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Legendary NFL head coach Chuck Knox has passed away at the age of 86. On Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks confirmed the death of their former sideline boss who was suffering from dementia.
We remember Chuck Knox, a great influencer and beloved figurehead of the Seahawks organization. pic.twitter.com/rfObRQGphC
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) May 13, 2018
In addition to the Seahawks, Knox enjoyed two stints with the Los Angeles Rams as well as a healthy chunk of NFL time with the Buffalo Bills.
While he's most remembered (especially in this generation) as the head man of the Seahawks throughout the decade of the 1980s, Knox was also the man behind some of those great Los Angeles Rams teams of the 1970s.
In five years as Rams head coach (1973-1977), Knox's Rams squads qualified for the playoffs and never won fewer than 10 games. Three times his team advanced to the NFC Championship Game.
He then spent five seasons as the head coach of the Bills, twice qualifying for the playoffs and once advancing a round.
The era in which he's most remembered was his nine-season stint in Seattle. As the Bill Parcells' like “franchise turnaround man,” he took the Seahawks to immediate success. In 1983, they finished 9-7 with a miraculous AFC playoff run to Championship Sunday, marking the franchise's very first postseason appearance. A year later, the team won 12 games prior to losing to the Miami Dolphins in the divisional round.
Despite a tough three-year early 1990s stint with the Rams, his career record stands at 186-147-1 with a career playoff mark of 7-11. He's the only man in NFL history to be named NFL Coach of the Year for three different organizations and players have been known to worship his coaching gospel, via Brady Henderson of ESPN.
“Chuck Knox was the best coach I ever had,” Tom Mack, a former Rams guard and Pro Football Hall of Famer, was quoted as saying in a 2016 Los Angeles Times story. “He always took the time to know each player well enough that he could talk to each player and hit their hot buttons. I never saw another coach like that.”
In addition to Seattle's news regarding its late hero, the Rams also issued a statement.
“Chuck Knox established a winning culture and a legacy that will never be forgotten, being the only coach to lead the Rams to five consecutive double-digit-win seasons. The memories and accomplishments that Coach Knox left behind will continue to inspire us and Rams fans.”
As previously mentioned, he was Bill Parcells prior to his time in taking three franchises and molding them into consistent winners. Known as “Ground Chuck” for his heavy-running style, his old-school approach is unlike anything we witness today.
