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| Date of Birth: |
05/29/1981 |
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| Biography: |
The Vikings on Jan. 24, 2006, hired Fred Pagac (pronounced PUG-itch) to coach linebackers. Pagac comes to the Vikings with 24 seasons of coaching experience, including five
in the NFL.
He made his reputation tutoring standout defenses at his alma mater, Ohio State, where he spent
19 seasons on the sideline. Pagac coached Buckeye LBs from 1982-95 before taking over as defensive coordinator from 1996-99. During his tenure at OSU, Pagac had 10 players earn All-America honors,
including Vikings CB Antoine Winfield, who earned the Thorpe Award as the top collegiate defensive back.
Pagac started for three years at TE for the Buckeyes before moving on to an NFL career with Chicago (1974) and
Tampa Bay (1976).
He got his start coaching in 1978 under the legendary Woody Hayes. Pagac moved to the NFL as LBs coach in Oakland from 2001-03 before moving across the AFC West to Kansas City for 2004-05. The 2002 Raiders ranked No. 11 in the NFL in total defense and were No. 3 against the run as the team won the AFC and faced Tampa Bay in Super Bowl XXXVII. This season in Kansas City, the Chiefs ranked No. 7 in the NFL against the run, tied for No. 6 in the NFL with 31 takeaways and were tied for No. 4 in the NFL with 15 recovered fumbles.
“I’ve had an opportunity to coach against Fred Pagac’s linebackers for a
lot of years in the Big Ten from when I was with the University of Illinois on,” Childress said. “He has coached
many, many professional athletes. He coached Napoleon Harris on this team when he was in Oakland. Fred
broke in with Oakland and Jon Gruden gives him awful high marks. I’ve had a professional relationship with
him for probably 20 years now and I’ve always admired the toughness and tenacity of his linebackers.”
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