Just working the night shift, readers....
"Chuck Fairbanks; coach revived Patriots’ fortunes in ’70s" by Bryan Marquard | Globe Staff, April 04, 2013
Chuck Fairbanks, who led the Patriots to the playoffs twice in six seasons before his departure to coach at the University of Colorado, died of brain cancer Tuesday in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 79.
Arriving from the University of Oklahoma in 1973 to take over as New England’s sixth coach, Mr. Fairbanks compiled a 46-39 regular-season record with the Patriots. The team lost both playoff games he coached, but those two postseason appearances were two more than the Patriots had made in the previous 13 years.
“Coach Fairbanks gave the Patriots instant credibility,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement.
And now they have lost that.
UPDATES:
Aaron Hernandez case postponed
Bill Belichick struck the right tone
“He delivered the franchise’s first 11-win season in 1976 and earned a home playoff game after winning the division in 1978,” Kraft said. “It was the first time in franchise history that we hosted a playoff game. He introduced the 3-4 defense to the NFL during his Patriots tenure, which remains a part of his NFL legacy.”
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Related:
"Jack Pardee, Texas A&M star and NFL coach for Oilers; 76" by Richard Goldstein | New York Times, April 04, 2013
NEW YORK — Jack Pardee, a survivor of coach Bear Bryant’s brutal ‘‘Junction Boys’’ training camp at Texas A&M who went on to become a longtime NFL linebacker and head coach, died Monday. He was 76.
The cause was gallbladder cancer, said the University of Houston, where he coached in the late 1980s....
Mr. Pardee coached the 1989 University of Houston team that compiled awesome statistics in the Run and Shoot offense behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Andre Ware. Mr. Pardee later coached the Houston Oilers to four consecutive playoff appearances....
Mr. Pardee played linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Redskins.
Mr. Pardee was also the head coach of the Chicago Bears from 1975 to 1977, and coached the Redskins from 1978 to 1980.
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