Former NFL GM Bobby Beathard, a Franklin resident, dies at 86
Bobby Beathard, a Hall of Fame NFL executive who moved to Franklin in his retirement, died Monday after a lengthy illness. He was 86.
Beathard's son Casey, who played football at Elon before becoming a songwriter, moved to the Nashville area in 1991. Bobby Beathard followed his son to the area after his retirement.
Casey's son C.J. was a star quarterback at Battle Ground Academy who went on to play at Iowa and is currently in his sixth NFL season and second with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Casey has written songs for George Straight, Tim McGraw, Eric Church, Trace Adkins, Terri Clark, Billy Ray Cyrus and others. He and Dave Turnbull wrote "The Boys of Fall" recorded by Kenny Chesney, which resonates with football fans.
Beathard, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018, spent 33 years in the NFL as a general manager and personnel director with the Kansas City Chiefs (1966-67), Atlanta Falcons (1968-1971), Miami Dolphins (1972-77), Washington Redskins (1978-1988) and San Diego Chargers (1990-99).
He was only the third general manager inducted into the Hall of Fame.
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“Bobby not only built winning teams throughout his career, but he also built winning cultures that lasted beyond his years with an organization,” Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said. “He combined an eye for talent with a special gift for working with other people. The results speak for themselves. Bobby’s legacy will be forever preserved in Canton. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Christine, and their family during this incredibly difficult time.”
Beathard relied on unconventional methods, especially in the NFL Draft, to build each of the teams with which he was associated into winners.
Beathard's teams won 10 division titles, seven league/conference championships and four Super Bowls – Super Bowls VII and VIII with Miami and Super Bowls XVII and XXII with Washington.
"We did it a little bit different than a lot of people," Beathard said at his Hall of Fame induction. "A lot of people in the league thought I was nuts. Maybe that was true, because I started trading away first-round draft picks and first-round draft picks were valuable … but we figured if it was a draft that we had evaluated … and it was rich in talent, we could get players in the later rounds."
After leaving Washington, Beathard became general manager of the Chargers in 1990 and turned that struggling franchise's fortunes around after just three years. San Diego won its first AFC Western Division championship in more than a decade in 1994 and made its first Super Bowl appearance.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Former NFL GM Bobby Beathard, a Franklin resident, dies at 86
