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]
In December 1976, Purdue University hired a 41-year-old Young away from Arizona.[2] 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.[3] Herrmann broke the NCAA record for passing yards (2,453) and passing touchdowns (18) for freshman.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] After a disappointing 1981 season, Young resigned from his position as head coach at Purdue, citing his desire to concentrate on athletic administration.[7]