Larry Beightol, offensive line coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1999-2005, died Thursday, April 4, in Fayetteville, Ark., of heart failure, dementia and complications from diabetes, according to his obituary posted at Berna Funeral Homes.
Beightol was 81.
Beightol was hired by head coach Ray Rhodes in 1999 but spent six of his seven seasons with the Packers serving under Rhodes' successor, Mike Sherman. Among the linemen he tutored were four future Packers Hall of Famers: center Frank Winters, guard Marco Rivera, and tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher. Rivera and center Mike Flanagan also were selected to the Pro Bowl during Beightol's years as line coach.
Overall, Beightol spent 22 years coaching offensive linemen with eight NFL teams: Atlanta, 1986; Tampa Bay, 1987-88; San Diego, 1989; New York Jets, 1990-94; Houston Oilers, 1995; Miami, 1996-98; Green Bay; and Detroit, 2006.
He enjoyed his most success with the Packers, who finished with a winning record five times and made the playoffs four times in his seven seasons. Otherwise, the only other winning seasons he experienced were in Miami in 1997 and '98.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Beightol played football at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., and began his coaching career at the College of William & Mary in 1968. He had one opportunity as a head coach with Louisiana Tech, where he went 2-8 in 1979.
