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Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Vince Tobin has died at the age of 79. The coach died in his home in Arizona on Monday morning. No cause of death has been reported.
Following the coach’s passing Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill released a statement of condolence saying, “Our deepest condolences go out to everyone who knew and loved Vince Tobin and in particular his wife Kathy and their family. As head coach of the Cardinals, his steady leadership was a constant and a big part of the success the team enjoyed during his tenure.”
The Cardinals moved to Arizona (then named the Phoenix Cardinals) in 1988 and had little success under head coaches like Gene Stallings, Joe Bugel, and Buddy Ryan. Then, in 1996, the team hired Vince Tobin to replace Ryan.
In Tobin’s first year, the team went 7-9 with a 35-year-old Boomer Esiason at QB. That offseason, though, the team drafted Jake “The Snake” Plummer out of Arizona State. The move didn’t pay off right away. Tobin and the Cardinals went 4-12 in Plummer’s rookie season.
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However, the team improved to 9-7 in Plummer’s second year, and the franchise made the playoffs for the first time in Arizona. That team even won a playoff game, beating the Dallas Cowboys 20-7 before falling to the Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional Round.
Tobin was the Cardinals head coach for another season and a half before the team fired him after a 2-5 start to the 2000 NFL season. He finished his Cardinals — and NFL — head coaching career with a 28-43 record.
The longtime defensive coordinator, who coached in college, the Canadian Football League, and the USFL, spent two more seasons in the NFL — one as a DC for the Detroit Lions, one as a special assistant for the Green Bay Packers — before retiring.
