ESPN article ranks Marv Levy # 17

[mrags]

 

 

Can't believe I'm sticking up for Parcells, but didn't he take a team that won one game in Miami and have them win the division the next year?

 

He really was great at taking teams that sucked and have them in contention in very short order.

 

 

 

I hate when people saying he can't win the big one. As Rick Reilly said, he won two Grey Cups..........To get to the Super Bowl, you have to win a hell of a lot of big games. The biggest regular season game in Bills history was 12/23/90 vs. Dolphins. He won that with his backup QB. I think AFC Championships are big games, too!

 

If Norwood's kick goes a few feet to the left, suddenly Marv is a coach who can win the big one, right?

shouldnt Marv have made a conscious effort to get closer than a 42 yard FG in that situation though?

[bbb]

You have over 5000 posts on a Bills board and think that that was a 42 yard field goal?

[RussellDopeland]

I, for one, think back to the '93 Comeback game, and one play (call) in particular that solidified my belief that Levy was not just a good, but great, head coach.

In the 3rd quarter, trailing 35-24, and having momentum- Levy eschewed the field goal and chose to go for it on a 4th and 5 from the 18 yard line. What other coach makes that call? Maybe a Belichick, who knows? I'd say 99% of coaches would not. Conventional wisdom dictates kicking the field goal and cutting the lead to 8 (after all you have an entire quarter left to play). If the Bills had failed to convert on that play, Levy is ripped to shreds by fan and media alike. But the Bills went for it, got the touchdown pass to Reed, and the rest is history. One of the gutsiest calls I've ever seen a coach make.

[bbb]

I was yelling Take the Points!

[Heitz]

Gotta love the Internet - where else could FANS of a team find time to hate on the one coach that actually took the team someplace...

[Last Guy on the Bench]

I, for one, think back to the '93 Comeback game, and one play (call) in particular that solidified my belief that Levy was not just a good, but great, head coach.

In the 3rd quarter, trailing 35-24, and having momentum- Levy eschewed the field goal and chose to go for it on a 4th and 5 from the 18 yard line. What other coach makes that call? Maybe a Belichick, who knows? I'd say 99% of coaches would not. Conventional wisdom dictates kicking the field goal and cutting the lead to 8 (after all you have an entire quarter left to play). If the Bills had failed to convert on that play, Levy is ripped to shreds by fan and media alike. But the Bills went for it, got the touchdown pass to Reed, and the rest is history. One of the gutsiest calls I've ever seen a coach make.

 

I'd forgotten that. Good recall.

 

Those teams did play like crap on occasion, but they never played scared.

 

People can question any number of individual decisions Marv made, but I don't think he made any out of fear.

[mrags]

You have over 5000 posts on a Bills board and think that that was a 42 yard field goal?

i made a mistake. But you have over 7000 posts and you believe Marv was a great coach. So what does that say about you?

[bbb]

That I don't make mistakes.

[thewildrabbit]

Marv was a great HC in the sense he was smart enough, and secure enough to hire top talent in some of his assistant coaches. aka, Ted Marchibroda who was the ex Colts HC and tutored QB Bert Jones. Marchibroda taught Jim Kelly to call all his own offensive plays. Which was something that was unheard of at that time. Between Marv and Ted they thought up running the no huddle all game long because Kelly was so adept at running the 2 min drill.

 

Marv was never an OC or DC but a special teams coach under the late George Allen. Its why the Bills special teams were usually always so good as Marv had a hand in them.

 

The other factor that makes a great coach is can he motivate million dollar babies to do their jobs, and yes Marv was a supreme motivator.

 

Some of his "marvisms" still live on today. My favorite, in the huddle on the sideline telling his players before a game, "where else would you rather be, then right here right now!

 

Ability without character will not win!

 

"Don't be dumb, don't be dirty."

"This game is not a must win, WWII was a must win."

"If Michelangelo wanted to play it safe he would have painted the floor of the Sistine chapel."

"Great football coaches have the vision to see, the faith to believe, the courage to do... and 25 great players."

"Security comes from earning it--not seeking it."

"Systems don't win, players do."

"Adversity is an opportunity for heroism."

"The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender."

"What it takes to win is simple, it's not easy."

"Plan your work and work your plan."

"If you have everything prepared, the rest will take care of itself."

"What you do should speak so loudly that no one will hear what you say."

"Expect rejection, but expect even more strongly to overcome it."

"There will be many failures sprinkled among the successes you enjoy."

"A failure becomes just one time at bat if you refuse to let it defeat you."

 

''I am hurt but I am not slain. I'll lay me down and bleed awhile,Then I'll rise and fight again.''

 

 

No other NFL head coach has taken their team to four straight super bowls, and probably never will. He deserves to be in the NFL hall of fame.

 

 

EDIT: Oh when when the Bills went down to Miami and gave Dan Marino's Dolphins a sound beating in that Miami heat, I can only think of another Marvism..."when its too tough for them, its just right for us"

Edited May 27, 2013 by FeartheLosing

[mrags]

That I don't make mistakes.

and have bad opinions of NFL head coaches.

[bbb]

Any Bills fan who doesn't know how long Norwood's attempt was from doesn't have much credibility...................I think if you polled people around the country, they would think it was a 35-40 yarder, because the portrayal of Norwood over the years has been that he was such a goat.

[mrags]

Any Bills fan who doesn't know how long Norwood's attempt was from doesn't have much credibility...................I think if you polled people around the country, they would think it was a 35-40 yarder, because the portrayal of Norwood over the years has been that he was such a goat.

could care less if I've earned your respect. Enjoy your Memorial Day.

[benderbender]

Memorizing the length of a missed FG is like remembering your ex GF's ring size. It does as much good as trying to take away another person's fan card.

[mrags]

Memorizing the length of a missed FG is like remembering your ex GF's ring size. It does as much good as trying to take away another person's fan card.

this. He missed a FG that he should have made, could have made but didn't. They had chances to get closer, and time to get closer and Didnt. In the end, it doesn't matter if I remembered the length of the FG off the top of my head. All that matters is that it was makable, could have been more makable and wasn't made. We lost the game. On the topic of what were talking about, Marv never won a ring. Was outcoached severely in the biggest game of his career. That's all that matters on the topic that were speaking about.

[thewildrabbit]

all ya gotta do is Google ''wide right"

 

I find it particularly ironic that Marv Levy's specialty was in special teams and that was what they will always remembered for failing in, in that first SB. A 47 yard field goal on grass ...Scott Norwood wide right with 8 seconds left. Levy knew that Norwood made fewer the 50% of any field goals over 40 yards on grass. Norwood was 1of 5 for FG's over 40 yards that year.

 

It was only 2nd down, 2nd and 10 from the 29 yard line with 8 seconds on the clock.

Edited May 27, 2013 by FeartheLosing

[bbb]

Memorizing the length of a missed FG is like remembering your ex GF's ring size. It does as much good as trying to take away another person's fan card.

 

Are you kidding me? 47 yards is like 2003 yards, 714 home runs, 51-3, 35-3. Fans have these numbers ingrained in their DNA.

[Beerball]

meanwhile, back on topic...

[billrooter]

Honestly, you people do not know what you're talking about. You were either too young to watch Marv

as a coach or you're so disgusted with Bills football of the last 12 years that you're just ragging on everyone.

 

I think too many people discount how good of a coach he was because of his lackluster outing as a GM.

 

Marv was a great coach!!!! Do you really think it is just a fluke that he is in the HOF and still considered one

of the 20 best of all time?

 

Oh right, it's just because he got lucky to have great players...

What about Shula having Unitas, Griese, and Marino

Or Jimmy Johnson having Aikman, E. Smith, and Johnson...just for a start

Any team that makes a Super Bowl has great/all pro/HOF players. If you say that for

Marv, you have to say that about every other Super Bowl coach

Walsh...Montana, Rice, etc

Knoll...Bradshaw, Greene, Stallworth, Franco, Swan, etc.

That is just such a bad argument.

 

That Bills team was full of egos...Marv united them, made them a family. It was war, us against them,

being accountable to the other men in the trenches with you. He inspired that team. Do you really

think without Marv's leadership they would have gone to the Bowl 4 times? No, that team would have

been at each other's throats (remember the bickering Bills) and imploded. They persevered because

of what Marv instilled in them. They didn't achieve in spite of him, they achieved because of him.

 

He may not have been the architect of the K-gun/no-huddle, but he definitely had a hand in it (if you remember

how it came about---after the Cincinatti game) and he had the final say on using it, how they would use it,

allowing his QB to call the plays, etc. and ended up overseeing one of the most prolific offenses

ever. And it was due to Marv that Special Teams became important again league-wide and made a name

for Steve Tasker and Mark Pike.

 

What? Marv was only a .500 coach in the NFL before coming to Buffalo?...Well, Bill Belichick was under .500 in 5 years

at Cleveland and 1 year in New England before Brady took over. Marv also coached in the Canadian League.

In 5 years up in Canada, he was in the Grey Cup (their Super Bowl) 3 out of 5 years, winning 2. And although,

his time with the Chiefs wasn't completely successful, he had inherited a horrendous 2-12 team and each year

they improved to 4, 7, 8 wins, then 9-7 in 1981 (before a strike shortened season).

 

The reason we failed in the Super Bowls was because the league was changing at that time to bigger, beefier

offensive lines and our small 3-man front couldn't stop the run consistently enough against those new O-lines

(Washington and Dallas). And sure the Giants (Parcells and Belichick) had a good game plan in SB XXV to

use a time sucking ground attack to keep the Bills offense off the field, but it's not like he was severely out coached,

we lost the game by 1 point for Christ's sake and if Norwood's FG goes through we would have won. And don't forget,

in week 15 of that same year, we had beaten that same Giants team in the Meadowlands 17-13. Those teams were so evenly

matched and those were two hard fought, close games.

 

Marv is the only coach to go to 4 consecutive Super Bowls (do you know how hard that is even though they lost them)?

He was also the coach of the greatest NFL comeback of all time.

In an 8 year stretch, his Bills won the AFC East 6 times.

He was Skyline Conference Coach of the year both years he coached at the University of New Mexico.

He also won Southern Conference Coach of the Year awards 2 out of 5 years he was at William & Mary.

Won the Annis Stukus Trophy (Coach of the year in the Canadian League) in 1974.

Was NFL Coach of the Year in 1988 and AFC Coach of the Year in 1988, 1993, and 1995.

One of only 2 coaches (Tom Flores was the other) to have a winning record (17-6) against the winningest coach

in the history of the NFL (Shula).

One of only 14 coaches to win at least 100 games with one team.

One of only 2 coaches (Bud Grant, the other) to appear in both Grey Cup Championship and the Super Bowl.

Over a 10 year span (1988-1997), an entire decade, the Bills won more games than any team in the AFC and

2nd only to San Francisco in the entire NFL (I'm sure coaching had nothing to do with that...right?)

 

 

I just don't understand this revisionist history. Give the man his due and have some respect for not only one

of the best Bills coaches ever, but one of the best of all-time.

 

"Where would you rather be than right here, right now"

 

"When it's too tough for them, it's just right for us."

 

Come on Man!

Since you replied to my post with out listing my name I will reply, first up i'm 41 and not too young too remember Marvs' tenure with the Bills'. I like Marv and i'm happy hes' in the Hall but 17th does seem kind of high, but hey to each is own!

[Greybeard]

I, for one, think back to the '93 Comeback game, and one play (call) in particular that solidified my belief that Levy was not just a good, but great, head coach.

In the 3rd quarter, trailing 35-24, and having momentum- Levy eschewed the field goal and chose to go for it on a 4th and 5 from the 18 yard line. What other coach makes that call? Maybe a Belichick, who knows? I'd say 99% of coaches would not. Conventional wisdom dictates kicking the field goal and cutting the lead to 8 (after all you have an entire quarter left to play). If the Bills had failed to convert on that play, Levy is ripped to shreds by fan and media alike. But the Bills went for it, got the touchdown pass to Reed, and the rest is history. One of the gutsiest calls I've ever seen a coach make.

 

This is not directed at you but multiple posts in this thread. I find it interesting that since we are Bills fans here, people will complain about games like the Tennessee Throwback but mark up the Comeback game against Houston as sure fire win. If the refs didn't make or should I say miss, some of the calls they did, the Bills don't make the comeback and Marv and the Bills don't make it to 4 straight. Changes Bills history. Of course if some GM in Minnesota does screw his his team before he leaves, the Cowboys never become the team that could beat the Bills.

 

I always felt the first loss was largely on Marv. He was outcoached and he was reponsible for the DC during those years. But I don't recall any team ever peaking like the Redskins did. The Dallas games, I thought the Bills should have at least split. What did the first Dallas game prove to me? To never listen to anyone who ever says, a team has been there before and that gives them an edge.

 

Lastly, I also think the Bills were ripped off in Tennessee and yet have no problem saying the Bills have the greatest comeback in NFL history. Being a fan doesn't mean you have to always be rational.

[K-9]

Yes. Doubt if the man would live one day in the woods alone. If you don't know any thing about a subject don't go offering your opinion on it.

 

That is a seriously funny line considering the nature of this forum.

 

But one doesn't need to know anything about hunting to have the "opinion" that one doesn't see the sport in it. Some may feel the same about tiddly-winks. Or lawn bowling. Big deal.

 

GO BILLS!!!