Playing and Coaching Career
After playing for Harvey High School in Painesville, Ohio, Joe Galat attended Miami University (Ohio) where he captained both the Miami Redskins football and wrestling teams. The university known as the ‘Cradle of Coaches’ remains today a member of the Mid-American Conference. Joe Galat was inducted to the Miami Redhawks Hall of Fame. After graduation in 1962 Galat’s football apprenticing would continue under the legendary coaching trio of Bo Schembechler, Carmen Cozza, and John McVay (Vice-President of the San Francisco 49ers who collaborated with 49ers head coach Bill Walsh in one of the most successful dynasties in NFL history) tallying five Super Bowl victories.
Joe Galat was hired by George Allen (American football coach) NFL Hall of Fame Coach to rebuild the Montreal Alouettes. The team under Nelson Skalbania had traded away their Canadian players for the rights to NFL free agents. The following year the NFL players returned to the USA leaving the team without US or Canadian Talent.
After a tour as an assistant coach in the NCAA at Yale University, Miami University, University of Kentucky and for the NFL’s New York Giants and Houston Oilers, the Painesville native was hired as Head Coach and General Manager of the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League by then owner George Allen. In the hockey crazed province of Quebec Galat hired the first French Canadian coach in CFL history, Mr. Jacques Dussault. Galat and Dussault initiated clinics to teach and motivate the game of football in the province of Quebec.
Galat is most noted for compiling a quality football staff in Montreal. His staff went on to capture six Grey Cup Championships. Wally Buono has 3 Grey Cup wins and is the winningest coach in CFL history. Eric Tillman has 2 Grey Cup wins while Dave Ritchie (football coach) has 1 Grey Cup win. Two others on Galat's staff, Chris Palmer (American football) was head coach of the Cleveland Browns and was also the Offensive Coach for the New York Giants Super Bowl Champions. Tom Rossley served as Offensive Coordinator with the Green Bay Packers.
Joe Galat was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002
Joe Galat's CFL coaching tenure was unsuccessful in terms of results. His Montreal Concordes consistently finished under .500 each year and only made the playoffs once (in 1984). Near the end of the Montreal Concordes 1985 season with the team floundering, Galat (who was also GM of the team) resigned as head coach with two games to go in the season. After the season, he joined the BC Lions as General Manager until the conclusion of the 1989 CFL season. With four straight losses to open the 1989 BC Lions season, Galat fired head coach Larry Donovan and named himself interim coach for the final fourteen games. The Lions narrowly missed the postseason to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Following the disappointing finish, Galat was released as GM of the club and replaced by Joe Kapp.
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