Vince Lombardi - The Last Years

It did not take long for Lombardi to realize that retirement was not for him. He had tried to keep himself busy promoting products for several commercial companies as well as maintaining his responsibilities as general manager of the Packers. As the NFL Players' Association gained strength and threatened to strike, Lombardi became involved in the negotiations. However, this was not enough to satisfy him. So when the owners of the Washington Redskins made him an offer in February of 1969, it did not take long for Lombardi to accept it. He was made head coach, general manager, and part-owner of the team.

Like the Packers, the Redskins were an old franchise that had seen its glory years. Lombardi turned them around, making their 1969 season one of the best in their history. Sonny Jurgensen, the beloved quarterback for the Skins—an excellent passer who had suffered many years with poorly coached defensive teams—became what Frank Gifford and Paul Hornung had been before him. Had Lombardi lived longer, the Redskins may have enjoyed a longer winning streak, but that was not in the plans. On June 24, 1970, Lombardi entered Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, for tests. The results determined that he had colon cancer. Although Lombardi fought his disease with his usual pattern of strict discipline and prayer, he succumbed to the disease on September 3.

A story in the Green Bay Press-Gazette on September 8, 1970, stated that at a dinner party at the White House, President Nixon, upon hearing of Lombardi's death, proclaimed that Lombardi was a "man who in a time when the moral fabric of the country seems to be coming apart, he was a man who was deeply devoted to his family … at a time when permissiveness is the order of the day.… he was a man who insisted on discipline … and strength." A few days before he died, Lombardi received a large bouquet of flowers in his hospital room. As reported in David Maraniss's book, When Pride Still Mattered, the card attached to the flowers read: "You are a great coach and a great individual to all of us." The card was signed by the National Football League Players Association.