Dave Gallagher played defensive line for five years in the NFL with the Bears (#1 draft pick in ‘74), Giants (‘75-76) and Lions (’78-79).
“Graduating high school, I narrowed down my college choices to Duke, Northwestern and Michigan because they all had excellent medical schools,” Gallagher recalls. “My father was a doctor and I always wanted to be one after I finished playing football. Why did I choose Michigan? For one thing, it was hard in those days for anyone to say ‘No’ to Coach Schembechler.”
Dave returned to his alma mater to attend med school during the football off-seasons with the help of money he earned from his NFL clubs.
He and his family now live in Columbus, Indiana, where he is an established surgeon with the Southern Indiana Orthopedics group. While he’s still working hard in his day job, Dave has ‘retired’ from a youth football coaching career which began when his boys began to play ball in the 4th grade.
“I realize that when you coach for the first time you tend to over-coach,” says Dr. Dave. “I found myself doodling plays on napkins having more x’s and o’s than I had 4th grade players most of the time. I am off the sidelines for now but the door is still open. I may get back into it because coaching is so important. Football is a great way to mentor kids.”
Hundreds of you NFL Legends who now coach high school and college football as a career echo Dr. Dave Gallagher’s feelings about working with athletes on the football field. It is an opportunity to teach teamwork, responsibility, discipline and many other values that benefit young players.