Marv Levy
refer to caption
Levy in 2009
Personal information
Born: (1925-08-03) August 3, 1925
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Career information
High school:South Shore (Chicago, Illinois)
College:Wyoming, Coe
Position:Defensive back
Career history
As a coach:
As an administrator:
Career highlights and awards
Head coaching record
Regular season:NFL: 143–112 (.561)
CFL: 43–31–4 (.577)
Postseason:NFL: 11–8 (.579)
CFL: 7–3 (.700)
Career:NFL: 154–120 (.562)
CFL: 50–34–4 (.591)
Coaching stats at PFR

Marvin Daniel Levy (/ˈliːviː/; born August 3, 1925)[1] is an American former football coach and executive who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for seventeen seasons. He spent most of his head coaching career with the Buffalo Bills, leading them from 1986 to 1997. Levy's first head coaching position was with the Montreal Alouettes of Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1973 to 1977, where he won two Grey Cup titles.

After five seasons coaching the Kansas City Chiefs, Levy helped the Bills become one of the most dominant American Football Conference (AFC) teams during the 1990s. His greatest success occurred between 1990 and 1993 when he led Buffalo to a record four consecutive Super Bowls, although each game ended in defeat. Levy concluded his head coaching career with 11 playoff victories and four Super Bowl appearances, both of which are the most of head coaches to not win an NFL championship.[lower-alpha 1]

After retiring from coaching in 1997, Levy served as the general manager of the Bills from 2006 to 2007. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

Early life and education

Levy was born to a Jewish family in Chicago on August 3, 1925.[1][2]

In 1943, the day after graduation from South Shore High School in Chicago,[3] Levy enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces. He served as a meteorologist at Apalachicola Army Airfield in Franklin County, Florida, but the war ended before his unit deployed to the Pacific.[4]

Though he was known to use historical examples to inspire his teams, Levy corrected those who used war and combat metaphors to describe football games by telling them that he actually fought in a war and that football, and war were in no way comparable.[5] Referring to the Super Bowl, he said "This is not a must-win; World War II was a must-win".[6] Steve Tasker, who played for Levy on the Bills, said[7]

Marv always had a knack for always finding the right thing to say. He wasn't a believer in Knute Rockne, 'Win one for the Gipper' speeches. He didn't like ripping us. But what he said had an effect on us, one way or another. It either got us mad at our opponents or mad at ourselves. Marv was a master psychologist at knowing what buttons to push.

In later years, Levy became a supporter of the World War II Memorial[8] and pushed for World War II veterans to be honored at Super Bowl LIV to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Allied victory in the war, noting that fewer than 3% of those who served in the war were still alive in 2020.[9]

Playing career

Levy was initially recruited to the Wyoming Cowboys football team as a defensive back.[10] The coach who recruited Levy left Wyoming, and Levy was displeased and exhausted by the following coach's round-the-clock training regimen. He transferred to Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa following a single semester.[11]

At Coe College, Levy earned varsity letters in football, track, and basketball. He obtained a degree in English literature, was granted membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society,[12] and was twice voted student council president. He was also a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

He was admitted to Harvard University for graduate studies in 1951, where he earned a Masters of Arts in English history.[13]

Coaching career

Levy's first coaching job was at St. Louis Country Day School, coaching football and basketball; he coached the school's basketball team to a championship.[14]

College

Two years later, Levy returned to Coe College as an assistant football coach (1953–1954). In his second stint as a head coach, he also won a championship in basketball; future NBA Coach Bill Fitch was one of his players.[14]

In 1954, he joined the coaching staff at the University of New Mexico and was named head coach in 1958. In two seasons as head coach, he guided the Lobos to a 14–6 record and earned Skyline Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1958.[15] He interviewed with the University of California, Berkeley on February 2, 1960, and was announced as the new head coach of the Cal Bears on February 5, 1960. Despite selecting a young Bill Walsh as a coaching assistant,[16] Levy's best record during his four-season tenure as head coach at Cal from 1960 to 1963 was 4–5–1.[17]

He finished his college coaching career with a five-year stint as head coach at the College of William & Mary[18] where he twice earned Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors. In 1965 his team had the school's first winning record in 12 years.[19]

Professional

Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, and Washington Redskins

Levy began his professional football coaching career in 1969 as kicking teams coach for the Philadelphia Eagles before joining George Allen's staff as a special teams coach for the Los Angeles Rams in 1970. He followed Allen to Washington, D.C., in 1971, where he served as the Washington Redskins' special teams coach for two seasons.

Canadian Football League

Levy then served as the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League for five seasons. He coached Montreal to three CFL Grey Cup appearances and two championships, and won the Annis Stukus Trophy (Coach of the Year) in 1974.

Kansas City Chiefs

Levy returned to the NFL in 1978 as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. He coached the Chiefs for five seasons with steady improvement each year, but was fired at the end of the strike-shortened 1982 season with a 3–6 record.[20]

Buffalo Bills

Midway through the 1986 season, following a two-year hiatus from coaching and one season as the head coach of the Chicago Blitz of the USFL, Levy returned to the NFL with the Buffalo Bills. Initially hired as a television analyst, Levy replaced Hank Bullough seven games into the regular season as head coach. He finished the season with a 2–5 record. In 1987, his first full season with the Bills, the team returned to respectability with a 7–8 record and were in the playoff hunt throughout most of the season. The following season the team posted a 12–4 record and won the first of six AFC Eastern Division titles.[21] With his high-powered "no-huddle" offense, Levy's Bills went on to lead his AFC championship team to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, the most in league history.[20] Each game ended in defeat, however, tying Levy with Bud Grant and Dan Reeves for the most Super Bowl appearances without a victory.

From 1988 through 1997, the Bills were first in the AFC in winning percentage and second only to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL. Levy, the winningest coach in Bills' history, recorded a 112–70 regular season record[22] and was 11–8 in the playoffs during his eleven seasons with the Bills.[20] He was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1988 and AFC Coach of the Year in 1988, 1993, and 1995.[23]

Levy retired after the 1997 season, when he felt that it was time to rest, doing so despite the pleas of Wilson to stay. He later stated that he regretted the decision.[24] He later became an analyst for NFL.com. In 2001, Levy was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.[25] Along with former Bills' special-teamer Steve Tasker, Levy did local broadcasts for the Bills' pre-season games from 1998 until being appointed the Bills' general manager in 2006.[26] During the regular season he was a part of the Chicago Bears pregame show on ESPN Radio 1000 (WMVP-AM), as well as a Bears postgame show on Comcast SportsNet.

General manager

On January 5, 2006, Bills owner Ralph Wilson enlisted Levy, at the age of 80, to act as general manager and vice president of football operations for the Buffalo Bills.[27] Following the resignation of Mike Mularkey, there was initial speculation (created by Levy's own comments at a team press conference) that Levy would resume a coaching role with the team. To eliminate this speculation, and to minimize any future tension between Levy and the Bills' new head coach, team owner Wilson said: "He was hired to be the GM and would never coach the team."[28]

Levy's first order of business was to hire a new coach as a replacement for Mularkey, who resigned within days of Levy's appointment.[29] After a strenuous interview process Levy and team owner Wilson hired Detroit Lions interim head coach Dick Jauron as coach. Jauron had been head coach of the Chicago Bears.[30]

Post-coaching career

Following the Bills' last game of the 2007 season, Levy decided to step down as general manager of the Bills following the expiration of his two-year contract.[31]

He returned to live in his native Chicago, although he also spent some time in Montreal mentoring then-Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman.[32] Levy stated he would be open to returning to coaching if asked.[33]

In 2009, Levy collaborated with Buffalo football historian Jeffrey J. Miller to write a book entitled Game Changers: The Greatest Plays in Buffalo Bills Football History.[34]

In August 2011, Levy published a second book, Between the Lies, featuring a team based loosely on the Bills and including a quarterback named "Kelly James" progressing to the Super Bowl against a Los Angeles-based team and its take-no-prisoners head coach, while a scandal erupts, placing the integrity of the game at risk.[35]

A lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, Levy was among a select few people in attendance at both the 1945 World Series, which he attended while on furlough from the Army Air Forces, and the 2016 World Series.[36]

Levy's fourth book, the children's book Go Cubs Go, is about the 2016 series.[37]

In 2017, he said that he has not paid much attention to professional football in the past several years as of 2017.[38]

In 2020, Levy assisted The Friends of the National World War II Memorial to convince NFL teams—and the league itself—to recognize the 75th anniversary of the war, honoring veterans at Super Bowl LIV in Miami.[39]

In 2021, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.[40]

In 2022, Levy appeared at the Bills' home opener and participated in a pregame crowd warm-up along with Jim Kelly, his former Bills quarterback.[41]

Personal life

Levy and his wife Mary have a daughter, Kim, and two grandchildren Angela (oldest) and Gregory (youngest). Following the death of Art McNally on January 1, 2023, Levy became the oldest living Pro Football Hall of Fame member.

Levy is a vegetarian.[42]

Head coaching record

College

Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
New Mexico Lobos (Skyline Conference) (1958–1959)
1958 New Mexico 7–35–12nd
1959 New Mexico 7–34–23rd
New Mexico: 14–69–3
California Golden Bears (Athletic Association of Western Universities) (1960–1963)
1960 California 2–7–11–34th
1961 California 1–8–11–3T–4th
1962 California 1–90–46th
1963 California 4–5–11–35th
California: 8–29–33–13
William & Mary Indians (Southern Conference) (1964–1968)
1964 William & Mary 4–64–3T–4th
1965 William & Mary 6–45–12nd
1966 William & Mary 5–4–14–1–1T–1st
1967 William & Mary 5–4–12–2–14th
1968 William & Mary 3–72–35th
William & Mary: 23–25–217–10–2
Total:45–60–5
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Professional

TeamYearRegular SeasonPost Season
WonLostTiesWin %FinishWonLostWin %Result
MTL1973 761.5363rd in East11.500Lost to Ottawa Rough Riders in East Final.
MTL1974 952.6251st in East201.000Won over Edmonton Eskimos in 62nd Grey Cup.
MTL1975 970.5632nd in East210.667Lost to Edmonton Eskimos in 63rd Grey Cup.
MTL1976 781.4693rd in East010.000Lost to Hamilton Tiger-Cats in East Semi-Final.
MTL1977 1150.6891st in East201.000Won over Edmonton Eskimos in 65th Grey Cup.
CFL Total43314.57773.700Won two Grey Cup Championships.
KC1978 4120.2505th in AFC West––––
KC1979 790.4385th in AFC West––––
KC1980 880.5003rd in AFC West––––
KC1981 970.5633rd in AFC West––––
KC1982 360.3334th in AFC West––––
KC Total31420.425–––
CHI1984 5130.2785th in Central––––
USFL Total5130.278–––
BUF1986 250.2864th in AFC East––––
BUF1987 780.4674th in AFC East––––
BUF1988 1240.7501st in AFC East11.500Lost to Cincinnati Bengals in AFC Championship Game
BUF1989 970.5631st in AFC East01.000Lost to Cleveland Browns in AFC Divisional Game
BUF1990 1330.8131st in AFC East21.667Lost to New York Giants in Super Bowl XXV
BUF1991 1330.8131st in AFC East21.667Lost to Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXVI
BUF1992 1150.6882nd in AFC East31.750Lost to Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII
BUF1993 1240.7501st in AFC East21.667Lost to Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVIII
BUF1994 790.4384th in AFC East––––
BUF1995 1060.6251st in AFC East11.500Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC Divisional Game
BUF1996 1060.6252nd in AFC East01.000Lost to Jacksonville Jaguars in AFC Wild Card Game
BUF1997 6100.3754th in AFC East––––
BUF Total112700.615118.579
NFL Total[43]1431120.561118.579
Total1911564.5501811.621

Career highlights

  • Won two of three CFL championships in five seasons while head coach of the Montreal Alouettes[44]
  • Guided the Bills to six division championships (including four consecutive from 1988 to 1991)[45]
  • Compiled a 17–6 record (14–6 in the regular season and 3–0 in the post-season) against the winningest coach in NFL history, Don Shula.[46] He is one of only two coaches to have a winning record against Shula, the other being Tom Flores of the Raiders, who went 6–1 against him.[47]
  • Compiled 209 CFL-NFL-USFL coaching victories (T12th in Pro Football History)
  • One of only 15 coaches to win 100 games with one NFL team
  • The only coach to compete in four Super Bowls in a row[48]
  • Retired at the age of 72; tied with George Halas as the oldest non-interim head coach in NFL history.[49]
  • First USFL alumnus to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
  • One of only two coaches to appear in both a Grey Cup Championship Game and the Super Bowl. The other is Bud Grant.[50]
  • Oldest coach ever to win 12 games (age 68) and 10 games (age 71) [51]
  • One of only three people to be enshrined in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame (NFL), and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.[52][53]

Books

  • Marv Levy: Where Else Would You Rather Be?, Sports Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-58261-797-X.
  • Game Changers: The Greatest Plays in Buffalo Bills History (with Jeffrey Miller), Triumph Books, 2009. ISBN 1-60078-275-2.
  • Between the Lies (fiction), Ascend Books, 2011. ISBN 0-9830619-3-9.
  • Go Cubs Go! Baseball's Never Give Up Story (children's, with George Castle, illustrated by Rob Peters), Ascend Books 2017. ISBN 978-0996674270.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Levy is tied with Dan Reeves for the most playoff wins without an NFL championship and with Reeves and Bud Grant for the most Super Bowl appearances without a championship.

    References

    1. 1 2 "Marv Levy Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
    2. ↑ Bava, John (June 6, 2019). "Marv Levy, the Biggest Must-Win in History, and 'The Runner'". Last Word on Sports. Retrieved July 31, 2022. Though not religiously observant, Levy comes from a Jewish family.
    3. ↑ Greenberg, Steve. "At 93, Marv Levy no longer defined by Super Bowl losses". juf.com. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    4. ↑ "Famous NFL coach, World War II Veteran eager to add to his literary accomplishments". VAntage Point. United States Department of Veterans Affairs. November 7, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
    5. ↑ Jonah Goldberg (July 11, 2006). "Sports Cont'd – The Corner". National Review. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
    6. ↑ LA Times article on Veteran Athletes
    7. ↑ Tasker, Steve; Pitoniak, Scott (2013). "4: It Ain't Over Till It's Over". The Buffalo Bills: My Life on a Special Team. Sports Publishing. ISBN 978-1-61321-328-5.
    8. ↑ O'Shei, Tim (January 6, 2020). Marv's mission: Levy enlisting NFL's help to honor Greatest Generation. The Buffalo News. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
    9. ↑ O'Shei, Tim. The NFL honored WWII vets at the Super Bowl. The Buffalo News. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
    10. ↑ Tucker, Cody (April 15, 2021). "Some of the University of Wyoming's Best Have Called Buffalo Home". 7220 Sports. Townsquare Media. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
    11. ↑ DeVeronica, Jeff. "Marv Levy receives highest honor from his alma mater, Coe College". DemocratandChronicle.com. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    12. ↑ Pierson, Don (August 4, 2001). "A winner is certified". ChicagoTribune.com. The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    13. ↑ Greenberg, Steve. "At 93, Marv Levy no longer defined by Super Bowl losses". juf.org. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    14. 1 2 Schoffner, Chuck (July 14, 2012). "Marv Levy named to Des Moines Sunday Register's Iowa Sports Hall of Fame". DesMoinesRegister.com.
    15. ↑ "Marv Levy". GoLobos.com. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    16. ↑ "Levy recalls providing Walsh his college coaching start at California". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
    17. ↑ "California Golden Bears School History". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
    18. ↑ "Marv Levy Coaching Record". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
    19. ↑ Horrigan, Joe. "Marv Levy" (PDF). profootballresearchers.com. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
    20. 1 2 3 "Player BIO". ProFootballHOF.com. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    21. ↑ "Important Dates in Bills History: Nov. 3, 1986. Marv Levy hired as head coach". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
    22. ↑ "Buffalo Bills Coaches". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    23. ↑ "FORMER BUFFALO BILLS HEAD COACH MARV LEVY TO RECEIVE 2019 AMOS ALONZO STAGG AWARD". afca.com. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    24. ↑ "Marv Levy can relate to Bill Belichick's situation, and other thoughts - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.
    25. ↑ "Greatest Coaches in NFL History - Marv Levy". ESPN.com. ESPN, Inc. May 26, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    26. ↑ Pergament, Alan (August 1998). "LEVY TO DISPLAY ANALYTICAL SKILLS ON BILLS EXHIBITION GAMES". BuffaloNews.com. The Buffalo News. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    27. ↑ "Marv Levy Returns as Bills General Manager". news.wbfo.org. WBFO. January 6, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    28. ↑ Lynch, Andrew. "91-year-old Marv Levy says he's willing to replace Rex Ryan as Buffalo Bills coach". foxsports.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
    29. ↑ "Mularkey resigns as Buffalo's coach". vindy.com. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    30. ↑ "Buffalo Bills Tap Dick Jauron as New Coach". news.wbfo.org. January 23, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    31. ↑ "Levy to Resign as Bills GM". NFL.com. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    32. ↑ Legendary coach Levy visits Alouettes training camp. Canadian Press via TSN. June 11, 2008.
    33. ↑ Marv Levy would be interested in Buffalo Bills job. BuffaloRumblings.com. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
    34. ↑ Levy, Marv; Miller, Jeff (2009). Game Changers: The Greatest Plays in Buffalo Bills Football History: Marv Levy, Jeffrey J. Miller: 9781600782756: Amazon.com: Books. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1600782756.
    35. ↑ Between the Lies (September 2011). Between the Lies: Marv Levy: 9780983061939: Amazon.com: Books. Ascend Books. ISBN 978-0983061939.
    36. ↑ Marv Levy to be honored at World Series. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
    37. ↑ Mawicke, Megan (January 19, 2017). Marv Levy Pens Children’s Book About Cubs’ World Series Win. WBBM. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
    38. ↑ Maiorana, Sal (February 19, 2017). Marv Levy pens children's book to celebrate Cubs championship. Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
    39. ↑ "The NFL honored WWII vets at the Super Bowl. Thank Marv Levy for that". The Buffalo News. February 7, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
    40. ↑ "Marv Levy announced as member of Canadian Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021". WKBW. April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
    41. ↑ "Jim Kelly, Marv Levy pump up Bills crowd before kickoff vs. Titans (video)". Bills Wire. September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
    42. ↑ Fink, Heather Hedrick; Mikesky, Alan E. (2013). Practical Applications in Sports Nutrition. Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 473. ISBN 978-1449690052
    43. ↑ Marv Levy Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks – Pro-Football-Reference.com
    44. ↑ "Player BIO". profootballhof.com. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
    45. ↑ "Buffalo Bills Team Encyclopedia". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
    46. ↑ Poliquin, Bud (September 12, 2011). "Poliquin: After all this time, Marv Levy, the Buffalo Bills' Hall-of-Fame coach, has become an author". Syracuse.com. Advance Media NY. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
    47. ↑ "Making the Case: Former Raiders Head Coach Tom Flores deserves a spot in Canton". Raiders.com. The Oakland Raiders. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
    48. ↑ Telander, Rick. "No Joke". SI.com. TI Gotham Inc., a subsidiary of Meredith Corporation. Sports Illustrated Group. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
    49. ↑ Milbert, Neil. "Chicago's Own Marv Levy, the Best Since Papa Bear". Chicagolymag.com. 22nd Century Media. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
    50. ↑ Reed, Tom (January 10, 2013). "Two Hall of Fame coaches, who also spent time in the Canadian Football League, endorse Cleveland Browns candidate Marc Trestman". Cleveland.com. Advance Ohio. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
    51. ↑ "Marv Levy Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
    52. ↑ "Marv Levy named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021". www.buffalobills.com. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
    53. ↑ "Former Alouettes head coach Marv Levy tops 2021 Canadian Football Hall of Fame class". Coast Reporter. April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
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