Billy Kinard

Billy Kinard
	Kinard from 1967 Seminole yearbook
Personal information
Born:	December 16, 1933; Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Died:	July 2, 2018 (aged 84); Fort Payne, Alabama, U.S.
Career information
College:	Ole Miss
Position:	Defensive back / halfback
NFL draft:	1956 / round: 2 / pick: 25
Career history
As a player:
	Cleveland Browns (1956); Green Bay Packers (1957–1958); Buffalo Bills (1960);
As a coach:
	Mainland HS (FL) (1959); Head coach; Auburn (1961–1963); Assistant coach; Florida (1964–1966); Defensive backs coach; Georgia (1967–1969); Assistant coach; Arkansas (1970); Assistant coach; Ole Miss (1971–1973); Head coach; Green Bay Packers (1974–1975); Defensive backs coach; Cleveland Browns (1976–1977); Defensive backs coach; Gardner–Webb (1978); Head coach; New England Patriots (1979–1980); Defensive backs coach;
	Stats at Pro Football Reference

Billy Russell Kinard (December 16, 1933 – June 30, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally as a defensive back for the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League (AFL).^[1] Kinard played college football at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) before being drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 1956 NFL draft. He played professionally for four seasons and retired in 1960.^[2] Kinard later served as the head football coach at Ole Miss from 1971 to 1973 and at Gardner–Webb University in 1978, compiling a career coaching record of 20–14–1.

Coaching career

In 1970, Kinard's older brother, a former Ole Miss and NFL star, Frank "Bruiser" Kinard, became the athletic director at Ole Miss. He hired the younger Kinard to be the new Ole Miss Rebels football coach. Billy Kinard was the head coach when Ole Miss football became integrated. It was said that Johnny Vaught had swore to never integrate the football team. So, Billy was brought in to specifically do this. After the third contest of the 1973 season, Johnny Vaught replaced Kinard, returning for his second stint as Ole Miss' athletic director and head football coach.^[3]

Head coaching record


Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	Coaches^#	AP^°
Ole Miss Rebels (Southeastern Conference) (1971–1973)
1971	Ole Miss	10–2	4–2	T–4th	W Peach	20	15
1972	Ole Miss	5–5	2–5	T–7th
1973	Ole Miss	1–2^{[n 1]}	0–0^{[n 1]}	^{[n 1]}
Ole Miss:		16–9	6–7
Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs (South Atlantic Conference) (1978)
1978	Gardner–Webb	4–5–1	2–5	T–5th
Gardner–Webb:		4–5–1	2–5
Total:		20–14–1
^#Rankings from final Coaches Poll. ^°Rankings from final AP Poll.

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Kinard was fired after the first three games of the 1973 season, before the start of conference play. Johnny Vaught replaced Kinard as head coach and led Ole Miss to a record of 5–3 over the final eight games of the season. The Rebels finished 6–5 overall and 4–3 in Southeastern Conference play, placing third.

References

^ "Packers.com - Billy Kinard". Packers.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
^ "Billy Kinard Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
^ "Ole Miss Football History". OleMissSports.com. Retrieved January 8, 2009. ^{[dead link]}

External links

Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
Billy Kinard at Find a Grave

[1973season-4] Kinard was fired after the first three games of the 1973 season, before the start of conference play. Johnny Vaught replaced Kinard as head coach and led Ole Miss to a record of 5–3 over the final eight games of the season. The Rebels finished 6–5 overall and 4–3 in Southeastern Conference play, placing third.

[1] "Packers.com - Billy Kinard". Packers.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2009.

[2] "Billy Kinard Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 7, 2009.

[3] "Ole Miss Football History". OleMissSports.com. Retrieved January 8, 2009. ^{[dead link]}

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