Howard Edward Mudd (February 10, 1942 – August 12, 2020) was an American professional football offensive lineman and coach.

He retired in 1971 due to a knee injury, and began his coaching career at the University of California the following year.

For his work as an assistant coach, Mudd earned the Pro Football Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

He was an outstanding offensive lineman on the Midland High team that won the 1957 Michigan state championship.

[8][9][11][12] His last game was against the Green Bay Packers in November 1970, where he re-injured his knee and the Bears moved him from the roster to make room for another guard, Jim Cadile.

Peyton Manning played for the Colts for 11 of those 12 years, and credits much of his success to the protection he received from Mudd's front line.

[14][9] On May 6, 2009, ESPN reported that Mudd had filed his retirement papers due to a change in the NFL's pension program.

Mudd planned to retire for good following the Colts' game against the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV.

[21] Mudd had hip surgery during the 2011 season, yet continued to coach his players using crutches and a golf cart, known as the Muddmobile.

[25] Mudd developed the silent snap count to deal with fan noise affecting communication between the quarterback and offensive line.

Under Mudd's guidance, the first successful silent count practitioners were Peyton Manning, Jeff Saturday and Tarik Glenn of the Indianapolis Colts.

Howard was a GREAT player during a shortened career and then became one of the game's all-time greatest offensive line coaches.