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Former Philadelphia Eagles HC Dick Vermeil turns 83 years young

By Geoffrey Knox

15 Aug 1997: Coach Dick Vermeil of the St. Louis Rams watches his players during a preseason game against Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. The Cowboys won the game 34-31.
15 Aug 1997: Coach Dick Vermeil of the St. Louis Rams watches his players during a preseason game against Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. The Cowboys won the game 34-31. /
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Former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil celebrates his 83rd birthday.

‘What’s it going to take to beat the Dallas Cowboys? Just another 24 hours.’ Stories tell us that those were the words that former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil spoke to his team on the eve of their NFC Championship Game versus that team from Texas. After that, he turned around, and he walked out of the room.

You wouldn’t be an Eagles fan if you didn’t know what happened next. One day later, on January 11th of 1981, Wilbert Montgomery ripped one up the middle, took it 42 yards, and Dallas never recovered. The Eagles would go on to the Super Bowl. They’d lose. Vermeil would eventually burn out, but there isn’t an Eagles fan alive that doesn’t still hold a special place in their hearts for him today.

You see, Andy Reid isn’t the first great former Eagles coach to lead the Kansas City Chiefs. Before that, it was Dick Vermeil. His legacy is one of making men believe in themselves. His legacy is taking the underdogs and leading them to victory. He did it with the Eagles. He took a team that had lost for a long time, and he made them winners.

He did it with Vince Papale when he took a regular guy from Philly and made him an Eagle after deciding to host an open tryout. Papale’s story has since been immortalized by Walt Disney Pictures in their 2006 film Invincible.

Then, there’s Kurt Warner. No one will ever forget the story of the former grocery store clerk who tried out for what was then the Saint Louis Rams, made the team, took over for an injured Trent Green.

Warner led Vermeil’s Rams to a Super Bowl victory. Yeah, that Super Bowl win should have come in Philly, but if you ask any Eagles fan, they’ll tell you that he deserved to win one and they’re glad that he did.

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Green went down, and as usual, Vermeil believed in his players and made one of those memorable statements that only he can make. ‘We will rally around Kurt Warner, and we will play good football’. There’s just one thing Coach Vermeil. ‘Good’ doesn’t quite describe things accurately enough. Happy birthday Coach Vermeil. Eagles fans everywhere hope that this is the start of many more.

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