History of New England Patriots head coaches

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This is a history of New England Patriots head coaches. In his first five years, Holovak compiled a mark of 24-16-5, winning Coach of the Year honors in 1954 from New England football writers. Those efforts were good enough to earn him a new four-year contract on November 22, 1955, but even after four more winning seasons, he was fired on December 3, 1959, after a year in which Eagle fans had subjected him to constant verbal abuse.

Two weeks after his dismissal, Holovak signed as a scout with the fledgling Patriots, then was named an assistant under Lou Saban on March 29, 1960. After a 5-9 record that year and a 3-2 start in 1961, Saban was fired on October 10 and replaced by Holovak. Finishing with a 9-4-1 record, Holovak matched that record the following year, earning him a new three-year contract, with an option for another year.

In 1963, the Patriots reached the postseason for the first time, despite only compiling a 7-6-1 record. They then defeated the Buffalo Bills in an Eastern Conference playoff, but were then pounded in the AFL Championship game, 51-10, by the San Diego Chargers. The next year, Holovak added the duties of general manager to his job description, and after the team improved to 10-3-1, he was named AFL Coach of the Year on December 15, 1964 and received a new five-year contract.

However, the veteran unit slipped to 4-8-2 in 1965, but rebounded into contention the next season with the addition of rookie running back Jim Nance. Needing only a victory in their final game against the New York Jets on December 17 to reach the AFL title contest, the Patriots instead saw their 1966 season end with an 38-28 upset loss. The defeat was softened somewhat when Holovak again won the league's Coach of the Year accolade.

Age finally caught up with the team over the next two years with the Patriots managing only a 7-20-1 record. The end result was that Holovak was fired from both positions on January 7, 1969, ending his Patriots tenure with a mark of 53-47-9. As in his previous stint at Boston College, Holovak saw growing fan discontent, including chants of "Goodbye Mike," play a role in the decision. He would later coach in one game for the New York Jets, replacing Lou Holtz who had resigned before the last game of the 1976 season. His overall career record as a NFL head coach was 53-48-9, .522 win pct.

On January 26, 1973, Fairbanks was named head coach of the New England Patriots. His first season saw the drafting of John Hannah, Sam Cunningham, Ray Hamilton, and Darryl Stingley, the first of a solid run of drafting through Fairbanks' tenure with the team. The 1973 season was a 5-11 campaign. 1974 was marred by a league-wide players' strike during training camp and preseason, which actually helped the Patriots as Fairbanks was installing a new system (to be known as the 3-4) and with so many players who were not part of the NFLPA at the time, a great deal of training was accomplished, with eighteen first-year players making the roster. ^[1] The Patriots stormed to a 6-1 start before other teams caught up; they finished 7-7. Fairbanks then had a falling out with quarterback Jim Plunkett, who was traded for important draft picks to San Francisco, and suffered when hardball negotiating tactics by Patriots ownership led to a team-wide player strike that cancelled a preseason game with the New York Jets. ^[2] The team never recovered en route to a 3-11 season, but an important seed for the future was planted as Fairbanks had drafted quarterback Steve Grogan and Grogan got his first serious game action in 1975.

Fairbanks' Patriots erupted to 11-3 in 1976 (a complete reversal of the 3-11 mark from the year before) and took on the 13-1 Oakland Raiders in the first round of the NFL playoffs. New England led 21-10 entering the fourth quarter, but the controversial roughing the passer call by referee Ben Dreith wiped out a late incompletion by the Raiders, and Raider quarterback Ken Stabler's dive into the end zone with eight seconds remaining gave Oakland the comeback victory. The call against the Patriots' Ray Hamilton was condemned for years thereafter and remained a bitter experience for the Patriots organization.

In 1977, contract squabbles with offensive linemen John Hannah and Leon Gray resulted in discord within the team. The incident soured Fairbanks on Chuck Sullivan, who as the eldest son of team owner William Hallisey "Billy" Sullivan Jr. controlled the team's finances and had forced Fairbanks to renege on his proposed contracts with Hannah and Gray. Offensive guard John Hannah, denied Fairbanks' promised contract by the ownership team, later argued the Sullivans "took Chuck's authority away and turned him into a liar." ^[3]

In 1982, Ron Meyer would coach the New England Patriots for 3 seasons. He was named the AFC Coach of the Year in his first season where he led the New England Patriots to the playoffs in the strike-shortened 1982 NFL season after the team had finished with the league's worst record the prior season. He is perhaps best remembered by New England fans for coaching during the infamous Snowplow Game against the Miami Dolphins on December 12, 1982. Under heavy snow at Foxboro Stadium with 4:45 remaining in the game, the Patriots lined up for a go-ahead field goal. Meyer called for a stadium worker named Mark Henderson (who was on a prison work release) to drive his snowplow on the field in order to clear an area for holder Matt Cavanaugh to spot the ball and to give kicker John Smith better footing. The Patriots went on to win the game, 3-0, on their way to their first playoff appearance since the 1979 season.

In 1984, Meyer was fired in midseason despite having a 5-3 record and was replaced by Raymond Berry. The move was prompted by team-wide alienation of players on Meyer's part, to where Patriots GM Patrick Sullivan was forced to hold player-only meetings. Meyer responded by firing assistant coach Rod Rust, though he did not have authority to do so. He was fired soon after.^[4]

After a two-year hiatus, coach Bill Parcells returned to the NFL in 1993 as the head coach for the New England Patriots. Within two years, he coached the team to a 10-6 record and its first playoff game in eight years. In 1996, he guided the Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI but lost to the Green Bay Packers, 35-21, in New Orleans.

Parcells left the Patriots after disagreements with owner Robert Kraft; Parcells felt he did not have enough input in player personnel decisions. Upon his departure, Parcells stated: "If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries." This was mainly in reference to an incident in the Patriots' war room during the 1996 Draft where Parcells, who wanted to draft a defensive player with their first-round choice, was vetoed by Kraft, and the Patriots selected Ohio State WR Terry Glenn.

Raymond Berry joined the New England Patriots as receivers coach under Chuck Fairbanks in 1978. He stayed on with new coach Ron Erhardt until Erhardt and his entire staff were fired following a 2-14 1981 season. Berry left football and worked in the private sector in Medfield, MA until the Patriots fired Ron Meyer in the middle of the 1984 season and hired Berry to replace him. Under his leadership, the Patriots won 4 of their last 8 games and finished the season with an 9-7 record. Berry's importance to the team was reflected less in his initial win-loss record than in the respect he immediately earned in the locker room - "Raymond Berry earned more respect in one day than Ron Meyer earned in three years," according to running back Tony Collins.^[5]

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[edit] See also

• List of New England Patriots head coaches