| Jim Young | |
| Birth Date: | 21 April 1935 |
| Player Years1: | 1954 |
| Player Team1: | Ohio State |
| Player Years2: | 1956 |
| Player Team2: | Bowling Green |
| Player Positions: | Fullback |
| Coach Years1: | 1957 |
| Coach Team1: | Bowling Green (GA) |
| Coach Years2: | 1958–1959 |
| Coach Team2: | Bowling Green (assistant) |
| Coach Years3: | 1960–1963 |
| Coach Team3: | Shawnee (OH) |
| Coach Years4: | 1964–1968 |
| Coach Team4: | Miami (OH) (assistant) |
| Coach Years5: | 1969–1972 |
| Coach Team5: | Michigan (DC) |
| Coach Years6: | 1973–1976 |
| Coach Team6: | Arizona |
| Coach Years7: | 1977–1981 |
| Coach Team7: | Purdue |
| Coach Years8: | 1983–1990 |
| Coach Team8: | Army |
| Coach Years9: | 1992–1994 |
| Coach Team9: | Arizona (assistant) |
| Overall Record: | 120–71–2 (college) 28–10–1 (high school) |
| Bowl Record: | 5–1 |
| Championships: | 1 WAC (1973) |
| Awards: | WAC Coach of the Year (1973) Big Ten Coach of the Year (1978) |
| Cfbhof Year: | 1999 |
| Cfbhof Id: | 1999 |
Jim Young (born April 21, 1935) is an American former college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Arizona (1973–1976), Purdue University (1977–1981), and the United States Military Academy (1983–1990), compiling a career head coaching record of 120–71–2. Young was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1999.
In addition to achieving a bowl game record of 5–1, Young was the interim coach for the 1969 Michigan Wolverines football team during the 1970 Rose Bowl, as Bo Schembechler was hospitalized following a mild heart attack.[1]
Prior to the last game of the 1976 season, Young inquired to athletic director Dave Strack about any coaching inquiries. Purdue and Illinois inquired about his services. The Boilermakers offered him a substantial raise to $60,000 a year.
On December 4, 1976, Purdue University hired Young away from Arizona.[2] [3] When Young arrived at Purdue, he named true freshman, Mark Herrmann as the team's starting quarterback, and the freshman lived up to expectations, throwing for 2,041 yards through the team's first eight games.[4] Herrmann broke the NCAA record for passing yards (2,453) and passing touchdowns (18) for freshman.[5] In 1978, Young lead Purdue to a 9–2–1 record, and a victory over Georgia Tech in the 1978 Peach Bowl. Young was named the Big Ten's Coach of the Year, the first Boilermaker head coach to ever win the award.[6] Throughout his career, Herrmann would break the Big Ten's all-time career passing yards (6,734) and passing touchdowns (48) before his senior season.[7] After a disappointing 1981 season, Young resigned from his position as head coach at Purdue, citing his desire to concentrate on athletic administration rather than deal with the intense pressure and recruiting that came with the head coach position.[8]
On December 30, 1982, Young was hired to serve as head coach at Army, which had just one winning season in the last ten years.[9] [10] He won two games that year. The following year proved to be historic for Army. The Cadets won seven games in the regular season, the most since 1977. They were invited to the 1984 Cherry Bowl for their first ever invitation to a bowl game. They beat Michigan State 10–6 for their first ever bowl victory. The following season saw them win their first five games to reach the AP Poll for the first time since 1962. They lost to Notre Dame the following week but rebounded to finish with an 8–3 regular season. They were invited to the Peach Bowl. They beat Illinois 31–29 to reach nine wins in a season for the first time since 1949. Young had just two losing seasons in eight years with Army, which saw them win nine games in 1988; Army would not win nine games again until 2020. Young led Army to three Commander-in-Chief's Trophys (1984, 1986, 1988).
On August 28, 1990, Young announced that he would retire at the end of the 1990 season for personal reasons. His defensive coordinator Bob Sutton was named the head coach for 1991.[11]
Young planned to retire after moving to Tucson, Arizona when he left Army. However, prior to the 1992 season, Dick Tomey inquired about Young possibly taking a job as an assistant on his program at Arizona, which Young accepted; he coached the offensive line for the next three seasons.[12]
Young went 51-39-1 at the program while going 5-3 in the Army-Navy Game. Young was inducted into the Army team Hall of Fame in 2012.[13]