Dan Audick

Daniel James Audick, Ed.D., (born November 15, 1954 in San Bernardino, California) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League from 1977 through 1984. Dan was born into a large military family as the son of Col. Albert E. Audick, Sr. and Stella Audick. After his birth, he and his nine siblings moved to military bases in France, Virginia, Tennessee, Japan, Colorado, and Los Angeles, California. As a high school senior at Wasson High School in Colorado Springs, Audick earned All-State honors as an offensive lineman while contributing to the winning of what was then the AAA-Colorado high school football championship in 1971. In 2005, Audick was inducted with his teammates and coaches into the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame. Audick was a scholarship student-athlete for the University of Hawaii Warrior football team from 1972 to 1977 and a team captain in the 1976 football season. Under the pioneering leadership of Coach Larry Price, he was one of the few former Warriors who made the transition from Division II Independent to Division IA Independent and who would go on to NFL careers and coaching careers. Notable Warrior pioneers that joined Audick in the transition of the Hawaii Warriors football team to Division IA football and who played at the old Honolulu Stadium and Aloha Stadium include Charles Aiu, Arnold Morgado, John Woodcock, and Rich Ellerson.

Professional career
Audick was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1977 NFL draft. He started in 33 of 76 regular season games while playing for the St. Louis Football Cardinals, the San Diego Chargers, and the San Francisco 49ers. In post-season play, Audick started in 5 of 6 playoff games. During and after his playing career, he dealt with and overcame a bipolar-affective disorder. Under the leadership of Coach Don Coryell, Audick played on a Chargers' team that clinched two consecutive playoff berths (1979 and 1980). With the 1980 San Diego Chargers, Audick started at the right tackle position in the AFC Championship game versus the Oakland Raiders where he protected Dan Fouts' frontside in the "Air Coryell" offense.

In 1981, Audick was traded to the San Francisco 49ers. Though he was considered to be "undersized" for the left tackle position, he was tasked with the responsibility of protecting Joe Montana's "blindside." Under the guidance of Coach Bill Walsh, Audick was a key contributor on the final 89-yard drive that led to the play that has been immortalized as "The Catch" in the 1982 NFC Playoffs versus the Dallas Cowboys. "The Catch", as the play has since been named by sportscasters, reminded older 49er fans of the "Alley-oop" passes that Y.A. Tittle threw to lanky receiver R.C. Owens back in the 1950s. A picture of Clark's leap in the air taken by Walter Iooss, Jr. appeared on the cover of that week's Sports Illustrated and was also featured in an Autumn 2005 commercial for Gatorade. Audick subsequently started in Super Bowl XVI wearing number 61 for the 49ers' 26-21 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. As a result of the 49ers going on to win four Super Bowls in the decade, the 49ers went on to gain recognition as the "NFL Team of the 1980s."

When Michael Lewis was researching for his 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, he called upon several former NFL coaches and players who had played the left tackle position including Audick. Audick helped Lewis understand the role of the "undersized" versus the "prototypical." Due to the arrival in the 1970s and early 1980s of the threatening presence of dominating pass rushing defensive ends and linebackers like Lawrence Taylor and Fred Dean, NFL teams often choose an "undersized" tackle with excellent foot agility, blocking explosiveness, and quickness in lieu of a "prototypical" tackle in order to protect a quarterback's "blind side." In Lewis's book, Audick is credited with having played a contributing role in the evolution of the "undersized" left tackle position. In 2009, the book was made into a movie called The Blind Side. In addition to being nominated for Best Picture for the 2010 Academy Awards, the film won Best "Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role" for the role played by Sandra Bullock in the true story portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy. Mrs. Tuoghy is the adoptive mother of Michael Oher, the 2009 1st round NFL pick by the Baltimore Ravens.

Audick was the first student athlete to graduate from the University of Hawaii and to contribute to a winning Super Bowl team.

Dan was the defensive line coach in 1991 for Grossmont College in El Cajon, California.

Academic career

 * Bachelors of Business Administration from University of Hawaii (1977)
 * Masters of Business Administration from San Diego State University (1986)
 * Masters of Arts in Organizational Management from University of Phoenix (1996)
 * Doctorate of Education from University of Southern California (2004)

In addition to his professional football career, Audick pursued three advanced degrees in the field of Sports Administration. Subsequent to his NFL retirement, he completed his MBA at San Diego State University in 1986. In honing his studies to Sports Administration, he crafted his coursework and thesis toward the design and development of a computerized feedback system for college and professional football teams. It was not until 2006, that SDSU formerly graduated the official first class for a Sports MBA program. Audick was also an early participant in Internet education when he earned his second masters degree at the University of Phoenix's online program from 1994 to 1996. Audick completed his education by earning a doctorate of education in the field of Human Performance Technology at the University of Southern California. For his Ed.D. dissertation, Audick used an instructional design enhancement to augment the instruction and communication of offensive passing routes and formations as compared with traditional approaches by using "eight points of a compass" coupled with measurable distances down field and a "grid and code" system, respectively.