Ed Biles, who spent a decade with the Houston Oilers as a defensive coordinator and later head coach, passed away Sunday morning after a battle with leukemia.

Biles was 88 years old. He came to Houston in 1974 as a defensive backs coach before taking over defensive coordinator duties under Bum Phillips the following season. Biles lasted six seasons in that role, helping the Oilers reach a pair of AFC Championship Games.

When Phillips was dismissed following the 1980 season, Biles stepped in to fill the void. Unfortunately, he lasted only two-plus seasons, getting fired midway through the 1983 campaign after Houston got off to an 0-6 start. In his last 15 games with the Oilers, Biles had a 1-14 record as head coach.

After losing his job in Houston, Biles never coached again, save for one-year stints with the National Indoor Football League’s Cincinnati Marshalls in 2005 and the Texas Copperheads of the AF2 in 2006. However, Biles remained a fixture in the Houston area and Texas in general, serving as a color commentator for high school and college football.

.@McClain_on_NFL Former Oiler coach Ed Biles dies https://t.co/rhhsKhIt9j — John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) April 5, 2020

The Reading, Ohio native began a lengthy coaching career on at Woodward High School in Cincinnati in 1953. After four years there, he moved on to Xavier.

Biles was the freshman coach at Xavier from 1956-61 and the head varsity coach from 1962-68, compiling a 39-28-3 record. He then served two seasons as an assistant with the New Orleans Saints and three with the New York Jets before moving on to Houston.

Please keep Biles’ friends and family in your thoughts and prayers during this time.