Dick Vermeil
Hall of Fame coach who led the Eagles, Rams, and Chiefs, winning Super Bowl XXXIV with St. Louis.
Richard Albert Vermeil (born October 30, 1936) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. Louis Rams for three, and the Kansas City Chiefs for five. Prior to the NFL, he was the head football coach at Hillsdale High School from 1960 to 1962, Napa Junior College in 1964, and UCLA from 1974 to 1975. With UCLA, Vermeil led the team to victory in the 1976 Rose Bowl.
- Affiliation
- Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs
- Division Championships
- 0
- Notable Players Developed
- None
Lore & Background
Vermeil began his NFL head coaching career in 1976 with the Philadelphia Eagles, taking over a team that had not qualified for the postseason, won a playoff game, or clinched their division since 1960. He ended each of these droughts between 1978 and 1980 en route to the Eagles' first Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XV. After retiring in 1983, he returned in 1997 with the St. Louis Rams, who had not achieved a winning season or playoff berth since 1989. Vermeil ended these droughts during the 1999 season, culminating in the Rams winning Super Bowl XXXIV. He retired again after the Super Bowl but returned with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2001, guiding them to their first division title and postseason berth since 1997 during the 2003 season.
In Their Own Story
The locker room at Jack Murphy Stadium hummed with tension on a freezing December morning. Vermeil paced before his squad, his face flushed from shouting, eyes scanning the faces of Fouts and Winslow. 'They think we're just flashy,' he barked, slamming a playbook onto the table. 'Today, we show them we're killers.' The roar that followed wasn't just noise; it was the sound of a team ready to burn down the competition, driven by a coach who refused to let them settle for anything less than glory.
Reader's Guide
Vermeil holds the distinction of being named Coach of the Year on the high school, junior college, collegiate, and professional levels. He was the Pacific-8 Coach of the Year during UCLA's 1975 championship season and the NFL Coach of the Year during the Rams' 1999 championship season. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
Did You Know?
- Vermeil was born in Calistoga, California, and worked at his father's auto repair shop as a teenager.
- He played quarterback at Calistoga High School and later at San Jose State College.
- Vermeil was one of the NFL's first special teams coaches, hired by George Allen's Los Angeles Rams in 1969.
- He led UCLA to a win over an undefeated and number 1 ranked Ohio State team in the 1976 Rose Bowl.
- Vermeil's 1999 Rams offense became known as 'The Greatest Show on Turf'.
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