In his almost 40-year career of college and professional football coaching, Bobb McKittrick (Dec. 29, 1935 – Mar. 15, 2000) was always known as a teacher of the game.
A native of Baker, Oregon, McKittrick attended Oregon State University where he played football and became a two-way starter in his junior year. As a player, he helped lead the Beavers to a Pacific Coast Conference title and a Rose Bowl berth in 1956. In his senior season at OSU, the Beavers tied for the PCC title with Oregon and beat the Ducks in the “Civil War” but the “no repeat rule” sent the Webfoots to the Rose Bowl.
After graduating from OSU with honors and serving three years in the military, McKittrick returned to Corvallis as an assistant football coach. During his four years as a linebacker and tight end coach, the Beavers played in the 1962 Liberty Bowl and the 1965 Rose Bowl.
He followed Head Coach Tommy Prothro to UCLA to become Defensive Coordinator for the Bruins. McKittrick then progressed to the NFL’s San Diego Chargers as an assistant coach before joining the San Francisco 49ers in 1979 as their Offensive Line coach. During his 21 years with the team, San Francisco won five Super Bowls and 13 NFC West division championships.
The evidence of McKittrick’s teaching and coaching talents showed as his linemen were selected to more than 40 NFL All-Pro teams and 20 Pro Bowls. Recognition of his outstanding career also came from some of the NFL’s greatest coaches with whom McKittrick worked while with the 49ers. Denver Broncos and two-time Super Bowl Champion coach Mike Shanahan called him “the best in the business.”
The 49ers honored him by creating an annual award in his name for the offensive line player who exhibits the “dedication, excellence, and commitment of Bobb McKittrick.”