He played college football for the UMass Minutemen from 1965 to 1967 and was selected in the first round of the 1968 NFL draft with the 11th overall pick.
He attended Nashua Senior High School, graduating in 1964, and earned a scholarship to the University of Massachusetts (UMass).
[1][2] He was in the 1968 Chicago Charities All Star Game, playing with the collegians against the NFL champion Green Bay Packers.
[4] With the Lions in 1971, he passed for 2,237 yards and 16 touchdowns, was named first team All-Pro, and went to his only Pro Bowl that year.
[6] He was benched by Lions head coach Tommy Hudspeth late in 1977 and supplanted by Gary Danielson as the starting quarterback the following year.
[7] Landry's request to be traded was granted when he was acquired by the Colts from the Lions for fourth- and fifth-round selections in 1979 (88th and 131st overall–Ulysses Norris and Pittsburgh center Walt Brown respectively) and a 1980 third-round pick (62nd overall–Mike Friede) on April 29, 1979.
[1][6] During his three seasons with the Colts, he played brilliantly in 1979 despite a 5–11 record, after a season-ending injury to starting quarterback Bert Jones.
[9] He then played for George Allen on the Chicago Blitz and Arizona Wranglers in the United States Football League (USFL) in 1983 and 1984.
The 1994 Illinois Fighting Illini had the second-best passing offense in the Big Ten Conference, which carried the team to a 30–0 win in the Liberty Bowl over East Carolina.
[17] The following year, Landry returned to the Lions as quarterback coach, helping them to become the top offensive unit in the NFL and guiding Scott Mitchell to record-setting passing numbers that season.