over 1,000 yards on 71 attempts, and rookie Scott had 866 on 46 receptions; by comparison, the 1993 Bengals saw no receiver record more than 76 yards or 654 yards in the new setup). In 1995, Coslet's offensive unit improved significantly, as Blake threw for over 3,800 yards and made the Pro Bowl, while Pickens added 17 touchdowns and 1,234 yards to join Blake. Scott finished 821 yards, while tight end Tony McGee caught 55 passes for 754 yards. Despite the fact that the yardage was not available, Coslet's offense came in fourth place in total touchdowns with 29.

Shula resigned and Coslet was promoted to the head coaching role after a rough start to the 1996 season. Despite the Bengals' inability to make the playoffs, Coslet led the team to a 7-2 finish and the offensive staff was back in the NFL's top 10. Pickens and Scott were a good 1-2 combo for the third year in a row, while Scott had 58 catches for 833 yards. Blake threw for 3,624 yards, but not enough to make the Pro Bowl; Pickens was the offense's only representative.

Despite Coslet's loss of 7-9 in 1997, the offense ranked in the top ten in points scored and total yards. Boomer Esiason, who the Bengals recalled in the offseason and who replaced a largely ineffective Blake with five games remaining in the season, was the bulk of the reason. Esiason gained four of his starts in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, where he only lost by four touchdown passes before being defeated on a late field penalty. In his limited game, Esiason threw 13 touchdown passes against two interceptions. Despite Scott and Pickens' receiving numbers dropping drastically, Scott led the team with 54 catches and 797 yards, but Pickens only managed 52 catches in 695 yards in four games, missing four games. Corey Dillon, the team's new star in emerging rookie running back Corey Dillon, who has amassed over 1,100 yards despite only being on the field for six total starts, was a new star in emerging rookie running back Corey Dillon, who had 677 yards despite his passing through despite only passing through his passing out of six touchdowns,'s, catches and 797 yards, but the team's only played in 695 yards in six touchdowns in six touchdowns in six games in despite only starting his first a game despite only rushing despite only despite only finished despite only had rushing rushing Corey Dillon's and only Corey Dillon's and only he's's.

The 1998 Bengals took a nosedive, finishing at 3-13. Veteran Neil O'Donnell, who had just been released from a multi-million-dollar long-term contract with the Jets before the 1996 season, was chosen to start the job. O'Donnell, Blake, Paul Justin, and Eric Kresser were among the starting quarterbacks for the team this year, with O'Donnell leading the team in wins with just two. Despite this, Pickens returned to form, leading the team in catches and yards, while Scott led the team with seven touchdowns. Dillon ran for 1,100 yards again after starting in halftime and then rushing for 1,100 yards.

Coslet's 1999 squad did not do well, and started out by losing ten of its first eleven games. Blake was the starter for the majority of the year, with rookie Akili Smith receiving four starts. Despite winning three of his games, Blake was able to throw for 2,670 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Smith showed the frustrations that would define his career would be limited to only throwing two touchdowns versus six interceptions. Despite the offense's failure, Dillon surpassed 1,000 yards by rushing for only 1,200 yards and led the team in catches, yards, and touchdowns. Pickens could only muster 57 passes for 737 yards. Pickens, in addition, was highly critical of Coslet toward the end of the season and blasted the team for keeping him on despite the last two seasons.

The Bengals decided to restructure their roster in the 1999 offseason. Blake was allowed to leave the free agency and signed with the New Orleans Saints. Pickens was drafted and spent his remaining season with the Tennessee Titans. Scott did not play at all in the 2000 season, but Smith was named starter. The offense was supposed to be focusing on Dillon, Scott, and Peter Warrick, the highly coveted first draft pick. However, Coslet's team failed in their first game as a unit against the newly formed Cleveland Browns, losing 24-7. The Jacksonville Jaguars shut down Coslet's 14-0 team next week. Coslet resigned the next day after suffering their third straight loss, this one against the eventual Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens, a 37-0 loss, and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau handed over the team to defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.

After a year off, Coslet was recruited by Cowboys head coach Dave Campo to serve as his offensive coordinator. Both points scored and total yards were ranked in the top of the league, with Coslet's unit ranked near the bottom of the league in both points scored and total yards. Emmitt Smith's streak of 1,000 yards broke at eleven under Coslet, despite being the NFL's all-time rushing record. Smith also had five touchdowns, two of whom were off his career lows. Neither of his starting quarterbacks, Chad Hutchinson or Quincy Carter, were highly effective. Bill Parcells was recruited as head coach after a 5-11 finish in the third straight under Campo, but Coslet was not retained. He hasn't been in a coaching role since.

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