Infante accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and he played tailback for coach Ray Graves' Florida Gators football team from 1960 to 1962.[2] He was also a member of Sigma Nu fraternity (Epsilon Zeta Chapter) while he was an undergraduate. Memorably, Infante scored the go-ahead touchdown in the Gators' 18–17 upset of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in 1960, scored three touchdowns in their 21–7 victory over the Clemson Tigers in 1961,[3] and was a senior team captain and a third-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in 1962.[2] During his undergraduate playing days, he also suffered two severe injuries: a ruptured lung against the LSU Tigers in 1960, and a season-ending broken leg against LSU in 1962.[4]
Infante returned to his alma mater in 1966, where he worked as an assistant football coach under head coaches Graves and Doug Dickey until 1971,[2] and was responsible for recruiting Gator wide receiver Carlos Alvarez. He went on to serve as the offensive coordinator at Memphis State from 1972 to 1974.
NFL assistant and coordinator
Infante was the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals in the early 1980s under Forrest Gregg. His offense, quarterbacked by Ken Anderson, led the Bengals to the 1981 AFC title, and a berth in Super Bowl XVI. During the summer of 1983, he was offered and accepted the head coach position for the upstart Jacksonville Bulls; citing potentially divided loyalties, the Bengals management promptly fired him before the start of the 1983 NFL fall season.[7] Infante served as the Bulls' head coach during their two spring football seasons in 1984 and 1985. After the 1985 season, the Bulls planned to merge with the Denver Gold and take the Gold's Mouse Davis as head coach; the USFL would never play the 1986 season. As Infante had left the USFL months ahead of its cessation, he was able to secure work in fall 1986, unlike most of the league's other coaches. He became the offensive coordinator of the Bernie Kosar-quarterbacked Cleveland Browns during the 1986 and 1987 NFL fall seasons.[8] Under Infante, the 1987 Browns were the second-highest-scoring offense in the AFC.[8]
Green Bay Packers
In 1988, Infante became an NFL head coach for the first time, leaving Cleveland to replace Forrest Gregg as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. That first season, the Packers endured losing streaks of five and seven games and finished with a 4–12 record. Infante's second season, 1989, was his most successful; after a slow start, the Packers won five of their last six games, finishing 10–6, only missing the playoffs on a tie-breaker with the rival Minnesota Vikings. For his efforts, Infante was named the 1989 AP NFL Coach of the Year. In 1990, the Packers started 6–5, only to lose their final five games and finish 6–10 and out of the playoffs. That five-game losing streak continued into 1991, when the Packers lost six of their first seven games, and finished 4–12. A 27–7 season-ending victory over the Vikings notwithstanding, Infante was fired by the Packers' new general manager, Ron Wolf, before the beginning of the 1992 season. He was succeeded by Mike Holmgren, then the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers.
Indianapolis Colts
A second opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL came in 1996, when Infante replaced the fired Ted Marchibroda as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, who had reached the AFC title game in 1995.[9] The season opened with great success, as the Colts started 5–1, but a four-game losing streak in the heart of the season ended their chances at an AFC East division title. Although they qualified for the playoffs as a wild card team, the Colts had to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh in the wild card playoff game. Although the Colts led 14–13 at the half, a second half collapse allowed the Steelers to claim a 42–14 victory. It was Infante's only NFL playoff game; Indianapolis lost their first ten games of the 1997 season, finishing 3–13. Infante was fired shortly after the season's end.
As an NFL head coach, Infante compiled a career record of 36–60, with an 0–1 record in the playoffs.[10]
After his retirement, Infante lived in Crescent Beach, Florida with his wife Stephanie, two sons and five grandchildren.[11] He died in St. Augustine, Florida on October 8, 2015, aged 75.[12]
Players who became head coaches
Players who played for Infante who later became college or NFL head coaches
^Peter Golenbeck, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, St. Petersburg, Florida, pp. 135–138, 147–148 (2002).
Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN0-7948-2298-3.
Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN0-9650782-1-3.
Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN1-58261-514-4.
