James Ralph Lambright (April 26, 1942 – March 29, 2020) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Washington for six seasons, from 1993 to 1998, compiling a record of 44–25–1 (.636).[1] Prior to becoming head coach, Lambright served as an assistant on the Huskies coaching staff for 24 seasons.
Lambright was an assistant coach for the Huskies for 24 seasons when he was elevated to head coach in late August 1993, following James' sudden resignation in protest of sanctions against the program from the NCAA and Pac-10 Conference, namely a two-year bowl ban.[3][4][5][6] Lambright's initial contract as head coach was a four-year deal with a base salary of $150,000; he was earning $95,400 as James' chief assistant.[7] He signed a contract extension in January 1998 that brought his compensation to over $500,000 annually.[8] As the Huskies' defensive coordinator Lambright designed the team's "Purple Reign" defensive schemes.[9]
After six seasons as head coach and three decades on staff, Lambright was relieved of his duties by athletic director Barbara Hedges in late December 1998[10][11] after select alums advised Hedges to do so.[12] He was replaced by Rick Neuheisel by early January of 1999. Lambright died from complications of dementia on March 29, 2020.[13]
^W. Thomas Porter Go Huskies!: Celebrating the Washington Football Tradition Page 140 1600788270 - 2013 "Eventually, Lambright became the Huskies' defensive coordinator and designed the "Purple Reign" defensive schemes"