Eddie Khayat, a York County Sports Hall of Famer who played and coached with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles as part of a near five-decade career in football, died Friday evening in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 89.
Khayat played 10 seasons in the NFL and was best known as a starting defensive tackle with the Eagles’ 1960 NFL championship team. He also served as the franchise’s head coach during the 1971 and 1972 seasons as part of a three-decade coaching career.
As coaching took Khayat around the country, he made his home and raised his family in York, leaving an indellible mark on the local sports lanscape. He was instrumental in the continued development of the York Special Olympics, most notably hosting an annual celebrity golf tournament with former Eagles teammate George Tarasovic. The tournament raised nearly $1 million over its 30-plus years and was renamed in its founders’ honor in 2015.
Edward Michel “Eddie” Khayat was born Sept. 14, 1935, in Moss Point, Mississippi. He starred at Moss Point High School and Tulane University. After first cracking the NFL with the Washington Redskins in 1957, he joined the Eagles in 1958 and worked his way into the starting lineup. Philadelphia went 11-2 in 1960 and won the NFL title over the Green Bay Packers. Khayat remained with the Eagles through 1961, returned to Washington from 1962-63, came back to Philadelphia from 1964-65 and capped his 10-year career with the Boston Patriots in 1966.
Khayat’s coaching career began as the New Orleans Saints’ defensive line coach from 1967-70. He then initially joined the Eagles’ staff as an assistant but was named head coach three games into the 1971 season after Jerry Williams was fired. Khayat’s short tenure at the helm included a draconian hair and dress code that was unpopular among players. After leaving Philadelphia, Khayat served as a defensive line coach for the Detroit Lions (two stints), Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Colts, New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers between 1973 and 1993. He also had head coaching stints with the Arena Football League’s New Orleans Night (1991), Nashville Kats (1997) and Carolina Cobras (2003).
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In addition to the York County Sports Hall of Fame, Khayat is a member of the Tulane Athletic Hall of Fame and the Mississippi State Hall of Fame. He and the rest of the 1960 Eagles were inducted collectively into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
Khayat is survived by his wife, Deborah, and his two sons, Edward Jr. and Bill. Bill Khayat was a three-sport standout at York Catholic and is in the school’s athletic Hall of Fame; he went on to set collegiate records as a tight end at Duke University before coaching at both the NFL and college levels. Eddie Khayat is also survived by his brother, Robert, a former Pro Bowl kicker for Washington and presently the Chancelor Emeritus of the University of Mississippi.
Memorial service information will be announced at a later date.
