Paul Wiggin

Paul Wiggin

Wiggin, circa 1962
No. 86, 84
Position:	Defensive end
Personal information
Born:	(1934-11-18) November 18, 1934 (age 90) Modesto, California, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	242 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High school:	Manteca (Manteca, California)
College:	Modesto Stanford
NFL draft:	1956: 6th round, 73rd pick
Career history
As a player:
Cleveland Browns (1957–1967)
As a coach:
San Francisco 49ers (1968–1974) Defensive line coach Kansas City Chiefs (1975–1977) Head coach New Orleans Saints (1978–1979) Defensive coordinator Stanford (1980–1983) Head coach Minnesota Vikings (1985–1991) Defensive line coach
As an administrator:
Minnesota Vikings (1992–2015) Senior consultant for pro personnel
Career highlights and awards
NFL champion (1964) 2× Pro Bowl (1965, 1967) Cleveland Browns Legends 2× First-team All-American (1955, 1956) 2× First-team All-PCC (1955, 1956)
Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference
Stats at Pro Football Reference
College Football Hall of Fame

Paul David Wiggin (born November 18, 1934) is an American former football player and coach. He played professional as a defensive end with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He later coached in the NFL as well as in college football.

Wiggin was born on November 18, 1934, in Modesto, California, and attended Manteca High School in Manteca, California, where he competed in four sports. When he graduated Manteca High School in 1952, he was named the Most Outstanding Athlete.^[1][2]

He attended Modesto Junior College, where he was a standout in football and track.^[3] He is a member of the Modesto Junior College Athletics Hall of Fame.^[4]

Wiggin went on from Modesto Junior College to Stanford University, where he graduated in1957.^[5] He later earned a master's degree from Stanford in 1959.^[4] At 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and 228 pounds (103.4 kg), he played defensive tackle on Stanford's football team from 1954-56. He was a two-time first team All-American and All-PAC-10 (1955-56), and played in the 1956 East-West Shrine Game and the 1957 Hula Bowl. Fans voted him Stanford's defensive player of the century. In 2005, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.^[1]

The Cleveland Browns selected Wiggin in the sixth round of the 1956 NFL draft, 73rd overall.^[6] He started three games as a rookie in 1957, under future hall of fame coach Paul Brown. The Browns finished first in the NFL's East Division, but lost the 1957 NFL Championship game to the Detroit Lions.^[7][8]

Wiggin spent his entire 11-year playing career with Cleveland until his retirement following the 1967 NFL season. He never missed a game, playing in 146 straight games. He started eight games in 1958, all 12 games in 1959 (at right defensive end), and nine games in 1960 (at left defensive end). From 1961-66, he started all 14 games every year (chiefly at left defensive end); and started 11 of 14 games in his final season (1967).^[9][2]

Twice earning Pro Bowl honors as a starter (1965, 1967),^[2][10][11] Wiggin was a key member of the team's defensive line (consisting of Wiggin at left end, Dick Modzelewski at left tackle, Jim Kanicki at right tackle, and Bill Glass at right end), when it won the 1964 NFL championship with a 27–0 shutout of the Baltimore Colts; including a fumble recovery by Wiggin in the championship game.^[12] On the season in 1964, he had 8.5 quarterback sacks, and three fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for a touchdown.^[9] In 1965, the Brown lost in the NFL championship game to the Green Bay Packers.^[13]

Over his career, Wiggins had 19 fumble recoveries, including four in 1966, and a league leading four in 1967. He had three interceptions, including a 20-yard touchdown return, and 60.5 sacks. His career high in sacks was nine in 1960.^[9] Over his career, the Browns were in three NFL championship games (winning one), and lost in two divisional playoff games in other years (1958, 1967).^[14] As of 2025, he is tied for second all-time in fumble recoveries for the Browns, sixth in sacks, and 19th in games played.^[15] As a professional, he played at 242 pounds (109 kg).^[9]

In 2008, he was inducted into the Browns Legend Club.^[16][17]

He was named an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers on February 14, 1968, spending the next seven seasons with the team. He was defensive line coach from 1968-1973, and both defensive coordinator and defensive line coach in 1974, under head coach Dick Nolan each of those years.^[18][19] He coached Pro Bowl defensive end Cedrick Hardman, who had 18 quarterback sacks in his first full (14-game) season (1971).^[20]

He was hired as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs on January 23, 1975, replacing future hall of fame coach Hank Stram, who led the Chiefs to an upset victory in Super Bowl IV.^[21][22] After compiling an 11–24 mark in less than three seasons, Wiggin was fired following a 44–7 loss against his old team, the Browns, on October 30, 1977, that left the team 1–6.^[18][23]

After Dick Nolan was named as head coach of the New Orleans Saints in 1978,^[24] he once again hired Wiggin as the team's defensive coordinator, where he spent two years.^[18] Minnesota Viking coach Bud Grant had also offered Wiggin an assistant's position, but Wiggin chose Nolan with whom he was so familiar.^[21]

Wiggin then was hired as head coach at his alma mater, Stanford, on February 1, 1980.^[4] Despite the presence of future hall of fame quarterback John Elway^[25] on the team during his first three years,^[4] Wiggin was unable to lead Stanford to a bowl game during his tenure and was dismissed following the 1983 season with a 16–28 record over four years.^[26] Wiggin's efforts to reach a bowl game had come agonizingly close in 1982, when his team fell victim to what simply became known as The Play on November 20. In an incredible finish against the University of California, the school's arch-rival, Cal lateraled five times in the closing seconds to score the winning touchdown.^[27][28]

Wiggin's longest football connection is his four decades with the Minnesota Vikings.

In 1985, he became the Vikings defensive line coach under Bud Grant, a position he held through 1991; though under head coach Jerry Burns from 1986-91.^[21][29][18] Some of the Vikings defensive linemen Wiggins developed include pro football hall of fame members Chris Doleman^[30] and John Randle,^[31] first team All-Pro Keith Millard,^[32] and Pro Bowl player Henry Thomas.^[33][21] In 1989, the Vikings defense produced 71 quarterback sacks, the second best ever in a single season. Doleman had 21 sacks and Millard 18.^[4]

In 1992, the Vikings hired Wiggin in a scouting capacity, as the head of their new professional personnel department, which he built up as it did not previously exist. He started with 11 people, which grew to over 200 staff in the ensuing decades. As of 2023, the 88-year old Wiggin was still working as a senior consultant for the Vikings in evaluating players over 30 years later.^[21][34]

He received the 2022 Bud Grant Distinguished Minnesotan Award by the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation.^[35]

Wiggin was a part of the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games Organizing Committee.^[4]

• Paul Wiggin at the College Football Hall of Fame
• Career statistics from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference