Athletes - Marv Levy

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	Athletes - Marv Levy

Marvin Daniel Levy (born August 3, 1925 in Chicago, Illinois) is currently the General Manager and Vice President of Football Operations for the Buffalo Bills. He is a former professional football coach, in the CFL as head coach of the Montreal Alouettes (1973–77), and in the NFL as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs (1978–82) and the Buffalo Bills (1986–97).

Early life

Levy's parents emigrated from Europe. He was an outstanding athlete at South Shore High School in Chicago. Following graduation in 1943, he enlisted in the Army Air Forces and spent the remainder of World War II in the military. After his discharge from the Army, Levy enrolled at Coe College in Iowa. There he earned varsity letters in football, track, and basketball. He obtained a degree in English literature and was twice voted student council president. He was admitted to Harvard University for graduate studies in 1951, earning a masters degree in English history.

Coaching

His first coaching job was at St. Louis Country Day School, coaching football and basketball. Two years later, Levy returned to Coe College as an assistant football coach (1953–1954). In 1954, he joined the coaching staff at the University of New Mexico and was named head coach in 1958. In two seasons as head coach, he guided the Lobos to a 14–6 record and earned Skyline Conference Coach of the Year honors both years. From 1960 through 1963 he was the head coach at the University of California, Berkeley. He finished his college-coaching career with a five-year stint as head coach at the College of William and Mary where he twice earned Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors.

Levy demonstrated at each school a talent for taking football programs with a recent history of failure and turning them into winning situations. With emphasis on the fundamentals, hard work, team chemistry and a witty personality, he has a knack for finding the best in players.

In professional sports

Levy began his professional sports coaching career in 1969 as kicking teams coach for the Philadelphia Eagles before joining George Allen's staff as a special teams coach for the Los Angeles Rams in 1970. He followed Allen to Washington DC in 1971, where he served as the Washington Redskins' special teams coach for two seasons. Levy then served as the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League for five seasons. He coached Montreal to three CFL Grey Cup appearances and two championships. Levy returned to the NFL in 1978 as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. He coached the Chiefs for five seasons with steady improvement each year.

Midway through the 1986 season, following a two-year hiatus from coaching and one season as the head coach of the Chicago Blitz of the United States Football League, Levy returned to the NFL as head coach of the Buffalo Bills. He finished the season with a 2–5 record. In 1987, his first full season with the Bills, the team returned to respectability with a 7–8 record and were in the playoff hunt throughout most of the season. The following season the team posted a 12–4 record and won the first of six AFC Eastern Division titles. With his high-powered “no-huddle” offense, Levy went on to set a new standard for innovation among NFL coaches as he led his AFC championship team to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances.

From 1988 through 1997, the Bills were first in the AFC in winning percentage and second only to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL. Levy, the winningest coach in Bills’ history, recorded a 112–70 regular season record and was 11–8 in the playoffs during his eleven seasons with the Bills. He was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1988 and AFC Coach of the Year in 1988, 1993, and 1995.

Levy retired in 1997 and became an analyst for NFL.com. In 2001 Levy was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Along with former Bills' special teamer Steve Tasker, Levy does the local broadcasts for the Bills' pre-season games.

General Manager

On January 5, 2006, Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. enlisted Levy, at the age of 80, to act as General Manager and Vice President of Football Operations for the Buffalo Bills. Following the resignation of Mike Mularkey, there was initial speculation (created by Levy's own comments at a team press conference) that Levy would resume a head coaching role with the team. Soon thereafter, Levy released a statement presumably eliminating himself as a candidate for head coach: :In order to clear up any misunderstanding , I want to say unequivocally that I am here to serve as the general manager of football operations.
Team owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. added further: "To say it very, very succinctly, Marv Levy is our General Manager. He will never be the coach."

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Marv Levy ]

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Athletes - Marv Levy

Early life

Coaching

In professional sports

General Manager

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