Sid Gillman
Personal information | |
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Born: | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. | October 26, 1911
Died: | January 3, 2003 Carlsbad, California, U.S. | (aged 91)
Career information | |
High school: | Minneapolis North (Minneapolis, Minnesota) |
College: | Ohio State |
Position: | End |
Career history | |
As a player: | |
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As a coach: | |
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Career highlights and awards | |
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Head coaching record | |
Regular season: | AFL/NFL: 122–99–7 (.550) |
Postseason: | AFL/NFL: 1–5 (.167) |
Career: | AFL/NFL: 123–104–7 (.541) NCAA: 81–19–2 (.804) |
Coaching stats at PFR | |
Sidney Gillman (October 26, 1911 – January 3, 2003) was an American football player, coach and executive. Gillman's insistence on stretching the football field by throwing deep downfield passes, instead of short passes to running backs or wide receivers at the sides of the line of scrimmage, was instrumental in making football into the modern game that it is today. He was inducted as a coach into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
Gillman played football as an
Early life, family and education
Sidney Gillman was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to a Jewish family.[1]
He played college football at Ohio State University under coach Sam Willaman, forming the basis of his offense.[2] He was a team captain and All-Big Ten Conference end in 1933. While attending Ohio State, Gillman was a brother of the Nu chapter of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity.
Career
Always deeply interested in the game, while working as a movie theater usher, he removed football segments from newsreels the theater would show, so that he could take them home and study them on a projector he had bought. This dedication to filmed football plays made Gillman the first coach to study game footage, something that all coaches do today.[3]
Gillman debated between pursuing a pro football career and entering coaching upon leaving college, with the
He became a professional head coach for the first time with the Los Angeles Rams in 1955 after the team had declined in wins the previous two seasons with a team bolstered and hindered by its emphasis on explosive offense as quarterbacked by Norm Van Brocklin. A trade for Jim Cason with the San Francisco 49ers also proved helpful in the rookie season that saw Gillman's coaching described as "red-meat, un-finessed brand of football" on the way to a record of 8–3–1 that narrowly beat the Chicago Bears for the right to play for the 1955 NFL Championship Game (their fourth appearance in the past five seasons) against the Cleveland Browns, appearing in their sixth straight NFL Championship Game and the defending league champion. Playing at home in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum due to the rotation of the time, the Browns never trailed while forcing six Van Brocklin interceptions on their way to a 38–14 victory.[7] His second season with the Rams, which saw them trade away future defensive star Andy Robustelli in the offseason, was a disaster, as the team lost eight of their first ten games for a 4-8 overall record, their first losing mark since 1944 when the team was still in Cleveland. The 1957 season was the last for both Van Brocklin (traded to Philadelphia after the season) and receiver Elroy Hirsch, each future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A multi-player deal with the Cardinals for Ollie Matson did not help matters. The season ended on a middling note as the Rams won their last two games of the year to finish at .500. The 1958 season was the closest the Rams got to the top of the division, finishing one game behind the Baltimore Colts. The 1959 season saw the Rams close the year with eight straight losses that led to the dismissal of Gillman.[8][9]
He then moved to the American Football League (AFL, 1960–1969), where he coached the Los Angeles and San Diego Chargers to five Western Division titles and one league championship in the first six years of the AFL's existence. His greatest coaching success came after he was persuaded by Barron Hilton, then the Chargers' majority owner, to become the head coach of the AFL franchise he planned to operate in Los Angeles. When the team's general manager, Frank Leahy, became ill during the Chargers' founding season, Gillman took on additional responsibilities as general manager. As the first coach of the Chargers, Gillman gave the team a mercurial personality that matched his own. He had much to do with the AFL being able to establish itself. Gillman was a thorough professional, and in order to compete with him, his peers had to learn pro ways. They learned, and the AFL became the genesis of modern professional football. "Sid Gillman brought class to the AFL," Oakland Raiders managing general partner Al Davis once said of the man he served under on that first Chargers team. "Being part of Sid's organization was like going to a laboratory for the highly developed science of professional football." Others however, painted Gillman as who kept the team under pressure at all times regardless of how it felt for the players, with Dickie Post calling him a "dictator".[10] Described as "impulsive" by quarterback John Hadl, Gillman had arguments with defensive stars Ernie Ladd and Earl Faison. When Faison was released in 1966, Gillman called the former four-time All-AFL defensive end one who "has a long way to go to become average, much less outstanding."[11] Hadl stated that these removals were part of the beginning of the decline of the Chargers in the late 1960s.[12] When asked about the money made by players once, Gillman responded by saying “With some of them, football is a vocation. With some, it’s an avocation. You know what football is to me? It’s blood.”
Through Gillman's tenure as head coach, the Chargers went 87–57–6 and won five AFL Western Division titles. The 1960 and 1961 teams wetr led by
Gillman served as a quality control coach for the
In 1977, Gillman was hired as offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears in 1977.[16] The Bears, with Walter Payton leading the way in rushing yards (1,852), won 9 games and earned their first postseason appearance in 14 years, which ended in a loss in the Divisional Round. However, Gillman resigned after the year when his ideas about opening up the offense was rejected.[17] For four months of 1978, Gillman was the coach of the football team at United States International University; one of the coaches he hired was Tom Walsh, who would coach the team when Gillman left in early 1979. Philadelphia Eagles coach Dick Vermeil hired Gillman in 1979 to take over an offense ranked 27th, 19th, and 18th the previous three seasons. In Gillman’s three years under Vermeil, the Eagles scored the 3rd-most points in the NFL, won the 2nd-most games, reached the playoffs all three seasons, and reached their first Super Bowl in 1980, with Vermeil stating that the appearance in the Super Bowl would not have happened without the "encylcopedia" knowledge of Gillman.[18] He had retired after the 1980 season as “Physically and mentally drained" before returning in 1982.
In July 1983, at age 71, Gillman came out of retirement after an offer from Bill Tatham, Sr. and Bill Tatham, Jr., owners of the
Influence
Gillman's influence on the modern game can be seen by listing the current and former coaches and executives who either played with him or coached for him:
- George Blackburn, former coach for Miami (OH), Cincinnati, and Virginia
- Frank Clair, who coached the Toronto Argonauts and Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League to a total of five Grey Cup championships
- Al Davis, late coach and owner of the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders
- Chuck Noll, coached the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl titles
- Ara Parseghian, former coach at the University of Notre Dame who led the Fighting Irish to two national titles
- University of Michigan[20]
- Bill Walsh, who coached the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl titles
- Chuck Knox, former head coach of Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks
- Dick Vermeil, coached the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl title and the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl
- Washington Redskins
- Bum Phillips who coached for Gillman for 5 years in San Diego prior to coaching for him in Houston.
Coaching tree
Numbers in parentheses indicate Super Bowls won by Gillman's "descendants" as head coach, a total of 29.
Don Coryell, the coach at San Diego State University when Gillman was coaching the San Diego Chargers, would bring his team to Chargers' practices to watch how Gillman ran his practices. Coryell went on to coach in the NFL, and some of his assistants, influenced by the Gillman style, included coaches Joe Gibbs, Ernie Zampese, Tom Bass, and Russ A. Molzahn. A larger and more extended version of Sid Gillman's coaching tree, which in some ways could be called a forest, can be found here.[21]
Honors and awards
Gillman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983, and into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1990 he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[22]
Personal life and death
Gillman and his wife Esther had four children and were married for 67 years (until his death).[23] They resided in Carlsbad, California before moving in 2001 to Century City in Los Angeles.[24]
On January 3, 2003, Gillman died in his sleep at age 91.[23] He was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Head coaching record
College
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Miami Redskins (Independent) (1944–1947) | |||||||||
1944 | Miami | 8–1 | |||||||
1945 | Miami | 7–2 | |||||||
1946 | Miami | 7–3 | |||||||
1947 | Miami | 9–0–1 | W Sun | ||||||
Miami: | 31–6–1 | ||||||||
Cincinnati Bearcats (Mid-American Conference) (1949–1952) | |||||||||
1949 | Cincinnati | 7–4 | 4–0 | 1st | |||||
1950 | Cincinnati | 8–4 | 3–1 | 2nd | L Sun | ||||
1951 | Cincinnati | 10–1 | 3–0 | 1st | |||||
1952 | Cincinnati | 8–1–1 | 3–0 | 1st | |||||
Cincinnati Bearcats (Independent) (1953–1954) | |||||||||
1953 | Cincinnati | 9–1 | |||||||
1954 | Cincinnati | 8–2 | |||||||
Cincinnati: | 50–13–1 | 13–1 | |||||||
Total: | 81–19–2 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth |
AFL/NFL
Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
LA | 1955 | 8 | 3 | 1 | .727 | 1st in NFL Western Conference | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Cleveland Browns in NFL Championship |
LA | 1956 | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | T-5th in NFL Western Conference | - | - | - | |
LA | 1957 | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 4th in NFL Western Conference | - | - | - | |
LA | 1958 | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | T-2nd in NFL Western Conference | - | - | - | |
LA | 1959 | 2 | 10 | 0 | .200 | 6th in NFL Western Conference | - | - | - | |
LA Total | 28 | 31 | 1 | .475 | 0 | 1 | .000 | |||
LA Chargers | 1960
|
10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 1st in AFL West Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Houston Oilers in AFL championship game |
SD | 1961
|
12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 1st in AFL West Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Houston Oilers in AFL championship game |
SD | 1962
|
4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 4th in AFL West Division | - | - | - | |
SD | 1963
|
11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 1st in AFL West Division | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Beat Boston Patriots in AFL championship game |
SD | 1964
|
8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 1st in AFL West Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Buffalo Bills in AFL championship game |
SD | 1965
|
9 | 2 | 3 | .818 | 1st in AFL West Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Buffalo Bills in AFL championship game |
SD | 1966
|
7 | 6 | 1 | .538 | 3rd in AFL West Division | - | - | - | |
SD | 1967
|
8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 3rd in AFL West Division | - | - | - | |
SD | 1968
|
9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 3rd in AFL West Division | - | - | - | |
SD | 1969
|
4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 3rd in AFL West Division | - | - | - | |
SD | 1971 | 4 | 6 | 0 | .440 | 3rd in AFL West Division | - | - | - | |
LA/SD Total | 86 | 53 | 6 | .619 | 1 | 4 | .200 | |||
HOU | 1973 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 | 4th in AFC Central | - | - | - | |
HOU | 1974 | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in AFC Central | - | - | - | |
HOU Total | 8 | 15 | 0 | .348 | - | - | - | |||
Professional Total | 122 | 99 | 7 | .552 | 1 | 5 | .167 |
See also
- List of American Football League players
- List of National Football League head coaches with 50 wins
References
- ^ ISBN 9781561710287– via Google Books.
- ^ Peterson, Bill (August 16, 2006). "Cincinnati's Connection to Football's "West Coast Offense"". City Beat. Archived from the original on January 28, 2007. Retrieved September 7, 2006.
- ^ Bach, John (January 2001). "Sid Gillman used film to change football while at the University of Cincinnati". University of Cincinnati Magazine. Retrieved September 7, 2006.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Murray, James. "CLEVELAND WON THE TITLE AGAIN BUT NOT BEFORE THE WHOLE NFL HAD COME TO APPRECIATE COACH SID GILLMAN AND HIS L.A. RAMS". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ Gomez, Johnny (August 23, 2013). "1959: The Gillman era falls flat - Rams Talk". Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/sports/articles/the-other-league
- ^ Tobias, Todd. "Dickie Post - February 17, 2004". Tales from the AFL. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ "Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan". Newspapers.com. October 19, 1966. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ Tobias, Todd. "An Interview with the San Diego Chargers John Hadl". Tales from the AFL. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ Marshall, Joe. "AFTER 18 DRY WELLS, A LITTLE GUSHER". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ a b "Remember When: Bud Adams hires Bum Phillips; Sid Gillman quits". CBSSports.com. October 25, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ Pierson, Don (January 4, 2003). "Sid Gillman 1911-2003". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Zimmerman, Paul (July 1, 2016). "Best of Dr. Z: 1991 Sid Gillman feature". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ Frank, Reuben (January 31, 2024). "Ranking the top 10 coordinators in Eagles history". CSNPhilly.
- Chicago Herald. July 8, 1983. p. 22.
- ^ Oates, Bob (January 4, 2003). "Gillman Had Other Love in Life". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "Sid Gillman Coaching Tree". Retrieved December 18, 2014.
- ^ "Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Home". scjewishsportshof.com.
- ^ a b Martin, Susan (January 4, 2003). "Legendary Gillman dies at 91". Buffalo News. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ "Gillman Helped Engineer West Coast Offense". ESPN.com. January 7, 2003. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
External links
- Sid Gillman at the Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Sid Gillman at the College Football Hall of Fame
- Cradle of Coaches Archive: A Legacy of Excellence - Sid Gillman, Miami University Libraries
- Sid Gillman Collection, Cradle of Coaches Archive, Miami University Libraries