PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — 40 years after leaving the Philadelphia Eagles, the beloved coach of the Birds’ first Super Bowl team in 1980 has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Hall announced Thursday that Dick Vermeil has been selected for enshrinement this August in Canton, Ohio, joining the greatest coaches, athletes, and contributors to the sport. He had been named a finalist for induction in August 2021.
He is the 24th Eagles coach, player or contributor to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
He joins seven others in receiving induction for enshrinement in six months.
Vermeil served as head coach of the Eagles from 1976-82. Before his tenure, the Eagles did not have a winning season for 10 years and had only four postseason appearances, with their latest to that point being the victory in the 1960 NFL Championship Game.
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Two years after coming to Philadelphia from UCLA, he turned the Eagles around. Their 1978 campaign was the first winning season under Vermeil, with a 9-7 record and a Wild Card appearance. The Eagles’ first playoff win came a year later, defeating the Chicago Bears in the 1979 NFC Wild Card game.
Then came the magic year of 1980. With Hall of Famers Harold Carmichael on offense and Claude Humphrey leading the NFL’s top-ranked scoring defense, Vermeil led the Eagles to a 12-4 record and their first division title in 20 years.
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They upended the Minnesota Vikings in the divisional playoffs, then dominated the archrival Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship game and made the first Super Bowl in franchise history.
They lost that Super Bowl to the Oakland Raiders and fellow 2022 Hall of Famer Cliff Branch, who scored two touchdowns in that game.
Vermeil also coached with the St. Louis Rams, where he won a Super Bowl in the 1999 season, and the Kansas City Chiefs.
He joins Carmichael, who was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August, and Humphrey who joined in 2014.
