Longtime NFL player and coach Dick Jauron passed away on Saturday at the age of 74. His legacy includes leading the Chicago Bears to the playoffs and being named the AP Coach of the Year in 2001. The Bears confirmed his passing, which came just before the Super Bowl matchup between Philadelphia and Kansas City. Jauron had a brief stint as an assistant coach in Philadelphia under current Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
In the early 1970s, Jauron shone as a two-sport athlete at Yale. He was drafted by both the Detroit Lions in the NFL and the St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, ultimately choosing to focus on football. He played as a defensive back for five seasons with the Lions and three more with the Cincinnati Bengals before retiring in 1980.
Transitioning to coaching, Jauron began as a defensive backs coach for the Buffalo Bills and later coached in Green Bay, where he formed a friendship with Reid. His coaching career took off when Tom Coughlin brought him on as the defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995. Jauron’s success there led to his appointment as head coach of the Bears.
During his five seasons with the Bears, he had one winning record, achieving an NFC North title in 2001, but his team fell to the Eagles in the playoffs. Jauron was let go in 2003 and later became the defensive coordinator for the Lions, even serving as interim head coach for five games in 2005. He spent four seasons as head coach of the Buffalo Bills but struggled to maintain a winning record throughout his coaching career.
In total, Jauron finished with a 60-82 record and made the playoffs once over nearly a decade of head coaching service. His passing comes shortly after the Bears announced the death of Virginia Halas McCaskey, the franchise’s principal owner for over 40 years, who also recently passed away at 102.
