Former Head Coach Of The NFL Dallas Cowboys

Barry Switzer | Biography

One of only three coaches to win National Championships in both NCAA and NFL

• By Reena Chikanbanjar
• Original : December 07, 2021

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Barry Switzer is an American former collegiate and professional football coach. He was the head football coach for the University of Oklahoma for 16 years and NFL's Dallas Cowboys for four years.

Who is Barry Switzer?

Barry Layne Switzer played high school football before accepting an athletic scholarship at the University of Arkansas. Then, he played college football as a center and linebacker for the Arkansas Razorbacks from 1956 to 1960. After graduation, he briefly served in the U.S. Army. He thereupon launched his coaching career as an assistant coach (running back) for the Arkansas Razorbacks in 1961. In 1966, he moved to the University of Oklahoma to become the offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners. Finally, in 1973, Switzer became the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners.

After becoming the head coach, he led the Sooners to undefeated seasons in 1973 and 1974. Under his leadership, the Oklahoma Sooners won national titles in 1974, 1975, and 1985. In addition, from 1973 to 1980, the team either won or shared in the Big Eight Conference championship every year. Switzer resigned as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners in 1989 after the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) placed Oklahoma on probation amidst several scandals involving Oklahoma players. He compiled a 157-29-4 record during his 16 years of career at the University of Oklahoma. 

In 1994, he continued his coaching career with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) as a head coach. In his second season with the Dallas Cowboys, the team won Super Bowl XXX in 1995. With this victory, Switzer became one of only three coaches to win national championships in both NCAA and NFL. He resigned as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1997. And, during his four years of NFL coaching career, he compiled a 40-24 record.

Age & Parents

Switzer was born on 5 October 1937 in Crossett, Arkansas. His father Frank Mays was a convict. In February 1954 Frank was arrested by the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission and the Arkansas State Police after they raided their home and found untaxed contraband liquor in their home. His father was then sentenced to a five-year term in prison after being convicted of bootlegging. However, the conviction was reversed upon appeal, and Frank just served five months of that term. 

On 26 August 1959, Switzer's mother, Mary Louise, committed suicide by shooting herself with a .38 caliber pistol on the back porch. Then, after 13 years, on 16 November 1972, his father was murdered by a jealous lover.

Switzer has one younger brother named Donnie.

Wife & Children 

Switzer has been married twice. He was first married to Kay McCollum from 1963 until their divorce in 1981. Then, he married Becky Buwick in 2000 and they reside in Norman, Oklahoma.

Switzer had three children from his marriage to McCollum. He has two sons, Greg and Doug, and one daughter, Kathy. 

Although his three children are not football enthusiasts like him, all of them his Fans.' Switzer's daughter told the Oklahoman website in 1996 that she was lucky to have a father who valued his children regardless of his popularity. She said, "I see a lot of parents who aren't famous, and some who are famous, that just have nothing to do with their children. They have them, they're a burden, they don't care. ... That makes me sick." She added, "I'm so lucky that the most important thing in my dad's life is his children. Anybody that knows him has seen that and knows that about him."

Further, he has a granddaughter from his daughter Kathy Switzer Miller named Laynee Miller. She is a golf player, and she became placed fourth in the state Class 2-A with 70-73 in 2021.

Net Worth

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Switzer has a net worth of $5 million. He accumulated his net worth from more than three decades of a coaching career.