Jack Elway; College Football Coach Guided Career of Quarterback Son

Jack Elway, an innovative college football coach in the 1970s and ‘80s and the father of former NFL star John Elway, died Sunday morning at his home in Palm Springs, apparently of a heart attack. He was 69.

The senior Elway retired last year as director of pro scouting for the National Football League’s Denver Broncos. He was serving as a team consultant for the NFL draft and had attended meetings Friday in Denver with his son, the former Broncos quarterback, before returning to Palm Springs.

Elway spent more than 30 years coaching football. His teams at Cal State Northridge, San Jose State and Stanford were known for their one-back, wide-open passing attacks. His down-to-earth, unassuming personality left a lasting impression on many.

“He was a first-class individual in every way,” Broncos Coach Mike Shanahan said Monday.

“I don’t know one person who met the man and didn’t like him for what he was,” said Dave Baldwin, offensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati and a former Elway assistant.

Perhaps Elway’s greatest accomplishment was guiding the football career of his son, who quarterbacked the Broncos to Super Bowl victories in 1998 and 1999.

When John Elway retired in May of 1999, the elder Elway said, “If I had drawn a blueprint for what you want a son to be, I would have undersold this one. I’m proud of him as a football player, but I’m prouder to be able to call him my best friend.”

By the time John entered Granada Hills High in 1976, Elway knew his son had a special talent for throwing the football. When John became the most sought-after high school quarterback in the nation, Jack joked about having the inside track on recruiting him. But John Elway ended up going to Stanford, while his father coached at San Jose State.

“What you saw is what you got--he was honest, humorous, very competitive and a good friend,” said Bob Hiegert, commissioner of the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. and former Northridge athletic director.

Jack Elway was born May 30, 1931, in Hoquiam, Wash. He played quarterback at Washington State and was a high school coach in Washington and Montana during the 1960s. Elway was an assistant coach at Montana (1967-71) and Washington State (1972-75) before being hired to take over a struggling Northridge program in 1976. He had 8-3 and 7-3-1 records in his first two seasons with the NCAA Division II Matadors, including victories over Division I foes Nevada and Cal State Fullerton.

After a 5-5 season at Northridge in 1978, he went to coach at San Jose State (1979-83) and Stanford (1984-88).

Elway also coached the Frankfurt Galaxy in the World Football League in 1991-92 and scouted for the NFL’s New York Jets in 1990.

He worked in the Broncos’ scouting department from 1993 to 1999. He was inducted into the Northridge Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997 and into San Jose State’s Ring of Honor in 1998.

Though a chain smoker during his coaching days, Elway had recently lost weight and appeared fit, friends said.

In addition to his son, Elway is survived by his wife, Jan, daughters Lee Ann and Jana, and eight grandchildren.