George Frederick “Fred” Hoaglin, the former New York Giants offensive line coach who helped mold the units that powered two Super Bowl championship teams, died Aug. 1 in South Carolina. He was 82.
Hoaglin’s time with the Giants from 1985 through 1992 stands as the highlight of a long football life that began on the fields of eastern Ohio and stretched across more than three decades as a player and coach.
Under Bill Parcells, and working alongside assistants including Tom Coughlin, he guided the offensive line during a stretch that produced Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXV victories.
In those eight seasons the Giants finished 79-48. Their 7-2 playoff mark during Hoaglin’s tenure made him, by the franchise’s own accounting, its most successful offensive line coach. The lines he coached protected the quarterback and opened holes for the running game in an era when the Giants built a reputation for tough, physical football.
Years later, Hall of Fame linebacker Harry Carson recalled asking Hoaglin about reuniting the 1986 championship team. Hoaglin told him that whenever he drove to practice, he felt lucky to have those players because they made his job easy.
“They were the best group of guys that he ever coached,” Carson said.
Before he ever arrived in New Jersey, Hoaglin had already built a solid playing résumé. Born Jan. 28, 1944, in Alliance, Ohio, he grew up in nearby East Palestine. He starred as a three-sport athlete at East Palestine High School, helping the football team capture a Tri-County League championship in 1960.
He graduated in 1962 and later earned induction into the school’s Hall of Fame.
He did not initially envision a professional football career. Hoaglin recalled being tall but thin, weighing only 170 pounds when Pittsburgh assistant coach Steve Petro offered him a scholarship. At Pitt he shifted from tackle to center and became a starter in 1965. He also played in the North-South All-Star Game and earned a degree in industrial engineering in 1968.
The Cleveland Browns selected him in the sixth round of the 1966 NFL draft, 93rd overall. An injury to starting center John Morrow opened the door, and Hoaglin started the final six games of his rookie season. He became a full-time starter in 1967 and helped Cleveland win three consecutive division titles from 1967 through 1969. In 1969 he earned the only Pro Bowl selection of his career.
Hoaglin later played for the Baltimore Colts, Houston Oilers and the expansion Seattle Seahawks. He finished an 11-year playing career with 142 games and 89 starts.
His coaching path began with the Detroit Lions in 1978. After the successful run with the Giants, he followed Parcells to New England in 1993 and coached the Patriots’ offensive line through their 1996 AFC championship season. He then joined Coughlin in Jacksonville, coaching tight ends through 2001. The Jaguars reached the AFC championship game in 1999.
For Giants fans, though, Hoaglin remains most closely tied to the championship years of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The offensive lines he coached formed a foundation for teams that delivered two Super Bowl titles and established a standard of toughness that still resonates with the organization.
Hoaglin is survived by his wife, Jan, two children, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His death closes a chapter on a football life that touched multiple franchises, yet left its deepest imprint on the New York Giants.
