John Payne (American football)

John D. Payne (born May 15, 1933) is a former American collegiate and professional football coach. He served as head coach for the Saskatchewan Roughriders (1973–1976), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1978–1980) and Ottawa Rough Riders (1996) of the Canadian Football League (CFL), compiling a career record of 62–63–3. Payne also was the head football coach at Abilene Christian University from 1985 to 1990, posting a mark of 26–34–2.

Coaching career
After serving as an assistant with Central High School and BYU, Payne moved to the Canadian Football League in 1968. He served as an assistant with the Edmonton Eskimos, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders before becoming the Roughriders head coach in 1973. In his four season as head coach, Payne had a 40–23–1 record and led Saskatchewan to the 1976 Grey Cup.

In 1977, Payne left the Roughriders and joined the Detroit Lions. Payne and the rest of the coaching staff was fired at the end of the season. He returned to the CFL, replacing Tom Dimitroff as head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats five games into the 1978 season. He had some success with Hamilton, compiling a 18–24–1 record over three seasons and leading the team to the 1980 Grey Cup. After the Tiger-Cats thirty point loss in the Grey Cup, owner Harold Ballard indicated that he preferred recently fired Arizona State football coach Frank Kush over Payne, which lead to his resignation.

Payne returned to football in 1985 as the head coach at Abilene Christian University located in Abilene, Texas. He was the Wildcats head coach for six seasons and had a coaching record of 26–34–2.

Payne returned to the CFL in 1993 as the offensive line coach for the Sacramento Gold Miners. In 1996, Payne, then an assistant with the Ottawa Rough Riders, was promoted to head coach. He coached the team to a 3–11 record. The Rough Riders ceased operations after the season and Payne became the final coach in the 120 year history of the team.

On November 18, 1997, the New York CityHawks of the Arena Football League named Payne offensive coordinator.