Of the nine head coaches I had, he (Lombardi) was the only one who tried to simplify the game, not complicate it.
The man who is probably most quoted by motivational speakers, did not end his illustrious coaching career with the Green Bay Packers, the team he led to five NFL championships. Vince Lombardi ended his career coaching the Washington Redskins.
Lombardi stepped down as coach of the Packers after the 1967 season and became general manager for them in 1968.
Returning to coaching for one final season with Washington in 1969, Lombardi worked his magic again, coaxing the hapless ‘Skins (They were 5-9 in 1968 and hadn’t finished above .500 since 1955.) to a 7-5-2 record.
Lombardi’s success with the Redskins wasn’t all smoke and mirrors. He did have two Hall-of-Famers on his team, Linebacker Sam Huff and Quarterback Sonny Jurgensen. Jurgensen said of Lombardi, “of the nine head coaches I had, he was the only one who tried to simplify the game, not complicate it.”
Whether Vince Lombardi could have taken the Redskins to the same heights he scaled with the Packers is something we will never know. He died at the age of 57, on September 4, 1970; before the start of what would have been his second season as Washington’s head coach.