Athletes - Herman Edwards

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	Athletes - Herman Edwards

Herman 'Herm' Edwards is the American head coach of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. He previously was a player in the NFL, playing the position of cornerback for eight seasons (1979-1986) with the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons. Before being hired with the Chiefs, Edwards was the head coach of the New York Jets from 2001-2005. He is famous for the quote and sound bite, "You play to win the game!", a message that Edwards gave during a New York Jets press conference. It also became the title of his book, a collection of "leadership lessons" for the reader to use as personal motivation.

Years as a college and NFL player

The son of an African American World War II veteran and his German war bride, Edwards played college football at the University of California in 1972 and 1974, at Monterey Peninsula Junior College in 1973, and at San Diego State in his senior year, 1975. He graduated from the latter with a degree in criminal justice.

In the NFL, Edwards played nine seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, beginning in 1977, at the position of cornerback. His 33 career interceptions is just one short of the franchise record, but his lack of speed often led to his being beaten on deep pass routes by opposing wide receivers. Despite this, he appeared in 135 consecutive regular-season games for the Eagles, and then played briefly for the Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons in 1986 before announcing his retirement.

The highlight of Edwards' playing career occurred on November 19, 1978, in the final seconds of a game against the New York Giants at the Meadowlands. The Giants led 17-12 and the Eagles had no time-outs remaining; but instead of simply taking the snap from center and falling on the ball, Giants quarterback Joe Pisarcik (who would later join the Eagles) attempted to hand the ball off to running back Larry Csonka. However, the ball came loose, and Edwards picked it up and returned it for a touchdown, enabling the Eagles to win 19-17. This play became known in Philadelphia as The Miracle at the Meadowlands and in New York as simply "The Fumble."

Early years coaching

After his days as a player ended, Edwards became an assistant coach at San Jose State (1987-1989), then was an NFL scout and defensive backs coach with the Kansas City Chiefs (1990-1995). With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996-2000), he was Tony Dungy's assistant head coach before being hired as the Jets' 13th non-interim head coach in franchise history on January 28, 2001.

Head coach of the New York Jets

The Jets made the playoffs three times in Edwards' tenure as head coach, in 2001, 2002, and 2004. In his five years as Jets coach, Edwards had a 39-41 record, including a 2-3 playoff record.

Edwards's team-oriented approach to coaching has often been contrasted with the coaching styles of the Jets' NFC counterparts, the New York Giants, where Jim Fassel and later Tom Coughlin took a disciplinarian approach to the game. Edwards has been praised for being one of the great team motivators in the NFL, but at the same time has taken criticism for game and clock management.

Head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs

On January 8, 2006, Edwards signed a 4 year, $12 million contract to become the Kansas City Chiefs' first African-American head coach after their former head coach, the legendary Dick Vermeil, retired. His hiring with the Chiefs was controversial amongst New York Jets fans and players alike because they felt that the Jets management did little to convince Edwards to stay with the Jets, and too easily let Edwards leave. Edwards had two years remaining on his contract with the Jets, for compensation, the Chiefs gave the Jets their 4th round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. The main reasons for Edwards hiring with the Chiefs was because of his reputation as one of the NFL's best player and defensive coaches, and because of his close friendship with Chiefs GM Carl Peterson.

Trivia

Edwards vows not to watch the Super Bowl until he himself participates in one as a coach. Edwards played in Super Bowl XV with the Philadelphia Eagles, alongside his then-coach and later Chiefs coach predecessor Dick Vermeil.
Edwards was signed by current Chiefs General Manager Carl Peterson as a rookie free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1977. Peterson served as the Eagles Director of Player Personnel at the time; twenty-nine years later, Peterson signed Edwards as the Chiefs' tenth head coach in 2006.
Edwards does not allow players to have cellphones in the locker rooms. He believes even the lockerroom is a 'workplace.'
Edwards reportedly doesn't read the newspapers, watch sports television or even listen to sports radio.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Herman Edwards ]

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