Bob Hollway

Robert "Bob" Hollway (January 29, 1926–March 13, 1999) was an football coach who served at both the collegiate and professional levels, and was head coach of the National Football League's St. Louis Cardinals for two seasons beginning in 1971.

Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Hollway natural ly matriculated to the University of Michigan, playing three seasons with the Wolverines. During this period, the team competed in the Rose Bowl twice.

After graduating in 1950, Hollway entered the coaching ranks the following year as an assistant at the University of Maine. After two seasons, he returned to the state of Michigan as both an assistant football and head basketball coach at Eastern Michigan University in 1953. The following year, Hollway began the first of a dozen years at his alma mater, working with the Wolverine interior line.

On January 22, 1966, Hollway announced he was resigning to enter private business, but that time away, which included doing radio commentary on Wolverine games, lasted only one season before he came back as defensive line coach of the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings under new head coach Bud Grant. During his first season with the team, he helped shape a group of linemen who became known as the "Purple People Eaters," including two future Hall of Famers in Carl Eller and rookie Alan Page. Over the next three years, Hollway was promoted to defensive coordinator.

Four years of success, including an appearance in Super Bowl IV, raised Hollway's profile and led to his hiring as head coach of the Cardinals on February 12, 1971. However, the team was unable to beat out either the Dallas Cowboys or the resurgent Washington Redskins over the next two seasons, with Hollway paying the price with his dismissal on December 18, 1972, one day after the end of the 1972 NFL season. The Cardinals finished 4-9-1 in both of Hollway's seasons with the Cardinals, as the team suffered through numerous injuries and inconsistent play at quarterback, as Hollway shuffled between Jim Hart, Pete Beathard and Gary Cuozzo with little success, despite the presence of fleet wide receiver John Gilliam (who was traded to Minnesota in 1972) and future Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Jackie Smith.

Hollway once again returned to Michigan upon the firing, becoming a Detroit Lions' assistant under Don McCafferty in 1973. However, McCafferty died suddenly during the team's 1974 training camp, and after the season ended, Hollway became the defensive backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers. When 49ers head coach Dick Nolan was replaced, Hollway became defensive backfield coach with the expansion Seattle Seahawks in 1976.

In April 1978, Hollway resigned to again serve as defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings, but became involved in controversy when the Seahawks claimed the Vikings had tampered with him while still under contract. Minnesota reached the postseason that year, but then would not return until the expanded 1982 playoffs.

Following the retirement of Grant at the conclusion of the 1983 NFL season, Hollway was demoted to quality control assistant, serving primarily as a personnel director and scout.

Hollway's son Michael is the head football coach at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. His son Bruce is a managing partner for John Hancock Financial Network in Maple Grove, Minnesota.