Landry, former Lions quarterback and assistant coach, dead at 77

DETROIT (AP) — Greg Landry, the former Detroit Lions quarterback and assistant coach, has died. He was 77.

The Lions announced Landry's death on social media Friday. No cause of death was given.

“We join the NFL community in mourning the loss of former Lions quarterback and coach Greg Landry,” the team said in its posting.

Landry played in the NFL from 1968 to 1981 with the Lions and then-Baltimore Colts. After two seasons in the USFL, he returned to the NFL and played one game with the Chicago Bears. He threw for 16,052 yards in his NFL career with 98 touchdowns and 103 interceptions. He was also one of the best running quarterbacks in NFL history, gaining more than 2,600 yards with 21 TDs.

The Lions selected Landry with the 11th pick of the 1968 NFL draft out of Massachusetts. He played 11 seasons with the Lions, and had a career record of 40-41-3 with Detroit. His finest season in Detroit came in 1971, when the threw for 2,237 yards and 16 touchdowns and was a first-team All-Pro and made his only Pro Bowl.

In 1976, he earned the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award after passing for 2,191 yards and 17 TDs.

Landry was traded to Baltimore and played three seasons with the Colts, going 3-10-1. He then moved to the USFL and played one season each with the Chicago Blitz (1983) and the Arizona Wranglers (1984). He was an emergency starter for the Bears — against Detroit — in 1984.

Landry rejoined the Lions in 1995 as quarterbacks coach on the staff of head coach Wayne Fontes. Landry also held assistant coaching positions with Cleveland and Chicago in the NFL and at the college level at Illinois.

From Nashua, New Hampshire, Landry led UMass in passing for three seasons and was the team's top rusher and scorer in 1965 and 1967. He was inducted into the UMass Hall of Fame in 1980.

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