5 Letter Coaches Notes Concludes
Before I cite the eleven examples referenced yesterday, involving Super Bowls matching coaches with “non 5 letter” last names and those with 5 letter last names, eight of the first nine Supes had losing coaches with 5 letter last names, five in which a coach, without 5 letters in his last name, prevailed.
This includes the first three Super Bowls in which Vince Lombardi’s Packers won the first two vs Hank Stram and K.C. and Oakland coached by John Rauch as well as Weeb Ewbank’s Jets (16-7) vs Don Shula’s Baltimore Colts.
In the 6th Supe, Tom Landry’s Cowboys beat Shula and the Dolphins while in the ninth, the great Chuck Noll and “Pitts” handed Bud Grant and the Vikings, the third of 4 Supe losses.
In 5 letter vs 5 letter Supes among the aforementioned first nine, Stram and KC beat Minne and Grant in the 4th, Shula and Miami (Dolphins) beat George Allen and Wash and Grant and Minne in the 7th and eighth.
The other four “non five” over a “five letter” coach in a Supe were in the 11th John Madden’s Raiders over Grant’s Vikings, the 18th Tom Flores’ Raiders over Joe Gibbs and “Wash,” and the last such results were Bill Belichick wins with New England.
The Pats’ first Supe win in the 36th Supe was vs Mike Martz and the heavily favored St. Louis Rams and the incredible comeback/blown game was vs Dan Quinn and Atlanta 9 days ago.
Both 5 letter coach wins vs a non 5 letter coach in a Super Bowl were recorded by Joe Gibbs.
In the 22nd Supe, Gibbs and Wash took Denver coached by Dan Reeves and in the 26th they handed Marv Levy and Buffalo the second of four straight Super Bowl defeats (’90-93).
