1974 Profile: Bill Arnsparger

Head Coach
"Three days after his Miami Dolphins' 'No Name' defense had throttled the Minnesota Vikings in the 1974 Super Bowl, William Stephen 'Bill' Arnsparger became the ninth head coach in Giant history. He had served under Don Shula for four seasons at Miami, initially as Defensive Coordinator and then as Assistant Head Coach.
Bill came to Miami in 1970- one year after Miami had finished with a 3-10-1 record and allowed 332 points scored to the opposition. In Arnsparger's first campaign as chief defensive aide, the Dolphins rose to a 10-4 record and a playoff berth while limiting the opposition to 228 points. In 1971, the record was 10-3-1 with but 174 points allowed, and in 1972 when Miami went undefeated en route to a Super Bowl crown, the defense allowed but 171 points, the fewest in the NFL, including three shutouts. Last year, with a 12-2 record and a second Super Bowl title, the Dolphins allowed but 150 points, again the lowest in the NFL, with two shutouts and four other victories in which no touchdowns were allowed.
Bill was affiliated with Shula for nine years in the NFL, joining Shula's staff at Baltimore in 1964 as chief defensive aide. He served with the Colts through 1968 on four playoff teams, then rejoined Shula in Miami in 1970. Prior to being named at Baltimore, Arnsparger's coaching background included assistant stints at Tulane (1962-63), Kentucky (1954-61), Ohio State (1951-53) and at his alma mater, Miami of Ohio (1959).
Of Dutch descent, Bill was born on December 16, 1926 in Paris, Kentucky and starred as a lineman at Paris High School where his coach was Blanton Collier. After high school, Arnsparger joined the Marines and served as a sergeant from 1944 to 1946 with a year's duty in China. He entered Miami of Ohio after his discharge and played offensive tackle there on teams that also had such players as Ara Parseghian, Paul Dietzel and Bo Schembechler and a head coach named Woody Hayes.
In 1950, Arnsparger was named an assistant coach at Miami by Hayes and the following year when Hayes was named head coach at Ohio State, he brought Arnsparger with him as an assistant there. Bill first worked with Shula at Kentucky where the head coach was Blanton Collier, his old high school mentor. That association carried into the pros for Bill in 1964 and ended in the Miami locker room after the Super Bowl triumph in January of this year when Arnsparger was presented a game ball by the Dolphin players.
Well respected and admired throughout the National Football League, Arnsparger's credentials are prestigious as he becomes a head coach for the first time."

-1974 New York Giants Media Guide