Dick Vermeil

Biography

Richard A. "Dick" Vermeil was born in his great grandfather`s home in Calistoga, the northernmost town in the Napa Valley. His mother Alice, whose home was always open to those who loved good food, instilled a passion for family and friends in all four of her children. Louis, Dick`s father and owner-operator of The Owl Garage next to their home, instilled in Dick his passion for hard work, integrity, football, wine, and race cars. Louis` old #7 car was just recently restored, with Dick doing a lot of the work himself.

Dick Vermeil`s talent as a high school quarterback led him off to Napa Junior College then on to San Jose State, providing him the time and opportunity to start defining his plan to become a football coach. Dick spent four years in high school coaching before moving into the Junior College ranks. After two seasons as a JC coach, one as an assistant and one as a head coach at Napa Community College, he moved on to Stanford University for four years before entering the NFL as the NFL`s first ever special teams coach with the Los Angeles Rams. Following four seasons with the Rams, he was hired to take over the head coaching job at UCLA. In his second year at UCLA, they won the Pack VIII Championship and went on to upset number one ranked Ohio State on January 1, 1976 in the Rose Bowl.

This victory led to Dick being hired to take over the head coaching responsibilities of the Philadelphia Eagles. In his third season, the Eagles initiated a four consecutive season playoff run that was highlighted by an NFC Championship in 1980 and a trip to Super Bowl XV.

Following the 1982 season, Dick Vermeil entered the football broadcasting field, spending five years with CBS Sports and another nine years with ABC.

In 1997, after a fourteen year NFL absence, Dick became Coach Vermeil once again by becoming the head coach of the St. Louis Rams. In three years the Rams went from being the losingest team in the NFL to the winner of Super Bowl XXXIV. Soon after retiring in 2000, Vermeil signed with the Kansas City Chiefs to coach for another 5 seasons.

Dick holds the distinction of being named Coach of the Year in high school, junior college, Division I college, and NFL Coach of the Year twice.