Hudson Houck
Former Offensive Line Coach, Dallas Cowboys
Hudson Houck returned to Dallas in 2008 as one of the most experienced and respected offensive line coaches in the NFL. In his previous tour of duty with the Cowboys (1993-2001), Houck was a productive member of a coaching staff that helped bring Super Bowl titles to Dallas following the 1993 and 1995 seasons.
Much in the same manner that he tutored an all-star cast of offensive linemen in Dallas in the mid-1990s, Houck will again oversee a group that is considered one of the league's most talented and complete. All five starters return from last year's club that helped produce a 9-7 record with hopes of finding consistency at the left guard position. In 2008 starter Kyle Kosier missed most of the season with a foot injury while Cory Procter and Montrae Holland filled in. Flozell Adams, Andre Gurode, Leonard Davis and Marc Colombo started every game along the line with Adams, Gurode and Davis each earning Pro Bowl berths.
In addition to being reunited with Adams, a player Dallas drafted in 1998 while Houck was the Cowboys offensive line coach, he is also serving on the same coaching staff with Wade Phillips for the second time as both men were assistant coaches under Marty Schottenheimer in San Diego in 2004.
Hired by Dallas on January 18, 2008, Houck spent the previous three seasons in a rebuilding process as the offensive line coach for the Miami Dolphins.
In 2005 and 2006 he directed a Dolphins line that helped produce a team rushing average of 4.0-or-better in both seasons, marking the first time since the 1986 and 1987 campaigns that Miami had topped the 4.0-yard plateau in consecutive years. Immediately after taking charge of the line in 2005, Houck produced a unit that ranked fourth in the NFL in sacks allowed with 26 - a figure that was half the total permitted by the club in the season before his arrival.
With the Chargers in 2004, Houck helped to revitalize an offensive line which featured five new starters from the previous year. The Chargers ranked 10th in the NFL in total offense, and sixth on the ground, as they rushed for 136.6 yards-per-contest. LaDainian Tomlinson ran for more than 1,300 yards in each of Houck's three years there, including more than 1,600 in his first two. The Chargers line permitted just 21 sacks in 2004, the fourth-lowest total in the NFL and the eighth-fewest in that franchise's 45-year history. Overall in Houck's three seasons with the Chargers, the offensive line allowed an average of only 24.6 sacks-per-season. Their total of 74 sacks over a three-year period was the fourth-lowest in the NFL over this stretch.
During his previous nine-year stint as the offensive line coach in Dallas, Houck was a part of Cowboys teams that won five division titles, advanced to three NFC Championship Games and captured world championships in 1993 and 1995. From 1994 to 1997 Houck also held the additional responsibilities of being the Cowboys assistant head coach.
Under Houck's guidance from 1993 to 2001, the Cowboys line permitted a total of only 203 sacks, the lowest figure in the NFL during that time. They yielded less than 20 sacks three times and less than 30 on six occasions. Under Houck, six different Dallas offensive linemen made a total of 22 trips to the Pro Bowl. That group included Larry Allen (7 trips), Nate Newton (5), Erik Williams (4), Ray Donaldson (2), Mark Stepnoski (2) and Mark Tuinei (2). The unit helped Emmitt Smith to a pair of NFL rushing titles over this nine-year stretch as he ran for more than 1,000 yards each time.
Prior to his time with the Cowboys, Houck spent one year (1992) tutoring the offensive line with the Seattle Seahawks when Chris Warren rushed for 1,017 yards - the first time in his career that he reached the 1,000-yard mark. That came on the heels of another successful nine-year run with the Los Angeles Rams from 1983-91. Over that time with the Rams, there were seven different individual 1,000-yard rushing seasons and four individual league rushing titles, including an NFL-record 2,105 yards by Eric Dickerson in 1984. Over that stretch, five different Rams offensive linemen were voted to a combined 21 Pro Bowls, including Jackie Slater (7 trips), Doug Smith (6), Kent Hill (3), Dennis Harrah (3) and Tom Newberry (2). In the final three years of Houck's tenure with the Rams, quarterback Jim Everett passed for more yards than any other signal caller over this span, and he also did not miss a start from 1988-91.
Overall in his 25 years as an NFL assistant, Houck's lines have paved the way for twenty individual 1,000-yard rushing seasons. The running backs who benefitted from the blocking, who also have compiled six NFL rushing titles, consist of Smith (Dallas, 9), Eric Dickerson (Rams, 4), Tomlinson (San Diego, 3), Greg Bell (Rams, 2), Ronnie Brown (Miami, 1), Warren (Seattle, 1) and Charles White (Rams, 1).
Before embarking on his NFL coaching career, Houck tutored the offensive line at his alma mater, USC, from 1976-82. During this time, he helped send numerous Trojans to the NFL including Marvin Powell, Pat Howell, Brad Budde, Anthony Munoz, Keith Van Horne, Chris Foote, Roy Foster, Bruce Matthews, Don Mosebar and Tony Slaton, among others. This group helped lead the way for Heisman Trophy-winning running backs Charles White and Marcus Allen, in addition to another USC great Ricky Bell, an NFL first-round draft choice in 1977.
Houck was a center at USC from 1962-64 and was part of the Trojans 1962 national championship squad. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Crescenta Valley (Calif.) High School in 1966. After serving two years in the United States Army, Houck returned for one season at Crescenta. He then moved on to coach the freshmen team at USC from 1970-71 before becoming Stanford's offensive line coach in 1972, a position he held for four seasons. In his first year with the Cardinals, he also was the freshman coach.
A Los Angeles native, Houck (1/7/43) attended Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles. He has a son, Troy. His wife Elsie, has two children, Scott and Holly.