"IF" Lombardi would have lived...

[Bogart]

I hear this a lot when discussing the great coach with friends of mine at work.

The simple saying..."Had he lived..." seems to go on with much thought that we think would have happened.

Even when the Eagles/Vikings game was post poned to a Tuesday we heard someone say "if Lombardi was alive" but what if he really did live up through the 70's and 80's most people wonder.

My opinion is I believe Lombardi would be ashamed at some things in this league, and proud of others.

Pride:
To see the Packers work through injuries and all year around to win the Super Bowl, this would make him smile.

Shame:
When it comes down to money and and the lock out, this is what I strongly believe Lombardi would be ashamed of within this league.

We have players such as Darrelle Revis who held out for more money going into this season, and then don't even record a single interception this season.

As for us as a league...Lombardi taught us everything we needed to know about Football, and he gave it to us...for free without a cost, and 3/4's of the time we never take it into consideration. When I watched some of his biographies I was amazed how he taught people the power sweep, and the importance of balace in offense, and he was NOT asking for money to teach this stuff. Some can say he basically gave away game plans since all the while he was teaching these things, he also was coaching, but we see he truly loved this sport and wanted others to love it and learn it like he did, I think at the end of the day that was value in Vince Lombardi. It was about pride, not money.

 

[JBlood]

When Pride Still Mattered, by David Maraniss says essentially the same thing. If you haven't read it, you have a treat in store. Lombardi was a complicated man, like most; he hated the money side of dealing with players, and how that could interfere with his game preparation; but he left the Packers in large part because of money-- a piece of ownership in the Redskins. I think his leadership abilities, that were a product of his personal discipline and dedication to his job, would have made him as successful with today's game and athletes as they did in the 60s.

He would have hated Jerry Jones, I'm sure.

 

[Bogart]

When Pride Still Mattered, by David Maraniss says essentially the same thing. If you haven't read it, you have a treat in store. Lombardi was a complicated man, like most; he hated the money side of dealing with players, and how that could interfere with his game preparation; but he left the Packers in large part because of money-- a piece of ownership in the Redskins. I think his leadership abilities, that were a product of his personal discipline and dedication to his job, would have made him as successful with today's game and athletes as they did in the 60s.

He would have hated Jerry Jones, I'm sure.

I've never read the book, but plan on buying it once I have a chance.

Sure he would have really hated Jerry Jones, but Jerry in his own world will never see like Lombardi. Lombardi's teams were not the highest draft picks or highest paid players. He proved you didn't need the most loved and most statistical talented player to win, if you truly believed in yourself and could do it.

 

[LombardiChick]

When Pride Still Mattered, by David Maraniss says essentially the same thing. If you haven't read it, you have a treat in store. Lombardi was a complicated man, like most; he hated the money side of dealing with players, and how that could interfere with his game preparation; but he left the Packers in large part because of money-- a piece of ownership in the Redskins. I think his leadership abilities, that were a product of his personal discipline and dedication to his job, would have made him as successful with today's game and athletes as they did in the 60s.

He would have hated Jerry Jones, I'm sure.

I think maybe he wanted to go back east, too. He was starting to not feel well by then.

 

[JBlood]

Lombardi was always worried about his finances. It's either in Maraniss' book, or another one "Vince" by Michael O'brien went into this quite a bit. He made quite a bit of money on a movie he made for sales motivation. He wanted to be an owner of a football team and the Redskins offered him this. He also realized he had made a mistake in retiring from coaching, but was not going to undercut Phil Bengston by coming back to the Packers. I don't know if he was having any symptoms from his colon cancer when he left the Packers. I suspect not, as he had a very aggressive form of colon cancer that killed him quickly.

 

[Raptorman]

He would have led the Redskins to 3 Super Bowls in a row in the 70's and would be known more for being the coach/owner of the Skins then the coach of the Packers.

 

[Unomee]

When Pride Still Mattered is a great book; highly recommend it.

 

[Forget Favre]

He would have led the Redskins to 3 Super Bowls in a row in the 70's and would be known more for being the coach/owner of the Skins then the coach of the Packers.

I disagree.
Famous ppl are usually known if the first success is greater than the second or third success.

I don't know of any coaches who had equal success with more than one team.
If anyone knows of any, please let me know.

In regards to Lombardi, Holmgren is similar.
Didn't he leave the Packers because he wanted more power?
So he goes to Seattle and look what happened. No more SB wins.
And now he's with the Browns!?
Poor guy. He was on top now he's making his way to the bottom if he isn't there already.

 

[ivo610]

Shame:
When it comes down to money and and the lock out, this is what I strongly believe Lombardi would be ashamed of within this league.

We have players such as Darrelle Revis who held out for more money going into this season, and then don't even record a single interception this season.

so the only way to be a good corner is to get INTs? Maybe QBs just dont throw to him... He shut down Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson, and contributed to the packers not scoring a single TD against them this season. He is the best pure corner in the league when healthy.

As far as his contract he held out to get what he felt was his, good for him, as teams would cut him if he isnt worth his contract he should hold out if he feels he is drastically underpaid. Its business for these guys. Driver has had lots of issues with his contract and reportedly threaten to hold out but I dont let that affect how I view him as a person.

People forget Lombardi paid out the highest contract in the NFL at the time.

 

[ThorMatthews]

He would have led the Redskins to 3 Super Bowls in a row in the 70's and would be known more for being the coach/owner of the Skins then the coach of the Packers.

I doubt that Lombardi would've kept winning. His play calling was very fundamental and the coaches of that era were pretty damn innovative.

 

[JBlood]

Even if he had won 3 in a row with the skins, it wouldn't have been equal to the 5 he won with the Packers. So that's a ridiculous statement, imo.

Lombardi knew more about the game than anyone in his era. John Madden, after attending a seminar put on by Lombardi: “I went in there cocky thinking I knew everything there was to know about football,” reflected Madden who was a young assistant at the time, “and he spent eight hours talking about this one play. He talked for four hours, took a break and came back and talked four more.” Madden shook his head. “I realized then that I actually knew nothing about football.”

Lombardi was a great teacher of football because he understood the fine points of the game better than anyone, and he was able to communicate them to his players. Most players aren't good unless someone teaches them how to be good.
Understanding principles leads to innovation, which is why he would have continued to be at the top of his coaching profession, imo.

 

[OldSchoolFan]

Even if he had won 3 in a row with the skins, it wouldn't have been equal to the 5 he won with the Packers. So that's a ridiculous statement, imo.

Lombardi knew more about the game than anyone in his era. John Madden, after attending a seminar put on by Lombardi: “I went in there cocky thinking I knew everything there was to know about football,” reflected Madden who was a young assistant at the time, “and he spent eight hours talking about this one play. He talked for four hours, took a break and came back and talked four more.” Madden shook his head. “I realized then that I actually knew nothing about football.”

Lombardi was a great teacher of football because he understood the fine points of the game better than anyone, and he was able to communicate them to his players. Most players aren't good unless someone teaches them how to be good.
Understanding principles leads to innovation, which is why he would have continued to be at the top of his coaching profession, imo.

"Gentlemen, we will chase perfection, and we will chase it relentlessly, knowing all the while we can never attain it. But along the way, we shall catch excellence."
— Vince Lombardi

​

 

[Kitten]

I've been thinking of Lombardi and how proud he would of been of this Packers team this year. In a way, his spirit moves through them. I think this team would of been all he would of wanted them to be. Had he been still alive when they won the SB, I can only imagine his smile. Now we must imagine his smile from heaven.

 

[Forget Favre]

I've been thinking of Lombardi and how proud he would of been of this Packers team this year. In a way, his spirit moves through them. I think this team would of been all he would of wanted them to be. Had he been still alive when they won the SB, I can only imagine his smile. Now we must imagine his smile from heaven.

True. I agree.

At the same time I'm sure he would have yelled "What the hell is going on out there!" during some of the reg. season games.

 

[Kitten]

True. I agree.

At the same time I'm sure he would have yelled "What the hell is going on out there!" during some of the reg. season games.

LOL, I am sure he would have! That was Lombardi for you! I would love to be a fly on the wall for some of the conversations he might of had with M.M. or T.T.!!!

 

[OldSchoolFan]

True. I agree.

At the same time I'm sure he would have yelled "What the hell is going on out there!" during some of the reg. season games.

You mean, like this?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocV5bGHdYag]YouTube - Vince Lombardi What the Hell's Going on?[/ame]

 

[Murgen]

He wasn't innovative cause he didn't need to be with his teams in the 60s. They were going to run X play and dared anybody to stop them. Lombardi was a genius when it came to drawing up plays. He would have innovated just as much as any coach in the league. Tom Landry form Lombari's era lasted until 1988 coaching.

I believe he would have led the Redskins to championships and would have been associated with GB/Redskins instead of just GB. He was a great coach. John madden went to a seminar where Lombardi lectured on the Packer Sweep for 8 hours! Madden left saying he felt like he knew nothing about football.

 

[fettpett]

He was of the mind set that says "know something about everything, or everything about one thing" He chose one thing and that was football, however it all bleed out into everything else making life for him and those around him very rich and full. I would have loved to know the man

 

[LombardiChick]

Lombardi was always worried about his finances. It's either in Maraniss' book, or another one "Vince" by Michael O'brien went into this quite a bit. He made quite a bit of money on a movie he made for sales motivation. He wanted to be an owner of a football team and the Redskins offered him this. He also realized he had made a mistake in retiring from coaching, but was not going to undercut Phil Bengston by coming back to the Packers. I don't know if he was having any symptoms from his colon cancer when he left the Packers. I suspect not, as he had a very aggressive form of colon cancer that killed him quickly.

Actually, he was starting to feel ill at Green Bay - Maraniss said so in the HBO documentary "Lombardi", if I'm not mistaken. His friends had urged him to get a colonoscopy, and he refused to have something "stuck up" his "___". (That was close to the quote from the documentary.)

I don't think he was back east by then, but I'll watch it again to see.

 

[OldSchoolFan]

He wasn't innovative cause he didn't need to be with his teams in the 60s. They were going to run X play and dared anybody to stop them. Lombardi was a genius when it came to drawing up plays. He would have innovated just as much as any coach in the league. Tom Landry form Lombari's era lasted until 1988 coaching.

I believe he would have led the Redskins to championships and would have been associated with GB/Redskins instead of just GB. He was a great coach. John madden went to a seminar where Lombardi lectured on the Packer Sweep for 8 hours! Madden left saying he felt like he knew nothing about football.

Few people know that Lombardi & Landry were Offensive & Defensive Coordinators respectively under head coach Jim Lee Howell. In fact, Howell admitted that he did little coaching at all, he was just there to "blow up the footballs".

Is it any wonder that the NY Giants practically OWNED the NFL in the mid to late 50's?

 

[JBlood]

True. I agree.

At the same time I'm sure he would have yelled "What the hell is going on out there!" during some of the reg. season games.

Yeah, and I understand MM is not afraid to go nuts in the locker room either.

 

[LAG]

In his first year coaching at Washington which was 1970, the team had a winning season. It hadn't had one in like a dozen years or so prior. So, I think he was back on the path to sucess on the field.

 

[Forget Favre]

You mean, like this?

YouTube - Vince Lombardi What the Hell's Going on?

Yes, thank you.

And freeze it right afterwards and you get a priceless shocked look of Chris (Brent Favre Ball Licker and Tool) Berman right afterwards.

It's a two for one deal!

 

[Forget Favre]

Yeah, and I understand MM is not afraid to go nuts in the locker room either.

Really?
I was wondering if he was ever a yeller either at or to the players.
I never would have guessed from his calm demeanor.

 

[LAG]

You mean, like this?

YouTube - Vince Lombardi What the Hell's Going on?

There is a longer version of the video of Lombardi saying "What the Hell is Going on out here" somewhere on you tube. Before saying "What the Hell...", he is yelling to his D that they are not tackling, just grabbing.