Tag: Vince Lombardi

How 12 football head coaches fared as the replacements for legends like Bill Belichick and Nick Saban

Who replaced Bear Bryant, Don Shula and John Madden and how did they do?

During one of the craziest weeks of football in recent memory, we saw the end of an era for legends like Bill Belichick and Nick Saban.

Belichick, 71, and Saban, 72, are easily two of the greatest coaches that the sport has ever seen. Next season, college football will look very different without Saban coaching Alabama. Meanwhile, the NFL will also look very different without Belichick coaching the Patriots.

Both teams will have huge decisions about how to fill these massive shoes. While there are some interesting candidates for the gig in New England and the job in Tuscaloosa, can either live up to the reputation that Belichick and Saban built?

We looked back at some of the most legendary coaches in football history, both in the NFL and in college football, to learn how these replacements have typically fared.

The results are a fairly mixed bag but if there is one thing we learned, it is that it is not easy to replace someone as accomplished as either of these two Hall of Fame-caliber coaches.

The best head coach in franchise history for all 32 NFL teams

Here are the best coaches ever for every franchise.

As one legendary NFL coach once put it: Leaders are made, they are not born.

In the rich tapestry that is pro football history, we’ve seen a lot of different personalities roam on NFL sidelines. The league has not been short on firebrands willing to start contentious feuds all over the country on a whim. It’s had more than its fair of eccentrics whose singular focus on football served them and their players quite well. More often than not, in fact, the classic “Football Guy” coach is who our obsessive American culture has lionized as a hero time and again.

There have also been a lot of awful coaches in NFL history. “Black Monday” doesn’t become a de facto “holiday” for the sport without a consistent churn of incompetence. Some folks just don’t deserve that famous headset. They are not leaders, and they can’t be made into them.

But, every now and then, we’ve seen a truly great coach rise from previous irrelevance. That person with an undeniable charm, drive, and a forward-thinking approach to the games. That person who resonates with their team and fans. These are the sideline leaders we revere. These people elevate the sum of their parts, wring out every last drop of talent and effort from their squads, and become a staple of their city’s history.

The list below breaks down the best-ever coach for all 32 NFL teams. It accounts for performance, cultural impact, longevity, and even whether someone was simply the most prudent pick of an otherwise forgettable litter. Some of these selections are obvious no-brainers, ones who are probably already on your mind. Others, there was a bit more debate.

Let’s dive in.

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Ranking 8 best assistant coaches in Giants history

From Marty Schottenheimer to Vince Lombardi, Giants Wire ranks the eight best assistant coaches in New York Giants history.

The New York Giants are closing in on a century of existence and many famous and powerful names have worn the blue over that time.

When it comes to head coaches, the Giants have had some great ones — Bill Parcells, Tom Coughlin, Jim Lee Howell, and Steve Owen — and some notable ones in Allie Sherman, Jim Fassel, and Alex Webster.

But what the Giants are really known for is grooming head coaches; men who worked for the club and went on to become some of the great head coaches in NFL history.

Here are eight of those names.

Who is the greatest Green Bay Packer of all time?

Aaron Rodgers says he is debatably the greatest Packer of all time. You get to weigh in with this poll.

Aaron Rodgers said he is debatably the greatest Green Bay Packer of all time on Wednesday while guesting on the “Pat McAfee Show.”

“I would say this is debatable, but I’m debatably the best player in franchise history,” Rodgers said on the show. “I’m in the conversation for sure.

“What’s not debatable is I’m the longest-tenured Packer in history. You can debate the first part, obviously, Bart (Starr), Brett (Favre), a number of names have been incredible. But you can’t debate that anybody has been there longer than I have. And nobody has bled green and gold like me.”

  • Rodgers is 147-75-1 as a starter. He has thrown for 59,055 yards with 475 touchdowns against 105 interceptions.
  • Favre was 160-93-0 with Green Bay. He threw for 61,655 yards with 442 TDs and 286 interceptions.
  • Starr was 94-57-6 with 24,718 passing yards, 152 TDs, and 138 interceptions.

Starr won two Super Bowls — first two — with Green Bay. Rodgers and Favre each won one.

Of course, we aren’t going to ignore the greatest coach in franchise history, Vince Lombardi. He won a pair of Super Bowls and 5 NFL championships.

Lombardi was 89-29-4 as Packers coach and won 9 of 10 playoff games.

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Joe Lombardi joins Broncos after coaching up Justin Herbert

Broncos OC Joe Lombardi, the grandson of Vince Lombardi, helped Justin Herbert throw for 9,753 yards and 63 touchdown passes from 2021-2022.

The Denver Broncos have a new offensive coordinator in Joe Lombardi, who was brought in under new head coach Sean Payton to replace Justin Outten.

Lombardi, 51, is the grandson of legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi. The younger Lombardi has 27 years of experience as a football coach, including 17 years in the NFL.

Lombardi most recently served as offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers from 2021-2022, helping quarterback Justin Herbert throw for 9,753 yards and 63 touchdown passes over the last two seasons.

Lombardi will now aim to help Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson improve, and he has experience working closely with QBs. Lombardi had two different stints as a QBs coach under Payton with the New Orleans Saints from 2009-2013 (winning one Super Bowl) and again from 2016-2020.

In addition to working with the Chargers and Saints, Lombardi has also coached with the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, four college programs and a former XFL team. Denver will mark his third offensive coordinator tenure in the NFL.

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Mike McCarthy returned to Lambeau Field dressed like Vince Lombardi and NFL fans had so many jokes

All that’s missing is McCarthy breaking down the Power Sweep.

Mike McCarthy was one of the longest-tenured (and most successful) Packers coaches in history. During his Green Bay stint, he won over 100 regular season games, had 10 playoff wins, and even brought the team back to a Super Bowl. In terms of consistency and relevance, only the legendary Vince Lombardi exceeds McCarthy’s Packers coaching resume.

That’s what made the now-Cowboys head coach’s fit for his return to Lambeau Field all too fitting.

During pre-game walkarounds, McCarthy wore a long, brown winter coat. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t think anything of it. But to do so while in Green Bay’s home digs — where Lombardi famously wore a long, brown winter coat quite often — seemingly makes it obvious McCarthy was trying to pay homage to the all-time great.

Oh, man. It’s almost a spitting image! All McCarthy is missing is Lombardi’s trademark fedora, and he’d be right in line with this outfit.

Now, after dressing like a Hall of Fame coach, McCarthy has to get his Cowboys to topple the Packers. You just know he wants to get one over his old squad — especially after being fired — as Dallas pushes ahead in a playoff chase.

53 years ago today: Washington head coach Vince Lombardi

On this day, 53 years ago, Vince Lombardi made history.

It was 53 years ago today in Washington football history Vince Lombardi appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated March 3, 1969.

Lombardi appearing in coat and tie, the cover read, “Vince Lombardi Puts a Legend on the Line.”

Lombardi in Green Bay had turned things around instantly with a 7-5, 1959 team, the first winning Packers team since Curly Lambeau’s 1947 (6-5-1) team. All Lombardi accomplished in his nine seasons with Green Bay was a winning season each year, an 89-29-4 regular-season record, 3 NFL Championships, and the first two Super Bowl Championships.

Retiring on top, following 1967 season, Lombardi was an executive with the Packers in 1968 and miserable.

Hired by the Redskins in 1969, Lombardi at his first press conference proclaimed, “Gentlemen, it is not true that I can walk across the Potomac River—not even when it is frozen.”

Washington had been 5-9 in 1968, and had last enjoyed a winning season in 1955 (8-4), long before any of the Redskins Lombardi inherited. There were however three future Hall of Famers: Sonny Jurgensen, Charley Taylor and Chris Hanburger.

Sam Huff returned for the 1969 season, having come out of retirement to play one season under Lombardi. Lombardi promised in that first press conference, “We’re going to have a winner the first year!”

Indeed Lombardi was a winner, leading Washington to a 7-5-2 record in his only season in Washington. He was diagnosed with colon cancer June, 1970, and died September 3, 1970, only age 57.

A few more excerpts quoting Lombardi in the SI issue:

“I’m not a legend, because I don’t want to be a legend. One main reason I came back to coaching is that I didn’t want to be regarded as a legend…I’m too young to be a legend.”

“Now a good coach is a good coach. Right? If you take all 26 coaches in pro football and look at their football knowledge, you’d find almost no difference. So if the knowledge isn’t different, what’s different? The coach’s personality. See?” He paused, then laughed—arararararargh!—and said, “Now how am I supposed to explain my own personality? What am I supposed to say? That I’m a great leader? A mental powerhouse? That I’ve got charisma?”

“You cannot be successful in football—or in any organization—unless you have people who bend to your personality. They must bend or already be molded to your personality.”

“I believe a man should be on time—not a minute late, not 10 seconds late—but on time for things. I believe that a man who’s late for meetings or for the bus won’t run his pass routes right. He’ll be sloppy.”

“I just heard the other day about a kid I used to coach in high school. I heard he’s in trouble. I heard he’s drinking, doing a lot of heavy drinking… Lombardi rubbed the three-diamond setting in his huge Super Bowl ring and he said, “It’s corny and it’ll sound awful in writing, but you just feel bad when you know you couldn’t get through to a kid like that.”

 

Washington Super Bowl Coach stands alone

As Sean McVay and Zac Taylor look to win their first Super Bowl Sunday, we shall never forget Joe Gibbs won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks.

How is it that one coach stands out in contrast to all Super Bowl champion coaches?

Vince Lombardi won the first two Super Bowls with Bart Starr as the Green Bay Packers starting quarterback. Don Shula and Miami won two with Bob Griese. Tom Landry steered Dallas to two Super Bowl trophies with Roger Staubach at the helm. Chuck Noll and the Pittsburgh Steelers won four Super Bowls in the 1970s with Terry Bradshaw behind center.

Tom Flores and the Raiders won two with Jim Plunkett as the leader of the offense. Bill Walsh was the head coach with Joe Montana the field general for three Super Bowl crowns for the 49ers. The 49ers won two more with head coach George Seifert coaching and Montana and Steve Young as signal-callers.

Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer both coached the Cowboys to Super Bowl rings with Troy Aikman taking the snaps from center. Denver’s Mike Shanahan as head coach and John Elway in the pocket for the Broncos won it all twice.

Tom Coughlin’s NY Giants took the crown twice with Eli Manning the on-field general. Last but certainly not least, New England’s Bill Belichick won six rings with Tom Brady as the quarterback.

Seifert is the only one above to win a second Super Bowl with a second quarterback (Montana and Young).

There is also Marv Levy and the Bills who went to multiple Super Bowls with Jim Kelly under center — and lost. Likewise, Dan Reeves led Elway and the Broncos to three Super Bowl appearances — they also lost all three.

Yet, there is one other coach to win more than multiple Super Bowls with more than one quarterback, Joe Gibbs of the Washington Redskins. Gibbs not only won more than one Super Bowl with more than one quarterback, he accomplished the feat three times!

Gibbs led Washington to Super Bowl trophies with Joe Theismann, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien winning Super Bowls XVII, XXII and XXVI.

Starr, Griese, Staubach, Bradshaw, Montana, Young, Aikman and Elway are already in the Hall of Fame. Without question Brady will be in the HOF and Eli Manning a 2-time SB MVP is likely to be elected to the HOF. Only Jim Plunkett is likely to not make the HOF.

By contrast, Theismann was only an All-Pro once (1983), and Williams and Rypien were never All-Pro. Rypien had a great year only in 1991. Williams though never even a pro-bowler, was a veteran leader and had huge moments like the playoff win at Chicago (1987) and a nearly perfect 2nd quarter in Super Bowl XXII, earning the MVP.

Joe Gibbs is distinctive among Super Bowl coaches with multiple wins, doing so with three non-Hall of Fame quarterbacks.  Hats off to Coach Joe, who is remarkably now age 81. The Washington franchise and fans were certainly blessed to have enjoyed Joe Jackson Gibbs as head coach.

Everyone was weirded out by the Vince Lombardi speech at the Super Bowl

Uh… what?

In the lead-up to the Super Bowl, CBS and NFL promoted all the technological enhancements we’d see in Sunday’s broadcast of Super Bowl LV.

From 4K and 8K cameras to a 65 mph camera trolley, it was obvious that a lot of money was going into the presentation.

But oh man, did things get awfully weird in the pregame festivities:

The NFL brought Vince Lombardi back from the dead for a pregame hype-up speech. Well, sort of.

The virtual-reality Vince Lombardi wasn’t a deepfake like many suspected (he was portrayed by actor Russ Hutchison). But the fact that the NFL went this direction — a hologram-looking speech from a dead person — had plenty of viewers confused.

https://twitter.com/jadande/status/1358556637326434305

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Report: Seahawks request interview with Saints QB coach Joe Lombardi

A new name surfaced in the Seattle Seahawks’ search for a new offensive coordinator – New Orleans Saints’ quarterback coach, Joe Lombardi.

The Seattle Seahawks’ list of potential offensive coordinators continues to grow. In a report that surfaced on Friday, Seattle has now requested an interview with New Orleans Saints quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi.

The Athletic’s Jeff Duncan tweeted the news on Friday.

“The Chargers and Seahawks have sought permission to interview Saints quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi for their vacant offensive coordinator positions, according to sources,” wrote Duncan. “Lombardi was new Chargers head coach Brandon Staley’s OC at Mercyhurst when Staley played QB there in 2005.”

Lombardi is a Seattle native and attended Seattle Prep for high school. He is the son of Vince Lombardi Jr., who served as an assistant to the Seahawks’ general manager in the early days of the franchise, and the grandson of Vince Lombardi, the namesake of the Super Bowl trophy.

The Seahawks have reported interest in a number of candidates who could replace former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. Schottenheimer was let go almost two weeks ago after three seasons in Seattle.

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