Gifford Nielsen

Nielsen in 2018
No. 14
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(1954-10-25) October 25, 1954 (age 70) Provo, Utah, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:	Provo
College:	BYU (1977–1979)
NFL draft:	1978 / round: 3 / pick: 73
Career history
Houston Oilers (1978–1983)
Career highlights and awards
WAC Offensive Player of the Year (1976) First-team All-American (1976) BYU Cougars No. 14 retired
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts: 498 Passing completions: 273 Completion percentage: 54.8% TD–INT: 20–22 Passing yards: 3,255 Passer rating: 70 Rushing yards: 89 Stats at Pro Football Reference
College Football Hall of Fame

Stanley Gifford Nielsen (born October 25, 1954) is an American former football quarterback who played professionally for the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL). He was the sports director of KHOU in Houston from 1984 until March 31, 2009.^[1] He has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since April 2013.

Nielsen grew up in Provo, Utah, and attended Provo High School, playing as the school's quarterback.

Nielsen remained in Provo and attended Brigham Young University, where he was an All-American quarterback for the Cougars under head coach LaVell Edwards. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

Nielsen was selected in the third round of the 1978 NFL draft (73rd overall) by the Houston Oilers, the team with which he spent his entire NFL career, six seasons as a part-time quarterback.

Nielsen served as backup to Dan Pastorini in 1978 and 1979 and to Ken Stabler in 1980 and 1981. He played the most games in his last two seasons, 1982–1983, when he shared quarterbacking duties with Archie Manning and Oliver Luck.

From 1984 to 1987, he served as a color commentator on Oilers radio broadcasts.

Nielsen was the sports director at CBS affiliate KHOU in Houston from 1984 to 2009. He also made an appearance in P.D.Q. Bach in Houston: We Have a Problem! as a color commentator alongside Peter Schickele during a sketch of Beethoven's Fifth, in which the performance was done as if it were a mock football/hockey game.

Nielsen has served in the LDS Church in many capacities, including elders quorum president, bishop, president of the Houston Texas South Stake, mission president's counselor, and area seventy. He was released as an area seventy on April 6, 2013, and called as a general authority and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Among his assignments, Nielsen served for a time in the presidency of the church's Pacific Area. In August 2019, Nielsen was called as the president of the church's North America Central Area.^[2] Since August 2023, he has been serving as the president of the church's Africa West Area.^[3]

Nielsen was the master of ceremonies at the "100 Years of Scouting" celebration at Minute Maid Park in Texas.

• List of college football yearly passing leaders

• "General Authorities: S. Gifford Nielsen", churchofjesuschrist.org.
• "Elder S. Gifford Nielsen", Liahona, May 2013.
• Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference

• Gifford Nielsen at the College Football Hall of Fame