Sammy Weir

Samuel Orville Weir (born March 18, 1941) is an American former college football coach and player. He was the interim head football coach for the University of Central Florida in 1982. He played college football for Arkansas State and professionally for the Houston Oilers and New York Jets of the American Football League (AFL), the Orlando Panthers of the Continental Football League (COFL), and the Houston Texans of the World Football League (WFL).

Sammy Weir

Biographical details
Born	(1941-03-18) March 18, 1941 (age 84) Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, U.S.
Alma mater	Arkansas State College (1964)
Playing career
Football
1960–1964	Arkansas State
1965	Houston Oilers
1966	New York Jets
1967–1968	Orlando Panthers
1974	Houston Texans
Track and field
1960–1964	Arkansas State
Position(s)	Quarterback, wide receiver (football)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1967	Evans HS (FL) (JV)
1968	Orlando Panthers (assistant)
1969–1970	Batesville HS (AR)
1971–1972	Arkansas State (WR)
1973–1974	Lakeview HS (FL)
1975	Lake Brantley HS (FL)
1976–1977	Evans HS (FL)
1979–1980	Lake Howell HS (FL)
1981	UCF (assoc. HC)
1982	UCF (interim HC)
1983	West Orange HS (FL)
1984–1988	Edgewater HS (FL)
1992	Edgewater HS (FL) (OB)
1995–1996	Walnut Ridge HS (AR)
2008–2011	Salem HS (AR)
Head coaching record
Overall	0–10 (college) 97–112–2 (high school)

Early life and playing career

Weir was born on March 18, 1941, in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. He attended Walnut Ridge High School.^[1] He played college football for Arkansas State as a quarterback and wide receiver from 1960 to 1964.^[2] He was also a member of the track and field team where he was named MVP.^[3]

After going undrafted in the 1965 NFL draft, Weir was signed by the Houston Oilers of the American Football League (AFL).^[4] He was officially listed as a flanker and played in nine games where he recorded a single reception. He also was used as a kick returner.^[1] In 1966, he was traded to the New York Jets, also of the AFL.^[5] With the Jets, he played in eleven games before suffering a broken hand late in the season.^[6] He was placed on injured reserve and was not retained following the season.^[6]

In 1967, Weir signed with the Orlando Panthers of the Continental Football League (COFL).^[7] In two seasons, he helped lead the team to an overall record of 21–5 and two COFL championships. He retired following the 1968 season.

In 1974, Weir briefly came out of retirement for the Houston Texans of the World Football League (WFL).^[8]

Coaching career

In 1967, while playing for the Orlando Predators, Weir served as the junior varsity coach for Evans High School.^[9] In 1968, he served as a player-coach for the Predators.^[3]

In 1969, Weir earned his first head coaching position as the head football coach for Batesville High School.^[10] He held the position for two years before joining his alma mater, Arkansas State, as the team's wide receivers coach. In 1973, he moved to Florida and served as the head football coach for Lakeview High School.^[11] He led Lakeview to a 6–4 record in his last season.^[12] In 1975, Weir served a one-year stint as head coach for Lake Brantley High School.^[12] He rejoined Evans High School in 1976.^[9] In two seasons he led the Trojans to an overall record of 17–5 and two conference championships before resigning after the 1977 season.^[13][14] After not coaching in 1978, he was hired for his fifth head coaching position as he was hired by Lake Howell High School.^[15] After leading the school to its first conference championship and an 8–2 record, he resigned.^[16]

In 1981, Weir earned his second college football coaching position as he was hired as the associate head coach for UCF under head coach Don Jonas.^[3][17] After one season as an assistant and following Jonas' retirement, Weir was promoted to interim head coach for the Knight's 1982 season during their first year as an NCAA Division II program.^[18] He led the team to a 0–10 record before opting not to apply for the full-time position.^[19][20]

In 1983, Weir returned to the high school ranks as the head coach for West Orange High School.^[21] He resigned after one season to work for a business in Little Rock, Arkansas.^[22] Not long after, in 1984, he began a five-year stint as head coach for Edgewater High School.^[23] He finished his inaugural season going 0–10.^[24] He resigned after the 1988 season. In 1992, he returned to Edgewater as the offensive backfield coach.^[25] In 1995, after not coaching for the previous two years he was hired as the head coach for his high school alma mater, Walnut Ridge High School.^[26] After one season he retired. In 2008, Weir was hired as the head coach for Salem High School.^[26] He retired after four seasons with the school.^{[citation needed]}

Head coaching record

College

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
UCF Knights (NCAA Division II independent) (1982)
1982	UCF	0–10
UCF:		0–10
Total:		0–10

High school

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Batesville Pioneers () (1969–1970)
1969	Batesville	5–5	2–2
1970	Batesville	6–4	3–1
Batesville:		11–9	5–3
Lakeview Red Devils () (1973–1974)
1973	Lakeview	4–4–2
1974	Lakeview	6–4		2nd
Lakeview:		10–8–2
Lake Brantley Patriots () (1975)
1975	Lake Brantley	3–7
Lake Brantley:		3–7
Evans Trojans () (1976–1977)
1976	Evans	8–3		1st
1977	Evans	9–2		1st
Evans:		17–5
Lake Howell Silver Hawks () (1979–1980)
1979	Lake Howell	4–6
1980	Lake Howell	8–2		1st
Lake Howell:		12–8
West Orange Vikings () (1983)
1983	West Orange	8–2
West Orange:		8–2
Edgewater Eagles () (1984–1988)
1984	Edgewater	0–10	0–7
1985	Edgewater	4–6
1986	Edgewater	1–9
1987	Edgewater	5–5
1988	Edgewater	0–9
Edgewater:		10–39
Walnut Ridge Bobcats () (1995–1996)
1995	Walnut Ridge	4–5	3–4
1996	Walnut Ridge	5–5	4–4
Walnut Ridge:		9–10	7–8
Salem Greyhounds () (2008–2011)
2008	Salem	1–9	1–7	8th
2009	Salem	6–4	5–3	5th
2010	Salem	1–8	0–7	8th
2011	Salem	9–3	5–2	3rd
Salem:		17–24	11–19
Total:		97–112–2
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth