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          New York Giants

          Former Giants coordinator Erhardt passes

          • Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff WriterMar 21, 2012, 06:14 PM ET
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              Ohm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006. Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade. He joined ESPNNewYork.com after working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is a graduate of Michigan State University.
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          Ron Erhardt, the Giants' former offensive coordinator on the Super Bowl XXI and XXV teams, passed away on Wednesday morning.

          Erhardt, 80, was New England’s head coach from 1979-81. He was a member of the Giants’ staff from 1982 to 1991, and was hired by Ray Perkins. Perkins was then replaced by Bill Parcells.

          “Ron was a wonderful man and a great coach,” John Mara, team president and CEO, said in comments released by the team. “He was a big part of our success in the 1980's and was an important contributor to our first two Super Bowl championships.”

          Giants head coach Tom Coughlin was the wide receivers coach on the staff from 1988-90.

          “We’re all saddened by the unexpected news of Ron’s death,” Coughlin said. “When I came here in 1988, Ron was the offensive coordinator. He was a great guy to work with – he was a lot of fun. He kept things pretty loose. He was good on the field."

          During Erhardt’s eight seasons as offensive coordinator, the Giants made the postseason five times and won three NFC East titles to go with two Super Bowls.

          “I was privileged to be coached by him,” former Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler said in the team release. “I learned an awful lot from him. He went on and did some amazing things offensively. What amazes me is that system is still out there, still being used, and works as successfully as ever. It is, without a doubt, out of all the systems I’ve been involved with and that’s probably five, six, or seven different systems, it was the most simple as far as verbiage and most consistent.”