| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 30, 1940 Lurton, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1960–1961 | Cal Poly |
| Position(s) | Linebacker, fullback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1967–1968 | Utah (OL) |
| 1969 | Cal State Hayward (DC) |
| 1970–1971 | California (DB) |
| 1972 | BYU (assistant) |
| 1973–1974 | UCLA (OL) |
| 1975 | UCLA (LB) |
| 1976–1982 | Boise State |
| 1983–1986 | Iowa State |
| 1991–1992 | Sacramento Surge (OL) |
| 1995–2000 | Scottish Claymores |
| 2001 | Las Vegas Outlaws |
| 2009–2010 | Aix-en-Provence Argonautes |
| 2012 | Amiens Spartiates |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 75–45–3 (college) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 NCAA Division I-AA (1980) 2 Big Sky (1977, 1980) 1 Casque de Diamant 1st division of France (2012) | |
Jim Criner (born March 30, 1940) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Boise State University from 1976 to 1982 and at Iowa State University from 1983 to 1986,[1] compiling a career record of 76–46–3 (.620) as a college football head coach. Criner was also the head coach of the NFL Europe's Scottish Claymores from 1995 to 2000, and the short-lived XFL's Las Vegas Outlaws in 2001. Criner has also been head coach in the French league Ligue Élite de Football Américain.
Criner's 1980 Boise State team won the NCAA Division I-AA Championship and his Scottish Claymores squad won World Bowl IV in 1996. He was later a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL) under head coach Dick Vermeil, whom he assisted at UCLA from 1974 to 1975.