CHICAGO -- Dennis Green, 31, Stanford offensive coordinator, today was appointed Northwestern University's new football coach to replace Rick Venturi.
Green becomes the first black coach in Big Ten football.
The only other black head coach in NCAA Division I-A college football is Jeff Jefferson at Wichita State.
Just one week ago, Doug Single, Stanford's associate athletic director and chief fund raiser, was appointed Northwestern's new athletic director to replace John Pont.
Venturi was fired with a 1-31-1 record after three years. His final season was marred by racial turmoil and a racially divided squad.
In the early 1970s, Green was an Iowa flanker and tailback. He later helped recruit some of Stanford's top players, and his offense led the school with a 433-yard average last season. He coached Stanford's running backs in 1977 and 1978 under Bill Walsh and followed Walsh to the NFL San Francisco 49ers as coach of receivers and special teams in 1979.
'Denny Green is one of the top football minds in the country. He's already established himself as an extremely fine teacher and highly organized person and ... helped form an offensive style that remains a trademark of Stanford football,' Walsh said.
Green was a finalist in the search for Walsh's successor at Stanford, but Paul Wiggin got the job. Green returned to Stanford under Wiggin for 1980.
