Bob Karmelowicz, a 35-year coaching veteran who was the Redskins' defensive line coach from 1994-96, died on Saturday, May 1 following an illness. He was 60.
Karmelowicz is survived by his wife, Olga, daughters, Liz and Marissa, and son, Dave.
Karmelowicz has ties to the Redskins' administration and coaching staff. General manager Bruce Allen was an assistant at Arizona State and coached alongside Karmelowicz at Arizona State in 1978. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and quarterbacks coach Matt LaFleur coached with Karmelowicz with the Houston Texans from 2006-08.
"Bob was an enthusiastic teacher and very loyal friend to his players and fellow coaches," Allen said. "His coaching and friendship will be missed, but never forgotten."
Karmelowicz worked as an NFL defensive line coach for the past 18 seasons: Detroit Lions (2009), Houston Texans (2006-08), Kansas City Chiefs (1997-05), Redskins (1994-96) and Cincinnati Bengals (1992-93).
While with the Texans, Karmelowicz was instrumental in the development of defensive end Mario Williams, the first overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. In Williams' second season (2007), he exploded as a pass rusher when he jumped from 4.5 sacks as a rookie to 14 sacks the following year.
In Kansas City from 1997-2005, Karmelowicz helped develop Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen after he was selected in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. During Allen's first two NFL seasons (2004-05), he registered 20 sacks (nine in 2004 as a rookie and 11 in 2005) under Karmelowicz tutelage.
Karmelowicz entered the pro ranks following a three-year (1989-91) coaching stint as the defensive line coach for the Miami Hurricanes. He was a member of the Hurricanes' coaching staff that led the Hurricanes to a 33-3 record over those three seasons and claimed two National Championships.
As the Hurricanes' defensive line coach, he developed All-Americans Cortez Kennedy (third overall selection in 1990 NFL Draft) and Russell Maryland (first overall selection in 1991 NFL Draft).
Another of Karmelowicz notable college coaching accomplishments occurred when he coached Warren Sapp's transition from tight end to defensive tackle early in Sapp's college career.
He also recruited and coached movie actor and former professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Johnson played defensive tackle for Karmelowicz at Miami.
Before joining the Hurricanes coaching staff, Karmelowicz coached on the college level at Washington State (1987-88), Illinois (1983-86), UNLV (1982), Texas-El Paso (1981), Massachusetts (1980) and his first five years as a coach at Arizona State (1975-79). He served as an offensive line coach at UTEP, Massachusetts and Arizona State, and he was both a defensive line and offensive line coach at Illinois.
Karmelowicz, a native of Plainville, Conn., was a three-year starter and consensus Little All-America nose tackle at the University of Bridgeport, where he earned his Bachelor's degree in 1972. He received a Master's degree from Arizona State in 1977.
