Blanton Collier

This is another installment of my Looking Back Mondays, but after consulting with my amazing wife I may be changing it to Throw Back Thursdays. During the season, Mondays may offer juicy subject matter that can not wait for another day. For now, let me introduce to you, one of my favorites, Blanton Collier.

Vince Lombardi, George Halas, Weeb Ewbank and Hank Stram all won championships in the 1960s. All are in the Hall of Fame. Blanton Collier won a championship in the '60s. He is not in the Hall of Fame, and few outside of Ohio and Kentucky have probably ever heard of him. He might have been the best coach of them all.

Blanton Collier was also very lucky. He enlisted in the Navy, at the age of 37, to serve his country in World War II. His name was called for sea duty, but he never heard it. He missed the boat. The ship he should have been on was bombed. There were no survivors. When testing revealed that he had less than 30% hearing ability, he was packed off to the Great Lakes Navy Hospital. While an out-patient, he learned that the great Paul Brown was coaching the base football team. Each afternoon, Collier would sit on a fence and take notes of Brown's practices. Always fearful of spies, this quickly attracted the attention of Brown, who sent his commanding officer to check out the guy on the fence. The officer made a quick assessment and told Brown, "You better hire this guy. He knows more football than you do." The high school coach from Kentucky joined Paul Brown's staff. After the war, Collier joined Paul Brown with the new Cleveland Browns. There, Hall of Fame QB Otto Graham credited Collier with "teaching me everything I know". Collier was also charged with designing a film study to grade the players. It remains the model for grading players in use today.

In 1954, Collier returned to his home state to coach at the University of Kentucky. He replaced Bear Bryant. It would not be the only time that Collier would replace a legend. He compiled a record of 41-36-3 in eight seasons. The University of Kentucky faculty remembers the Collier years as a time when there was a healthy balance between winning in football and winning in the classroom. Collier emphasized preparation in the game of life. "You are here because you have a God-given ability to play the game of football which has enabled you to have the opportunity to get an education. Do not ever get it backwards." To assist him, Collier assembled an incredible coaching staff. Don Shula, Chuck Knox, Howard Schnellenberger and Bill Arnsparger all came to Kentucky because they all wanted to learn from the man who became known as the greatest teacher of them all. After 1961, Kentucky bought out the remaining years of his contract. He is the last Kentucky coach to have a winning record.

Paul Brown immediately brought his friend back to the Browns. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, "We welcome back a football wizard and a gentleman." In 1962, young Browns owner, Art Modell made a decision that shocked the football world. Paul Brown was too big for Modell's Browns. He fired the only head coach the team had ever known. Paul Brown's impact on football and especially the Browns can not be overstated. His on field success is legendary. From 1946-55, the Browns played in the Championship game every year, winning seven. To avoid being run out of town or killed, Modell could not make a mistake in his choice to replace Brown. Luckily, the perfect coach was already in Cleveland. Blanton Collier replaced a legend for the second time. Accepting the position was no easy decision. Paul Brown was his friend. "You have to take it, Blanton." Fortunately, Brown's ego did not prevent him from encouraging his friend.  It would take Collier two years to win a Championship. The Browns completely dismantled the favored Colts in the 1964 NFL Championship.

Before I had ever heard anything about Blanton Collier's football knowledge and coaching skills, I had heard about his kindness and warmth. Everybody loved him. Players, coaches, the press, the fans, everybody. It is astonishing to hear Jim Brown speak of Collier. The brutal fullback sounds downright cuddly in his fondness for his coach. Collier had a great rapport with the press. He brought them into his office to watch game film and grade players. He taught the press football. I wish that someone could do the same for the press today. He did this on the condition that anything negative said of a player in his office stayed in his office. He protected his players. I have always loved the story told by Akron sportswriter Tom Medley.
"One day, Bill Scholl (of the Cleveland Press) and I were at practice. The Browns were trying out a new kicker, and there weren't many people around. Blanton asked us to stand in the end zone and catch this guy's kicks. We did, and it seemed like the balls were dropping from the heavens. We dropped some, and nearly got hit in the head with others. As we walked off the field, Blanton had his arm around me and said, 'The next time you criticize someone for dropping a punt or a kick, I want you to remember this day.' And it worked because I always thought about that when I saw a guy mess up a kick."

Collier's hearing issues only got worse. In fact, his hearing was the major factor in his retirement in 1970. It is amazing that in a profession where so much depends on communication that Collier functioned so well. He became an expert lip reader. He adapted and dealt with his hearing loss as best he could. Collier rarely seemed limited. Of course, some players had some fun with him, but as with everything he took it with grace and a smile.

Blanton Collier deserves to be remembered for all that he brought to football and to all that knew and loved him. I think that he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, but I smile when I think that he probably doesn't care if he is remembered in that way. He deserves to be listed with Lombardi, Halas, Ewbank and Stram, but I think that he was happy just to have known them.

More Fan Bits

There are a lot of things to like about fan message boards. For someone, me, that has a long distance relationship with a team, Vikings, message boards provide great team information and some enjoyable fan interaction that I can't find locally. Some of the bickering that inevitably erupts can be a bit annoying, but what bothers me the most is what usually takes place at about this time. The CBA has delayed it this year, hopefully briefly. Fans always have ideas about what a team should or should not be doing in the offseason. It's part of being devoted to a team. I regularly plot an offseason path for the Vikings regarding free agency, trades and the draft. I make lists in my head and on paper of the Vikings players that need to be re-signed, free agents that need to be added, and players that need to be drafted. I try to be realistic about it, but I don't take it seriously. I just find it fun to do. One of the many idle things that I have done that has led to the Flea Flicker. Maybe it is this new sports world of video games and fantasy leagues, but some people have little concept of reality. They become annoyed if a player leaves in free agency, or the team fails to bring in a prized free agent, or the team fails to make a desired trade. Some fans seem to forget that a player has to want to re-sign with a team, a player has to want to visit and sign with another team, two teams have to agree on a trade. They seem to think that if they want it to happen, it will happen. As a free agent, a player may sign with a team for a variety of reasons. Money is often the main reason, but so many other things factor into the decision. Some fans should realize that the NFL is made up of individuals that have their own needs, desires and dreams.

The Joker and the Thief

This post has absolutely nothing to do with Jokers or Thieves. I just thought that it sounded better than what would probably be the real title. Plus, I like the song by Wolfmother. This post is really titled the GM and the Coach, and in no way am I making assumptions about either with the preferred title.

In my football knowledge infancy, I was always confused by what it was exactly that a General Manager did. I simply assumed that the coach made all decisions regarding the football team. The coach installed the offensive and defensive schemes. It should just follow that the coach would be the one to determine the players to execute those schemes. I still believe that. Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that it is an awful lot to expect from one person. Some coaches want, even demand, that dual responsibility. Mike Holmgren enjoyed great success as the Green Bay Packers head coach in the '90s. He went to two Super Bowls, winning one. A terrific GM, Ron Wolf, was in charge of providing Holmgren with the players that made for that success. Holmgren certainly had input. It would be foolish to ignore the coach, but Wolf made the call. Holmgren may have left Green Bay for many reasons, but one of them was to call all of the shots in Seattle. He showed his skill in building a team by taking the Seahawks to their only Super Bowl. Some coaches are excellent talent evaluators. Bill Belichick, Jimmy Johnson, Holmgren, Jimmy Johnson and Bill Walsh are a few. Former Vikings coach Dennis Green was an excellent evaluator of offensive talent, but failed miserably when taking a stab at the defensive side of the ball.

The key is the relationship between the GM and the coach. They must be able to see the same big picture. There will always be differences of opinion, but egos have to be kept in check. The good of the team must be the only concern. The GM usually has final say. Someone has to. If there is an agree to disagree situation, it must be done with respect. It is often the GM that hires the coach. So, it is often the GM that fires the coach. It is a delicate dynamic. The team that best handles this relationship is often the one holding the shiny silver trophy in February.

A Bit More Combine

I'm sure that most everyone has asked, at times aloud, how did the combine begin. I know that I have. Since it was kept so secret initially, it seemed like it just appeared on the scene like it had been around for years. Turns out that it had been. We just didn't know it.

I was listening to a podcast on which Gil Brandt was a guest. Brandt and Tex Schramm were the draft gurus for the Dallas Cowboys from the team's birth until Jerry Jones kicked them and coach Tom Landry to the curb. The draft may have started in 1936, but pretty much all that is known about scouting today can be traced Brandt and Schramm. On the podcast, Brandt was telling the story of how he and Schramm saw Kansas QB Nolan Cromwell at an airport with a bunch of packets from different teams. Apparently he was jetting to various teams so that they could check out an injury before the draft. Brandt and Schramm started talking about how much easier things would be if teams and players all met in one place. In the early '80s the scouting combine was born. Initially, medical checks were the main priority of this meeting. Eventually, it evolved into the various testing and drills that take place now. It remained in the shadows throughout the '80s. Opened up a bit more in the '90s as some of the results were eventually leaked to the media. Everything exploded into the circus that we have now with the NFL Network. I should have guessed that Brandt and Schramm were to blame for all of this.

6 Degrees of Steve DeBerg

Most people are familiar with the party and road trip sensation "6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon". If you are not familiar with it, the object of the game is to connect any actor/actress to Kevin Bacon in six moves or less. It is based on the premise that Bacon has been in enough movies with enough people to be closely connected to everybody in the field. Who can forget his terrific performance in "Animal House". 6 Degrees is a crowd pleaser. I have always wanted to play this game using football players and coaches, sadly no one will play with me.

In the football version, former QB Steve DeBerg would be a fine place to start. Like Bacon, his work spans decades, he has played on a lot of teams and has had a bunch of teammates and coaches. Besides, the words degree and DeBerg are strikingly similar. Not many QBs can say that they lost their job to Joe Montana twice, on different teams in different decades.

For the truly adventurous, I would recommend connecting players from the early days of the NFL to today. Let's give it a try:
Chicago Bears RB Red Grange from the '20s and '30s to the Minnesota Vikings awesome RB Adrian Peterson

Grange played for George Halas
Halas coached Mike Ditka
Ditka coached Leslie Frazier
Frazier coached Peterson

If you can connect a player or coach to Halas, your work is mostly done. That guy had connections to everyone and was around the league for nearly 70 years.
Good times. Give it a try.

Two Countries, Two Sports

Pretty much any whisper of football will grab the attention of the Flea Flicker. That was the case when I read of the passing of Wally Yonamine on Monday at the age of 85. Yonamine's name should be more well known and should never be forgotten. I hope that my adorable wife will forgive me, but Yonamine's story has a fair amount of baseball.

Born in Maui, Hawaii, Wally Yonamine starred in football and baseball at Fairington High School in Honolulu. Although he never went to college, he was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers because coach Buck Shaw considered him an outstanding breakaway runner. Yonamine became the first Asian-American athlete to play professional football when he lined up as a running back for the 49ers in 1947. At the time, many Japanese-Americans were just returning to their homes after spending the war in internment camps. At a dark time, Yonamine brought them a little hope. In 12 games, with 3 starts, he rushed for 74 yards on 19 carries, caught 3 passes for 40 yards, and recorded one interception for a 20 yard return.

A fractured wrist playing exhibition baseball ended his football career after one season. Switching to baseball full time, he played for the San Francisco Seals Salt Lake farm team and a year for the Hawaiian Asahi team. At the suggestion of Seals manager Lefty O'Doul, Yonamine went abroad to play for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan. He became the first American to play in Japan after World War II. He adapted his football skills to baseball and played hard-stealing bases, sliding hard and knocking down opponents. The Japanese were aghast at the aggressive American. Opposing fans hurled insults and rocks at him, but he quickly became one of the most dominant players in the league. His success changed the way the Japanese played the game, and opened the door for other Americans to come to Japan. A seven-time all-star in his 11 seasons with the Giants and Chunichi Dragons, he won three batting titles, and was part of three Japan Series championship teams. Yonamine went on to coach or manage various professional teams for 26 years. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.

The 49ers established the Perry/Yonamine Unity Award in 2007 to honor an exceptional non-profit agency, youth football coach and a current 49er player who has demonstrated a commitment to promoting unity and giving back to the local community. The award is named after Yonamine and former 49er Joe Perry, one of the first African-Americans to reintegrate the NFL. It is not often that a person gets a chance to break through a barrier, to change things into something better. Yonamine did it twice in two different countries in two different sports.

Thomas Dimitroff

Despite what some people may think of him, hanging out with Bill Belichick is the wise thing to do if you want a career in football. Coaches and personnel people jsut seem to spin off of him. Thomas Dimitroff is one of those guys.

I was somewhat aware of Dimitroff when was hired as the Atlanta Falcons general manager in 2003. I had often heard his name mentioned as being a part of the effective New England Patriots personnel team. When I saw him on TV as the new Falcons GM, I thought that he was a high school kid amped for his first rave. Despite being 37 at the time, he looked much younger. The spiked hair made him look even younger. As the Falcons have steadily improved since 2003, it was apparent that he was doing some good things. The team even had to change their direction due to Michael Vick's idiocy. Acquiring Michael Turner, Tony Gonzalez and Dunta Robinson have all been strong moves. His drafts have proven to be solid, highlighted by Matt Ryan. The Falcons look to be a contender for a long time. What really grabbed my attention was when I heard that he was on the Cleveland Browns' grounds crew while Belichick was the coach. Talk about getting your foot in the door anyway you can. Belichick is one to take notice when someone shows the passion and aptitude for football. Since he excels at both coaching and personnel, he can see skills at both. Even if Dimitroff was slaving away on the Cleveland sod, Belichick must have seen something in the kid. He brought Dimitroff to the Patriots, teaming him with Scott Pioli and the rest of the personnel team. The Patriots started a little dynasty, and the light started shining on Dimitroff. The Falcons soon came after him. Nearly every football professional starts low and hopefully climbs the ladder. I had just never heard of one that started on the grounds crew.

I found it a bit humorous to learn that Dimitroff is a vegan. In a profession dominated by carnivores, where "wining and dining" is frequently done at steak houses, Falcons owner, Arthur Blank, was a bit shocked to find his new GM sticking with fries and a shake.