Vermeil graduated in 1959 from San Jose State where he was a backup quarterback. After serving as assistant coach for San Jose's Del Mar High School for one season and for Hillsdale High in nearby San Mateo, he then moved into the college rank as an assistant at Foothill College. In 1965, he coached Stanford University's freshman team. His next stop was the NFL in 1969, when he was hired as the league's first ever special team’s coach by the Los Angeles Rams. The following year he was named an assistant coach at UCLA, only to return to the Rams the next season. He remained with the Rams until 1974 when he was named the head coach at UCLA.
In two seasons as Bruins head coach, Vermeil compiled a 15-5-3 record, including a 9-2-1 campaign in 1975 when he led UCLA to its first conference title in 10 years and a memorable win in the Rose Bowl over undefeated and top-ranked Ohio State.
Thoroughly impressed by Vermeil's coaching talents and his passion for the game, former Eagles owner Leonard Tose hired Vermeil in 1976 to take over the reins of his struggling team. Tose's confidence in the young couch paid handsome dividends when in 1980 Vermeil was named NFL Coach of the Year after guiding the Birds to a berth in Super Bowl XV following a sensational win over the detested Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship game.
Vermeil, citing emotional burnout, retired after the 1982 season. For the next 15 years, he worked as an announcer for CBS and ABC. He left the broadcast both in 1997 and returned to the coaching ranks with the St. Louis Rams. His first two seasons with the Rams were less than spectacular. St. Louis went 5-11 in 1997 and 4-12 the following season. In 1999, however Vermeil's Rams posted a remarkable 13-3 season and went on to win Super Bowl XXXIV with a dramatic 23-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans to complete one of the biggest single-season turnarounds in NFL history. He was again named NFL Coach of the Year and then walked away from coaching for the second time.
Still yearning to be on the sidelines, Vermeil signed on as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2001. His five-year stint with in KC produced a record of 44-36, including an AFC West championship in 2003.
Today, Vermeil makes his home at "The Ranch," a 114-acre homestead in East Fallowfield. He is passionately involved with the Boy Scouts of America, serving on the executive board of the organization's Chester County Council. His annual golf invitational brings in more than $1 million to the Council's operational fund.
RETURN TO HALL OF FAMERS
