Noted 91-year-old man Marv Levy says he would coach the Buffalo Bills like he did back when he was merely a 72-year-old man.
The Hall of Fame coach who led the Bills to four straight Super Bowl appearances was asked on an Albany, New York, radio station whether he’d take over as Bills head coach now that Rex Ryan has been fired.
Marv, of course, said he’d throw on a track suit and coach the boys up once more.
[If] they offered, I might do it. It was one of those things where after 47 years of coaching I really needed to get that deep breath to step aside but after a couple of years passed I very much would have liked to come back… I’d do it but I’m not deluding myself to think that the offer would come. If the offer did come I sure would consider it. Sure.
Levy retired from coaching in 1997 at the age of 72. At the time, he was the oldest coach in league history. In 2006, he was brought back to be the Bills’ general manager at the age if 80. There was some talk he might also coach the team, but Bills owner Ralph Wilson clarified that he would “never” be the coach.
“He was hired to be the GM and would never coach the team,” Wilson said. “We are excited to have Marv as our general manager as we move forward in hiring a new coach.”
Yeah, well, that guy’s dead now and the Bills are owned by a hydrofracking billionaire. Marv may not be delusional enough to think the offer will come, but I’m not convinced it’s actually a bad idea. The Bills haven’t made the playoffs in 17 years! I say roll the dice with Marv like Terry Pegula rolled the dice with water quality in the state of Pennsylvania. Nothing bad’s happened there, right?
Who cares if Marv only lasted two years as general manager and the Bills had consecutive 7-9 seasons under his control? That man needs to be on the field screaming at officials and making split-second decisions and connecting with a new generation of athletes. He basically said as much when he resigned as GM in 2007 at the spry age of 82.
“I feel compelled to now turn my energies and my time to other endeavors that intrigue me,” Levy said. “There will always remain a part of me, however, that walks down that tunnel out onto the playing field at Ralph Wilson Stadium on those excitement-charged autumn Sunday afternoons.”
Marv just saw his Cubs win the World Series for the first time in his life. Anything is possible, man. I say let him lead the charge.
(via ProFootballTalk)
