Dick Vermeil looks back on 'unbelievable' coaching career

Oct. 7—After decades of coaching success in the NFL, Dick Vermeil finally has the hardware to show for his efforts.

The former head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs was recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame — the 28th head coach to receive the honor.

"It's a little overwhelming, really," he said Thursday at King Solomon's Vineyard near Orwigsburg. "I don't think you're ever totally prepared for something that big. And I'm still going from day to day, realizing that it did happen."

Vermeil, 85, joins a legion of NFL greats enshrined in Canton, Ohio, including coaches who have left an indelible mark on the game, like Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry and Bill Walsh.

"It magnifies the definition of appreciation," Vermeil said, "and how grateful you are for the contributions of so many different people."

A football team's success, he said, is determined by the collective efforts of everyone involved, from the owner to the assistant coaches and the players.

During his career, Vermeil worked with several players and faced other head coaches who went on to be inducted in the Hall of Fame.

"These people all made an unbelievable contribution to the success I've had in my career," he said. "I'm very, very grateful."

Well-liked as a coach, Vermeil was known for his impassioned, involved nature and his tough-as-nails practices.

His first and longest head coaching gig was with the Philadelphia Eagles, from 1976 to 1982. During that time, he transformed the Eagles from an underwhelming, underachieving team who hadn't won many games in the past decade to instant contenders, leading them to their first Super Bowl appearance in the 1980 season.

Although Philadelphia lost that game to the Oakland Raiders, 27-10, Vermeil's success with the team rejuvenated the fanbase and established the Eagles as serious competitors for the first time in the Super Bowl era.

Feeling burned out, Vermeil took a break from coaching after the 1982 season and worked as an announcer for CBS and ABC Sports, where he remained until 1996.

"I found myself in broadcasting, and I enjoyed it," he said. "And at that time, they paid you more money to broadcast than to coach."

After receiving head coaching offers nearly every year, Vermeil took over as the St. Louis Rams head coach in 1997. The Rams made sense for him, he said, as he had worked as an assistant coach for the team in the late '60s and early '70s, when they were in Los Angeles.

While Vermeil was familiar with the franchise and the ownership, his job wasn't exactly easy. The Rams, in the 1990s, were a spiraling team who hadn't sniffed the playoffs or a winning record since 1989, and turning their fortunes around would prove to be among the greatest challenges of Vermeil's career.

But slowly, over the course of three years, he did it.

Though the Rams only won five games in 1997 and four in 1998, Vermeil knew the seeds had been sown for something greater in their future.

He led the team to a stunning turnaround in 1999 as the Rams clawed their way to a 13-3 record, the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and their first Super Bowl championship in franchise history.

"The first two years were a real challenge," he said. "We did everything the old-fashioned way — hard work — and then it all paid off."

The 1999 season was the beginning of The Greatest Show on Turf, the groundbreaking Rams offense — led by quarterback Kurt Warner and offensive coordinator Mike Martz — that led the NFL in several statistical categories for three consecutive years.

"There were some players that nobody knew about who, all of a sudden, became super players, like Kurt Warner," Vermeil said. "There will be five guys off that offense in the NFL Hall of Fame."

Vermeil retired after the Rams' Super Bowl XXXIV win, but he took another coaching gig a year later — this time with the Kansas City Chiefs. During his tenure with the Chiefs from 2001-05, he led the team to an AFC West Championship and helped build a powerful, high-scoring offense in the mold of his former Rams team.

Vermeil now resides in East Fallowfield Twp., Chester County, where he actively pursues his second passion — wine — for his family winery, Vermeil Wines, in Napa, California.

During his Hall of Fame induction speech in August, Vermeil thanked people from every phase of his football career, from his coaches at Hillsdale High School to his players in college and the NFL.

"I'm so gracious because they provided me an example, and an opportunity to learn from them," he said in his speech. "I learned from my players. Many people said to me, 'Coach, you impact players!' It's the other way around — players impact me."

Contact the writer: hlee@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6085