By Lance Tominaga, ESPN Honolulu Web Editor.
Behind every successful NFL team or player is (usually) a great head coach. Tom Brady had Bill Belichick. Dan Marino had Don Shula. Lawrence Taylor had Bill Parcells. This Pop Quiz is dedicated to the legendary coaches who walked the NFL sidelines. Take a crack at these 10 questions and see how much you know about some of the league’s top strategists and leaders!
- Name the head coach who led his team to the very first Super Bowl championship.
- Before becoming the head coach of the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick served as the head coach of this NFL team for five seasons.
- Who did June Jones replace as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons in 1994?
- In 1983, Donald Trump once offered this man a $1-million-per-year contract to coach his New Jersey Generals in the upstart USFL.
- Who was the first minority head coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl?
- This NFL legend’s coaching tree includes Mike Holmgren, Dennis Green, Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden, Andy Reid, Sean Payton and John Harbaugh.
- Who coached his team to an NFL record 20 consecutive winning seasons?
- This head coach retired from the NFL for 15 years before returning and leading his team to a Super Bowl championship.
- In 1976, this former USC head coach became the first-ever head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- He is the only individual to be inducted into both the Pro Football and NASCAR Halls of Fame.
ANSWERS:
- Vince Lombardi (Green Bay Packers, 1967)
- Belichick was 36-44 as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns (1991-95)
- Jones replaced Jerry Glanville. Glanville would later join Jones’ coaching staff at Hawaii.
- Don Shula (Miami Dolphins)
- Tom Flores led the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl XV championship.
- Bill Walsh
- Tom Landry led the Dallas Cowboys to 20 straight winning seasons (1966 to 1985).
- Dick Vermeil retired as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1982, then returned to the NFL in 1997 as head coach of the St. Louis Rams. He led the Rams to the Super Bowl title in 1999.
- John McKay
- Joe Gibbs led the Washington Redskins to three Super Bowl championships, then became a five-time NASCAR Cup Series champion as owner of Joe Gibbs Racing.