ticatfan
05-12-2005, 09:07 AM
Coach led Larks to 1974, '77 Grey Cup titles before guiding NFL's Bills to four straight Bowls
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Marv Levy credits his CFL coaching experience as a key to his being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at Canton, Ohio, three years ago.
Sure, leading the Buffalo Bills to a record four straight Super Bowls (all losses) from 1991-94 while riding a shotgun offence led by quarterback Jim Kelly, running-back Thurman Thomas and wide-receiver Andre Reed was a factor in Levy's induction as a coach. But the five years he spent as head coach of the Alouettes from 1973-77 were important as well.
"Absolutely," Levy, 79, said in a telephone interview this week from the West Virginia home he and his wife Fran are in the process of selling. The couple also maintains a home in Chicago, as Levy waits for his beloved Cubs to win a World Series.
Levy will be back in Montreal this evening to address a Quebec Junior Football League banquet at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel.
Levy led the Alouettes to the Grey Cup game in 1974, '75 and '77, winning in '74 and '77. He posted a 50-34-4 record with the Als - the best of any CFL coach over that period - which helped open the head-coaching door to the NFL.
After a solid head-coaching career at the U.S. collegiate level, Levy managed to land assistant jobs in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams, before joining head coach George Allen's staff with the Washington Redskins. His responsibilities under Allen were special teams and the kicking game, and Levy became recognized as one of the best in those fields.
"I was in charge of special teams and I think I did a decent job," Levy said. "But there's that big step from being an assistant to the head man.
"Many times, someone proves they are a good co-ordinator or a specialist coach and remains assigned to those aspects of the game. They never get the head coaching chance.
"I had had success as a college head coach, but that's not always enough."
Alouettes general manager J.I. Albrecht approached Levy about leaving Washington after the 1972 NFL season and becoming a head coach in Montreal.
"I left a very fine job as an assistant with a team that had just gone to the Super Bowl with a great head coach," Levy said. "I was given the opportunity to be head coach again, this time with professionals. It proved I could be a head coach, and that's why subsequent opportunities came my way.
"I feel strongly about that. Of course, it helped that we won in Montreal, as well."
Levy refers to his time in Montreal as a "tremendously memorable five years." He also said he became a better coach during that period.
"Whatever level you are at in football, the same things win," he said. "You throw, you run, you tackle, you block.
"But coming to Canada, there were things for me to learn. There are nuances, differences in the Canadian game. So I was in the position where it was to my benefit to listen to players - especially veteran Canadians - who gave me insights on the Canadian game.
"I listened and incorporated things into our game plan. I learned that you can learn from players."
Levy left the Alouettes after the team's 41-6 rout of the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1977 Grey Cup game at Olympic Stadium, before what is still a Grey Cup record crowd of 68,318, to become head coach of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Marv Levy credits his CFL coaching experience as a key to his being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at Canton, Ohio, three years ago.
Sure, leading the Buffalo Bills to a record four straight Super Bowls (all losses) from 1991-94 while riding a shotgun offence led by quarterback Jim Kelly, running-back Thurman Thomas and wide-receiver Andre Reed was a factor in Levy's induction as a coach. But the five years he spent as head coach of the Alouettes from 1973-77 were important as well.
"Absolutely," Levy, 79, said in a telephone interview this week from the West Virginia home he and his wife Fran are in the process of selling. The couple also maintains a home in Chicago, as Levy waits for his beloved Cubs to win a World Series.
Levy will be back in Montreal this evening to address a Quebec Junior Football League banquet at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel.
Levy led the Alouettes to the Grey Cup game in 1974, '75 and '77, winning in '74 and '77. He posted a 50-34-4 record with the Als - the best of any CFL coach over that period - which helped open the head-coaching door to the NFL.
After a solid head-coaching career at the U.S. collegiate level, Levy managed to land assistant jobs in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams, before joining head coach George Allen's staff with the Washington Redskins. His responsibilities under Allen were special teams and the kicking game, and Levy became recognized as one of the best in those fields.
"I was in charge of special teams and I think I did a decent job," Levy said. "But there's that big step from being an assistant to the head man.
"Many times, someone proves they are a good co-ordinator or a specialist coach and remains assigned to those aspects of the game. They never get the head coaching chance.
"I had had success as a college head coach, but that's not always enough."
Alouettes general manager J.I. Albrecht approached Levy about leaving Washington after the 1972 NFL season and becoming a head coach in Montreal.
"I left a very fine job as an assistant with a team that had just gone to the Super Bowl with a great head coach," Levy said. "I was given the opportunity to be head coach again, this time with professionals. It proved I could be a head coach, and that's why subsequent opportunities came my way.
"I feel strongly about that. Of course, it helped that we won in Montreal, as well."
Levy refers to his time in Montreal as a "tremendously memorable five years." He also said he became a better coach during that period.
"Whatever level you are at in football, the same things win," he said. "You throw, you run, you tackle, you block.
"But coming to Canada, there were things for me to learn. There are nuances, differences in the Canadian game. So I was in the position where it was to my benefit to listen to players - especially veteran Canadians - who gave me insights on the Canadian game.
"I listened and incorporated things into our game plan. I learned that you can learn from players."
Levy left the Alouettes after the team's 41-6 rout of the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1977 Grey Cup game at Olympic Stadium, before what is still a Grey Cup record crowd of 68,318, to become head coach of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.