Bob Odell (American football)

Robert Harper Odell (March 5, 1922 – December 15, 2012) was an American football player and coach. He played college football as a halfback for the Penn Quakers, where he won the Maxwell Award in 1943. He was selected in the second round (15th overall) of the 1944 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but served in the United States Navy from 1944 through 1946. The Steelers offered Odell $8,000 to play in the 1946 season, however, his doctor recommended that he give up football due to a knee injury suffered while playing basketball. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.

Head coaching career
He was the head football coach at the University of Pennsylvania from 1965 to 1970, and at Williams College from 1971 to 1986. With a record of 75–49–4 in 16 years as the head coach at Williams, Odell ranks third in career wins behind Dick Farley and Charlie Caldwell.

Death
He died of kidney disease in a nursing home in 2012.