Vince Lombardi - Legendary Years With The Packers

By the time that Lombardi arrived in Green Bay, his knowledge of football was as strong as the best professional coaches in the league. His task in those first few months was to get to know the players. The New York Giants and the Packers were in different conferences, so Lombardi had had little opportunity to see them play. He had been right to choose Gifford as his key player for the Giants, and he needed to find someone similar for the Packers. His intuitions told him that player might be Paul Hornung, a Heisman Trophy winner from Notre Dame. Like Bart Starr, an equally talented young Packers player, Hornung considered quitting the team after suffering through a first miserable year with the Packers. However, something about Lombardi made both players want to give football one more chance. Hornung became Lombardi's left halfback and Starr his quarterback. Both proved to be wise choices.

Lombardi's genius was demonstrated in many ways, but the one that his players appreciated the most was the way he reduced each play down to its basic elements. Lombardi threw out much of the repetitive jargon that many coaches forced their players to memorize. Instead of a code system, Lombardi used one number to designate each play. The playbook that each player had to memorize was one-third the size of other coaches' playbooks. He also relieved some of the pressure on the quarterback by having offensive linemen call their own blocking patterns. He was a tough disciplinarian, but he knew the game, and the players admired his knowledge and the way he taught. Having had experience in the classroom, Lombardi knew that he had to make each and every player understand his system of football. Although repetitive, his method of teaching was rarely dull, for he had a way of making everything that he and his players did seem of utmost importance.

Lombardi also drilled into their heads that his players represented the Packers on and off the field. This meant that on trips, they were required to wear their blazers and ties at all times while in public. He also enforced strict curfews and rules of social conduct that they were required to follow. Right before their first practice, as quoted in Michael O'Brien's book, Vince: A Personal Biography of Vince Lombardi, Lombardi told his new team, "I've never been a losing coach, and I don't intend to start here.… I'm going to find thirty-six men who have the pride to make any sacrifice to win." He then added that if any of them sitting in front of him were not capable or not willing to do so, he would find someone to replace them. Later, he confided to one of the veteran players, Max McGee, that he had been concerned that they might all stand up and leave town at the end of his speech.

For the nine years that Lombardi worked with the Packers he never saw a losing season. In those nine years, the Packers played six League Championship games, winning five of them. They also won the first and second Super Bowl games. With Lombardi at the helm, the Packers seemed unstoppable. However the wear and tear, both physical and emotional, on Lombardi began to show, and after winning Super Bowl II, he announced his retirement.