Let's Get Real with Dick Vermeil
HOF coach gives us his SB faves
Sometimes we actually do real “reporting” at NFL, Weakly. Meaning we get someone’s phone number and call them. Hall of Fame Coach Dick Vermeil answered on two rings and had no qualms gabbing with an oafish stranger. At age 87, he’s our oldest living Super Bowl winning coach, a 2022 Hall of Fame inductee, and still sounds as spry and crisp as a 52 year-old.
Vermeil grew up in California. Won the Rose Bowl as Head Coach of UCLA. Then pulled the Eagles out of their abysmal ‘70s existence. You might remember this. Or watching some Sabol-ized version decades later on cable.
Vermeil later took the Eagles to the Super Bowl and lost to Tom Flores and the Raiders. I can’t imagine getting to hang with Harold Carmichael.
Dick became an analyst for CBS for a decade and a half — this leather jacket is sick, btw. Musberger got a free bowl of soup with that hat.
After some late afternoon window shopping, it seems Vermeil was a mere 40 years ahead of Aime Leon Dore.
Then he returned to the Rams and gave the world Kurt Warner, and his wife Brenda’s jaunty hairdo.
He also got emotional about Lawrence Phillips.
ANYWAY …
Sit down and spend a snowy Saturday afternoon with Dick.
When you coached, what did you do when a player was unhappy that perhaps they weren’t getting the ball? There was some turmoil in Philly with AJ Brown, who downplayed that scenario, but overall, it seems like people are frustrated there.
First off, how you handle any player is how long you’ve been working with him and how well you know him. And how much you trust him and how much he trusts you. If I was concerned about any one player’s attitude, there would be discussions, believe me. There’d need to be.
But I think in AJ’s case, from what I have read, I’d say the players respect and admire him, and understand his grievances come his frustration about wanting to win, not so much how many passes he catches. He made the statement, “If I caught 105 passes today, I’d be upset I didn’t catch 108.” And I kinda believe that’s his overall attitude. I think that chances are, Nick (Sirianni, Eagles head coach) is handling it in a very educational way. And it is not going to continue to be an issue.
Do you recall a time in your career where something similar popped up?
I’ve had times where receivers were disappointed they weren’t getting the ball as many times as they’d like to, especially if you ran them a lot that day. You know, there’s only one football per play!
What do you think the Eagles need to do to win the Super Bowl? They’re sputtering a bit as of late.
First off, remember they’ve won a lot of games already. And there have been teams that go to the Super Bowl with nine wins in the regular season and win it. Like the Giants did with Tom Coughlin. They did an unbelievable job. Went there with a nine win season. So, it can be done. It’s the hard way sometimes, but it can be done.
With the Eagles, I don’t know how you get back to what you were, that you aren’t right now. Like Bill Parcells says, “You are what you are at this time of year.” They have lost the pass rush. The pass rush was the dominating factor for the past year. It got the offense on the field sooner, and got the defense off the field sooner. And they’re wayyyyy off what they were last year. …And the offensive tackles. The offensive guards and center… I don’t have the answer.
Who’s your favorite to win it all?
It comes down between the Ravens and the 49ers, right now. And I’ve thought that for a long time. The Ravens are healthy. The quarterback (Lamar Jackson) is healthy. He’s playing better football than he has all year. Good coaching. Good attitude. Good work habits. And San Francisco is right at the same level.
They’ve had a couple hiccups along the way.
Well, the Ravens aren’t undefeated either.
Do you remember the last play of the Rams-Titans Super Bowl? Did you think the dude was gonna score?
From where I was standing on the 50 yard line, looking down there, I couldn’t tell if Dyson did score or didn’t score. So I looked to the line judges. And I stepped onto the field to see where their hands were. If their hands were on their hips, I was okay. If their hands were up in the air, we were going to overtime (laughs).
Who was your favorite player to coach?
Oh, I had so many favorite players. Even on that Rams team. So many guys who made outstanding contributions. The key to it then, in that year, I’d say would be Kurt Warner, and Mike Martz, the offensive coordinator.
Do you go into Philadelphia to the games at all or nah?
I live 35 miles out from the stadium, so I stay home and watch on TV. It takes you two hours to get out of the parking lot there!
END
I forgot to ask Dick about crying. I’m glad he cries. I’ll probably cry today. It’s healthy.
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