A former head coach of two CFL franchises, Joe Moss, has passed away at the age of 92.
A graduate of Maryland, Moss enjoyed a brief professional career with the Washington Football Team and Ottawa Rough Riders, before breaking into coaching at his alma mater in 1956. After spending four seasons in the NFL as the defensive line coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, he returned to Canada in 1973 as the defensive coordinator of the Toronto Argonauts.
Moss took over as Argos head coach mid-way through the 1974 season following the firing of John Rauch. He posted a 3-5-1 record before being replaced by Russ Jackson but stayed on as defensive coordinator for two more seasons.
The West Virginia native joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders for one season as defensive backs coach in 1977 and served as head coach of the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in 1982, winning Coach of the Year in the Quebec conference. He rejoined the Argos as defensive coordinator the next season, helping the team to victory in the 71st Grey Cup.
Moss was hired as head coach of the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1985, posting a 7-9 record and earning a playoff berth in his first season at the helm. He was fired before the end of the next year, having gone 10-19 during his tenure.
Moss continued to coach in the CFL until 1997, doing two stints each with the Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats as defensive line coach and coordinating the Ottawa defence in 1996. He finished his coaching career in the Arena Football League with the New Jersey Red Dogs and the Toronto Phantoms.