When the AFL-NFL merger was finalized in 1970, the NFL featured nine Hall of Fame head coaches and would have had a tenth if Vince Lombardi hadn’t died that year.
The nine were Paul Brown, Chuck Noll, Tom Landry, Bud Grant, Don Shula, Weeb Ewbank, John Madden, Hank Stram and George Allen.
Flash forward to the upcoming NFL season.
At the moment, there is one sure fire Hall of Famer on the sidelines – Bill Belichick – although there’s always a chance a younger coach may emerge.
The league doesn’t have the larger-than-life figures who were great leaders on the sidelines. They have too many play-callers who don’t know how to manage the game.