Chuck Knox

Charles Robert Knox (April 27, 1932 – May 12, 2018) was an American football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He served as head coach of three National Football League (NFL) teams, the Los Angeles Rams (1973–1977; 1992–1994), Buffalo Bills (1978–1982), and Seattle Seahawks (1983–1991). He was a three-time AP NFL Coach of the Year and is a member of the Seahawks Ring of Honor.

Early life and education Knox was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Whenever Knox felt something was common sense, he said it was "eighth-grade Sewickley."

The son of a steel worker who had emigrated from Ireland and a Scottish-born mother, Knox developed into a tackle at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, playing on both sides of the ball and serving as co-captain of the 1953 unit, the first undefeated team in school history. He also competed in track and graduated in 1954.

Assistant coaching career Knox then served as an assistant at Juniata that fall. The following year he became an assistant coach at Tyrone High School, then began the first of three years as head coach at Ellwood City High School in 1956.

Building on his success, Knox then moved back to the colleges, serving two seasons as an assistant under Paul Amen at Wake Forest University in 1959. He then joined Blanton Collier's staff at the University of Kentucky in 1961, and stayed the following year under new mentor Charlie Bradshaw. In both these places, Knox learned the concepts of organization, discipline and a focus on fundamentals. While at Kentucky, Knox was on the staff of Bradshaw's infamous first team, which was known forever as the Thin Thirty.

Knox then moved to the Detroit Lions on February 13, 1967, under new head coach Joe Schmidt, spending six seasons in the Motor City. Despite some impressive stretches, the Lions reached the postseason only once during this period, losing a 5–0 road contest to the Dallas Cowboys in 1970. However, Knox developed effectively cohesive offensive lines and developed pass-blocking techniques that are now standard in blocking fundamentals. Additionally, he proved a progressive coach by playing Bill Cottrell, an African American, at center. "There was an unwritten rule back then", said Cottrell in Hard Knox: The Life of an NFL Coach. "No black quarterbacks, no black middle linebackers, no black centers." Because of Knox's liberal views and ability to relate to players on such a personal level, African American players nicknamed him, "Dolomite."

Head coaching career Los Angeles Rams

When Tommy Prothro was dismissed on January 24, 1973, Knox was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Rams.

Under Knox, the Rams won five straight NFC West championships, making Knox the second coach to win division championships in each of his first five seasons after Paul Brown. However, they faltered in the playoffs, losing three consecutive NFC Championship games in 1974, 1975, and 1976, two of which were to the Minnesota Vikings. In the team's rainy first round home playoff game against the Vikings on December 26, 1977, quarterback Pat Haden was having problems handling the wet ball and the Rams lost in what was subsequently called the "Mud Bowl" by a score of 14–7.

Knox stepped down as Rams' head coach after the game. On January 11, 1978, Knox left the Rams to sign a $1.2 million, six-year contract with the Buffalo Bills. The move was in response to the continuing conflict between Knox and team owner Carroll Rosenbloom. In five seasons as the Rams head coach the team had won five straight NFC West titles with five different starting quarterbacks (John Hadl, Ron Jaworski, Pat Haden, James Harris, and Joe Namath) and had a regular season record of 54–15–1 but a play-off record of only 3–5. Knox was the first coach to lead the team to consecutive playoff appearances since the 1949–1952 teams. Defensive coordinator Tom Catlin led a prime defense to go along with a 1,000-yard season from rookie back Joe Cribbs as the Bills won their first five games on their way to a 11–5 record and the AFC East championship. It was the Bills' first division title since the AFL-NFL merger, and only their second playoff appearance since then. Three weeks to the end of the season, quarterback Joe Ferguson suffered a fractured ankle. He would try to play through it the rest of the season. In the five-team AFC bracket, the Bills travelled to play the San Diego Chargers (champions of the AFC West). The Bills led from the second quarter to late in the fourth quarter until a touchdown with 2:08 remaining gave San Diego a 20–14 lead that was soon followed by a Ferguson interception (his third of the day) to clinch the game for San Diego.

The following season saw them win 10 games after winning four of the last five games but qualify for the postseason as the 5 seed. They defeated the Jets 31-27 before losing to the eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals 28-21. The strike-shortened 1982 season (where the teams went on strike after being 2-0 with their win on September 16 prior to their return in late November) would see only nine games played. While the team had 1,371 rushing yards (152.3 average per game), the Bills won just two games after the return, which included three straight losses to close the season. On January 25, 1983, Knox, with a year remaining on his contract, resigned after negotiations with team owner Ralph Wilson broke down. He was replaced as head coach by his assistant Kay Stephenson.

Seattle Seahawks

On January 26, 1983, Knox was hired to coach the Seattle Seahawks.

During his first year in the Northwest, Knox led the team to its first playoff berth on the feet of Warner, who ran for 1,449 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Seahawks were matched against the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card game and won 31–7. They then played the Miami Dolphins on the road at the Orange Bowl and pulled off a 27–20 upset. However, Seattle's playoff run ended in the AFC Championship game when the Seahawks fell to the Los Angeles Raiders by a score of 30–14. Subsequent seasons saw the Seahawks remain competitive despite injuries to Warner, who suffered a massive knee injury on the Kingdome turf in the 1984 opener. The 1988 team won the AFC West, their first division championship in team history that also made Knox the first head coach in history to win division titles with three different teams, but the team failed to reach the AFC Championship Game in the rest of Knox's tenure. He closed out his tenure with a 7-9 record in 1991, the third straight season where Seattle failed to reach the postseason.

Return to the Rams Looking to recapture the magic of two decades earlier, Knox returned to the Rams as head coach on January 8, 1992 on a four-year contract. The team had gone a combined 8-24 in the last two seasons, and it was understood that he would be doing a "complete rebuilding program." His first season saw them win six games while giving up an average of 140 yards a game, the worst in the league. The following year saw Jerome Bettis drafted in the first round at running back. While he would blossom into a star, Knox's team would finish last in the NFC West in 1993, going 5–11 while losing ten games by at least ten points, the most in a season in Rams history.

In his final season in 1994, the team did worse. They finished 4–12, losing seven games in a row to finish last in the division once again. He was fired on January 9, 1995 and replaced by Rich Brooks.

In reporting about Knox's $1 million donation, The Seattle Times reported that Knox has been extremely generous in donating substantial money to Juniata and his old high school. The Times also noted that Knox left football before coaches were paid the large sum of salaries common today and reporters asked whether he was donating away a substantial amount of his retirement fund. Knox said, "Sure it is (a lot of money).....that's what it was going to take to do it".

Personal life Knox's relationship with granddaughter Lee Ann was outlined in an article in The Los Angeles Times in 2016. titled "Knox Has a Loving Advocate for His Legacy in Granddaughter Lee Ann Norman."

Death On May 12, 2018, Knox died in Anaheim, California at the age of 86, following a lengthy battle with Lewy body dementia. He was survived by his wife of 66 years, Shirley, four children, and six grandchildren.

Head coaching record