Greg Landry, Lions great and former NFL coach, dead at 77

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Greg Landry, a longtime NFL quarterback and former Detroit Lions assistant coach, has died at 77, the team announced Friday. 

No official cause of death was released. 

Detroit Lions quarterback Greg Landry looks for Chuck Walton somewhere downfield during a game against the Oakland Raiders in Detroit Nov. 26, 1970.  (AP Photo/JMC, File)

"We join the NFL community in mourning the loss of former Lions quarterback and coach Greg Landry," the Lions said.

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Landry played the majority of his NFL career with the Lions from 1968, when he was drafted with the No. 11 overall pick, until 1978. He was traded to the Colts and played three more years before moving on to the USFL.

He returned to the NFL in 1984, where he played one more season with the Chicago Bears before officially retiring. 

Former Detroit Lions quarterback Greg Landry during NFL training camp in Allen Park, Mich., July 31, 2017.  (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

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Landry threw for 16,052 yards and 98 touchdowns, but he was known best as one of the top running quarterbacks in the league with 2,600 yards on the ground and 21 touchdowns. 

He was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 1976. Landry eventually made his return to the Lions as a coach in 1995 and was the Bears’ offensive coordinator when they won the Super Bowl in 1986. 

Detroit Lions quarterback Greg Landry (11) in action against the New York Jets at Tiger Stadium. (Dick Raphael/USA Today Sports)

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Landry also left his mark at UMass as one of the program’s greatest