Between head coaches Tom Nugent and Bill Peterson took to the sidelines for the Noles, for one season the team was led by head coach and athletic director Perry Moss for a single season in 1959. On this day that season, he recorded his first win.
In his first game as a head coach in Tallahassee, he was narrowly defeated by Wake Forest thanks to a fumble late in the game paving the way for Wake's winning drive for the 20-22 final score. After being down in the game 0-9, the Noles came from behind and held a 20-9 lead at one point.
On this day in 1959 however, Moss won his first game as our head coach, defeating The Citadel 47-6. The win snapped a 3-game losing streak for the Noles going back to the 1958 season and set a school record for total yards with 514. Over 300 of that was on the ground and over 200 through the air while holding their opponent to a mere 101 yards with only 25 of those being rushing on 24 carries. It was the most yards put up by FSU since they previously met The Citadel in 1955 for a 39-0 shutout victory.
The next game that season was against Miami. The Hurricanes scored a 2nd quarter touchdown for their only score of the game. The Noles were held shutout until 2:52 left in the game when they scored an 8 yard touchdown by Fred Pickard. Not wanting to play for a tie, Moss decided to go for two and did not convert, falling to Miami 6-7.
We all remember the scene in the movie We Are Marshall of Bobby Bowden coaching at West Virginia and helping the Marshall coaching staff after the tragic plane crash. Just as a coincidence, nearly a decade after coaching FSU, Moss was the head coach of Marshall in 1968 while Bobby was the WV offensive coordinator. They never played each other however.
Before setting records at FSU, he also did so as a player. His playing career began at the University of Tulsa where he won the 1945 Orange Bowl as the starting tailback before serving 2 years in the Air Force before enrolling at the University of Illinois. As the starting quarterback Illinois, he defeated UCLA in the Rose Bowl in 1947. The victory made him the first player in NCAA history to lead two different colleges to New Year's Day bowl wins.
Perry Moss passed away in August of last year at the age of 88. His coaching career stretched into parts of seven decades and was considered a coaching legend in the Orlando area. The Air Force veteran was the first head coach and general manager of the Orlando Predators and was one of the founding fathers of the Arena Football League. Moss became involved with Arena Football League founder James Foster in 1986, when he became a consultant for the league and helped write its rules. As a coach for the Predators, he guided them to a 59-25 regular season record (86-35-1 overall) and three championship game appearances.
In addition to coaching in college and the NFL, Moss also coached in the Canadian Football League, American Football League, United States Football League, Arena Football League, Arena2 and the European Professional Football League. He's probably the only coach to have his career span in so many arenas and even coached baseball at the University of Miami in 1955 while he was an assistant football coach. He only coached one season for the Hurricanes, but his win% is still behind only the greats Ron Fraser and Jim Morris.
Speaking on the number of coaching jobs he had, Moss once said, "I've not missed any leagues, at least none of the ones I have heard of. I've always been able to find a job and I've always been able to do what I've wanted to do since high school and that's being a football coach."
Jimbo Fisher has shown time and time again to be a great offensive mind which falls in line with all the great offensive minds who have graced our sidelines including the inventor of the I-formation, master of the veer, the wide open fast break offense and more. Perry Moss is no exception to all the great offensive minds we've had here and what his coaching success was tied to.
He also had a unique ability to adapt to changing times, stating in an interview once he said, "I've coached with, under and against all the big names – Bear Bryant, Don Shula, George Allen. I think I learned some football during that time. One thing I've always done is stay up with the game. I've never tried to get by on what I was coaching 10 years ago."
Considered a player's coach, Moss always deflected any praise to his players. "One thing I have learned over the years is no matter how good of a coach you think you are, no matter how much you teach, you have to have players to win."
His son Les Moss, after graduating from UCF and serving as an assistant coach under his father in Chicago, Detroit and Orlando, currently continues the coaching tradition as the head coach of the Jacksonville Sharks where he won the League Championship in his 2nd year.
In his first game as a head coach in Tallahassee, he was narrowly defeated by Wake Forest thanks to a fumble late in the game paving the way for Wake's winning drive for the 20-22 final score. After being down in the game 0-9, the Noles came from behind and held a 20-9 lead at one point.
On this day in 1959 however, Moss won his first game as our head coach, defeating The Citadel 47-6. The win snapped a 3-game losing streak for the Noles going back to the 1958 season and set a school record for total yards with 514. Over 300 of that was on the ground and over 200 through the air while holding their opponent to a mere 101 yards with only 25 of those being rushing on 24 carries. It was the most yards put up by FSU since they previously met The Citadel in 1955 for a 39-0 shutout victory.
The next game that season was against Miami. The Hurricanes scored a 2nd quarter touchdown for their only score of the game. The Noles were held shutout until 2:52 left in the game when they scored an 8 yard touchdown by Fred Pickard. Not wanting to play for a tie, Moss decided to go for two and did not convert, falling to Miami 6-7.
We all remember the scene in the movie We Are Marshall of Bobby Bowden coaching at West Virginia and helping the Marshall coaching staff after the tragic plane crash. Just as a coincidence, nearly a decade after coaching FSU, Moss was the head coach of Marshall in 1968 while Bobby was the WV offensive coordinator. They never played each other however.
Before setting records at FSU, he also did so as a player. His playing career began at the University of Tulsa where he won the 1945 Orange Bowl as the starting tailback before serving 2 years in the Air Force before enrolling at the University of Illinois. As the starting quarterback Illinois, he defeated UCLA in the Rose Bowl in 1947. The victory made him the first player in NCAA history to lead two different colleges to New Year's Day bowl wins.
Perry Moss passed away in August of last year at the age of 88. His coaching career stretched into parts of seven decades and was considered a coaching legend in the Orlando area. The Air Force veteran was the first head coach and general manager of the Orlando Predators and was one of the founding fathers of the Arena Football League. Moss became involved with Arena Football League founder James Foster in 1986, when he became a consultant for the league and helped write its rules. As a coach for the Predators, he guided them to a 59-25 regular season record (86-35-1 overall) and three championship game appearances.
In addition to coaching in college and the NFL, Moss also coached in the Canadian Football League, American Football League, United States Football League, Arena Football League, Arena2 and the European Professional Football League. He's probably the only coach to have his career span in so many arenas and even coached baseball at the University of Miami in 1955 while he was an assistant football coach. He only coached one season for the Hurricanes, but his win% is still behind only the greats Ron Fraser and Jim Morris.
Speaking on the number of coaching jobs he had, Moss once said, "I've not missed any leagues, at least none of the ones I have heard of. I've always been able to find a job and I've always been able to do what I've wanted to do since high school and that's being a football coach."
Jimbo Fisher has shown time and time again to be a great offensive mind which falls in line with all the great offensive minds who have graced our sidelines including the inventor of the I-formation, master of the veer, the wide open fast break offense and more. Perry Moss is no exception to all the great offensive minds we've had here and what his coaching success was tied to.
He also had a unique ability to adapt to changing times, stating in an interview once he said, "I've coached with, under and against all the big names – Bear Bryant, Don Shula, George Allen. I think I learned some football during that time. One thing I've always done is stay up with the game. I've never tried to get by on what I was coaching 10 years ago."
Considered a player's coach, Moss always deflected any praise to his players. "One thing I have learned over the years is no matter how good of a coach you think you are, no matter how much you teach, you have to have players to win."
His son Les Moss, after graduating from UCF and serving as an assistant coach under his father in Chicago, Detroit and Orlando, currently continues the coaching tradition as the head coach of the Jacksonville Sharks where he won the League Championship in his 2nd year.
