It is certainly no secret to those who know the NFL that Bobby Beathard was, along with Joe Gibbs the major contributor to the greatness of those Washington teams (1981-1992).
Beathard’s last season with Washington was in 1988, but when Washington won Super Bowl XXVI (1991 season), they were still many on the roster whom Beathard brought to Washington.
Even more, it was Beathard who hired Washington’s new head coach in 1981, a coach who had never been a head coach in football at any level. Yet, Beathard believed his target was organized, gave attention to detail, could work with people, and was very competitive. So Beathard hired Joe Gibbs, and the rest is history.
Beathard, age 86, died in his home Monday in Franklin, Tennessee.
Here are some of the reactions from around the league and media to the death of the great Bobby Beathard.