Entertainment
Award-Winning NFL Coach Passes Away At 74
Dick Jauron, an award-winning coach for the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills, has passed away at 74.
Jauron died Saturday evening following a battle with cancer, his daughter Kacy announced in a Facebook post.
“We are so incredibly devastated to share the news that my dad has passed away. The past week has been one awful nightmare after another,” she wrote. “What we thought was some early signs of memory issues turned quickly into cancer in his brain, specifically a tumor that was causing some very out of character behavior. They quickly did a scan of his body and unfortunately they found cancer in his lungs, liver, and bones.”
She continued: “The very best son, brother, friend, teammate, husband, father, coach, HUMAN that we were all so lucky to love. My mom’s nursing staff has been amazing and seamlessly put 24 hour care in place, and I am thankful he didn’t worry about her at all during this emergency. We will be taking some time to grieve and come to terms with this loss, but we certainly do plan to have a celebration of life somewhere down the road. We thank you ALL for your support during this impossibly sad time.”
“The silver lining in all of this is that the situation escalated so quickly he never had any idea what was going on nor was he in any pain,” she added.
The Peoria, Illinois native jumpstarted his career playing eight years in the NFL before moving to the sidelines. After breaking records while playing for Yale University, he was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fourth round of the 1973 draft.
“The Detroit Lions join the NFL community in mourning the passing of Dick Jauron,” the team wrote in a post on X. “Originally drafted by Detroit in 1973, Jauron enjoyed a five-year playing career as a standout defensive back with the Lions that included a Pro Bowl selection in 1974. He returned to the franchise as defensive coordinator from 2004-05 before serving as interim head coach to conclude the 2005 season.”
After retiring from play, Jauron started his coaching career with the Buffalo Bills in 1985. He went on to hold defensive coaching roles with the Green Bay Packers under coaches Forrest Gregg, Lindy Infante, and Mike Holmgren, and later the Jacksonville Jaguars under then-coach Tom Coughlin, Together, Jauron and Coughlin made the playoffs in three of his four seasons, including an appearance at the 1996 AFC Championship Game.
The pinnacle of Jauron’s coaching career came in 2001 when he was awarded Coach of the Year for leading the Bears to a 13-3 season before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the playoffs, the Daily Caller reported. He later returned to the Bills, coaching there from 2006 to 2009.
“I was very fortunate to start my NFL career with Dick Jauron as my first head coach,” Eric Wood, a former Bills center drafted by Jauron in 2009, said in a statement to the outlet. “He set a great foundation for my career with his extensive knowledge of the NFL game and helped us develop as professionals both on and off the field. Coach Jauron was a sincere and thoughtful family man and a true gentleman. My heart goes out to his family during this difficult time.”
