Ted Marchibroda

Theodore Joseph Marchibroda (March 15, 1931 – January 16, 2016) was an American football quarterback and head coach in the National Football League (NFL).[1] He spent his four years as an active player with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1953, 1955–1956) and Chicago Cardinals (1957). He was later head coach of the Colts in two different cities and decades, first in Baltimore during the 1970s and then Indianapolis during the early-1990s. Upon joining the Baltimore Ravens in a similar capacity in 1996, he became the only individual to serve as head coach with both of Baltimore's NFL teams. His career coaching record was 87–98–1 (.470) and 2–4 in the playoffs.

Ted Marchibroda
Marchibroda in 1996
No. 17, 18, 7
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born:(1931-03-15)March 15, 1931
Franklin, Pennsylvania
Died:January 16, 2016(2016-01-16) (aged 84)
Weems, Virginia
Career information
College:St. Bonaventure, Detroit
NFL Draft:1953 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5
Career history
As player:
As coach:
Career NFL statistics
TD–INT:16–29
Yards:2,169
Passer rating:45.3
Player stats at NFL.com
Head coaching record
Regular season:87–98 (.470)
Postseason:2–4 (.333)
Career:89–102 (.466)

Playing career

Marchibroda played college football at Saint Bonaventure University[2] and the University of Detroit, where he excelled as a quarterback, leading the nation with 1,813 yards passing in 1952.

1953 Bowman football card

Marchibroda was selected in the first round of 1953 NFL Draft by his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers as the fifth overall pick and the first quarterback selected. After one year, he left the Steelers to serve in the U.S. Army, and returned to the Steelers after his discharge. Marchibroda finished his professional playing career with the Chicago Cardinals in 1957.[3]

Coaching career

Marchibroda began his coaching career in 1961 as an assistant for the Washington Redskins under Bill McPeak before joining the Los Angeles Rams in 1966 under first-year head coach George Allen.[4] He went with Allen to the Redskins in 1971 and was the offensive coordinator.

Marchibroda's first head coaching appointment was with the Baltimore Colts beginning on January 15, 1975.[5] Inheriting a 2–12 ballclub that was one of the two worst in the NFL in 1974, he led one of the two biggest turnarounds in pro football history when the Colts ended the 1975 regular season at 10–4 and qualified for the playoffs by winning the AFC East title for the first of three consecutive years.[6] All three postseason appearances ended in divisional round losses, first to the Steelers in both 1975 and 1976 and the Oakland Raiders in 1977.

His time with the Baltimore Colts nearly lasted only a season when he resigned on September 5, 1976 in response to team owner Robert Irsay verbally abusing his players after a loss in the final preseason match to the Detroit Lions at the Pontiac Silverdome three nights earlier on September 2. Marchibroda was also at odds with general manager Joe Thomas over player personnel decisions. He was rehired two days later on September 7 after offensive and defensive coordinators Whitey Dovell and Maxie Baughan threatened to quit and the players considered boycotting practice, all in support of Marchibroda.[7][8]

His five years as Colts head coach concluded with a pair of 5–11 last-place finishes in 1978 and 1979. The team was crippled by Irsay's acrimonious contract disputes with Lydell Mitchell and John Dutton which resulted in the players being traded to the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys respectively, Bert Jones' shoulder injuries that limited him to only seven games within those last two seasons and three years of questionable drafts. Marchibroda was relieved of his duties on December 27, 1979.[9] He was succeeded by Mike McCormack on January 17, 1980.[10]

After a one-year hiatus, he served as quarterbacks coach for the Chicago Bears in 1981 and offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions in 1982 and 1983 and the Philadelphia Eagles in 1984 and 1985.[11]

Marchibroda served as the quarterbacks coach and later offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills under head coach Marv Levy from 1987 to 1991.[12] As offensive coordinator for the Bills, he was influential in the evolution of the hurry-up offense. Levy, Marchibroda, and quarterback Jim Kelly used their version of the hurry-up offense, the "K-Gun" offense, more than any previous offense. Kelly would hurry to the line of scrimmage, preventing the defense from making substitutions, and called audibles at the line. The NFL later imposed a rule that allowed time for defense substitutions if the offense made substitutions, except after the two-minute warning of either half.[13]

Marchibroda returned to the Colts, now based in Indianapolis, for a second stint as head coach on January 28, 1992. Similar to his first time with the franchise, the Colts had ended the previous campaign at 1–15, fired Ron Meyer after five winless games and replaced him with Rick Venturi on an interim basis.[14] Four seasons later, the team fell a big play short of Super Bowl XXX when it lost the 1995 AFC Championship Game to the Steelers, but the playoff run did not guarantee job security for Marchibroda who parted ways with the Colts on February 9, 1996 after his demand for a contract extension of two years rather than one was rejected.[15] Offensive coordinator Lindy Infante was promoted to succeed him on February 15.[16]

Marchibroda's unemployment lasted only six days when he returned to Baltimore on February 15, 1996 as the first-ever head coach of a yet-to-be-named ballclub which was subsequently known as the Ravens. He replaced Bill Belichick who had been dismissed the previous day.[17] After three losing seasons in which the Ravens went 16–31–1, Marchibroda was notified that he was not going to be retained on December 28, 1998.[18] Brian Billick was named to succeed him just over three weeks later on January 20, 1999.[19]

Broadcasting career

Marchibroda was a radio color commentator for the Indianapolis Colts from 1999 to 2006 alongside Bob Lamey.[20]

Death

Marchibroda died on January 16, 2016 from natural causes at his home in Weems, Virginia at the age of 84.[5] He was survived by his wife Ann, their four children, and six grandchildren.[21]

Accolades

Head coaching record

NFL
TeamYearRegular SeasonPost Season
WonLostTiesWin %FinishWonLostWin %Result
BCO1975 1040.71401.000Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC Divisional Game.
BCO1976 1130.78601.000Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC Divisional Game.
BCO1977 1040.71401.000Lost to Oakland Raiders in AFC Divisional Game.
BCO1978 5110.313––––
BCO1979 5110.313––––
BCO Total41330.55403.000–
IND1992 970.563––––
IND1993 4120.250––––
IND1994 880.500––––
IND1995 970.56321.667Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC Conference Championship Game.
IND Total30340.46921.667–
BRV1996 4120.250––––
BRV1997 691.406––––
BRV1998 6100.375––––
BRV Total16311.344––––
Total87981.47024.333–

Coaching tree

NFL head coaches under whom Ted Marchibroda served:

Assistant coaches under Ted Marchibroda who became NFL or college head coaches:[23]

gollark: I honestly have no idea how it'd be possible to accidentally break it like that.
gollark: Even an "isolated incident" says lots about DC's reliability.
gollark: TJ08
gollark: ???
gollark: Frogs are not obtainable.

See also

References
  1. "Former Colts Coach, Broadcaster Marchibroda Dies at Age 84". New York Times.com. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  2. "History Saint Bonaventure Football – Players". Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  3. "Ted Marchibroda – Player record". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  4. George Allen's sphere of influence
  5. "Ted Marchibroda, coach of Colts, Ravens, dead at 84". Baltimore Sun.com. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  6. Speck, Mark. "Pro Football's 'Worst to First,'" The Coffin Corner, Vol. 19, No. 6, 1997. Retrieved May 6, 2018
  7. "Marchibroda Quits Colts In Dispute With Owner," The Associated Press, Sunday, September 5, 1976. Retrieved May 6, 2018
  8. Wallace, William N. "Marchibroda Returns, Placated, to the Colts," The New York Times, Wednesday, September 8, 1976. Retrieved May 6, 2018
  9. Attner, Paul. "Marchibroda Fired," The Washington Post, Friday, December 28, 1979. Retrieved May 5, 2018
  10. Leavy, Jane. "Colts Pick McCormack," The Washington Post, Thursday, January 17, 1980. Retrieved May 6, 2018
  11. Preston, Mike. "Mr. Nice Guy Coach: Ted Marchibroda brings a positive, gentle approach to running a team. But that doesn't mean he lacks fire," The Baltimore Sun, Saturday, August 31, 1996. Retrieved May 6, 2018
  12. "Ted Marchibroda – Coaching record". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  13. Offense not allowed to quick-sub and quick-snap
  14. "Colts hire Marchibroda – again," United Press International, Tuesday, January 28, 1992. Retrieved May 6, 2018
  15. Cyphers, Luke. "Colts Give Boot to Marchibroda," Daily News (New York), Saturday, February 10, 1996. Retrieved May 6, 2018
  16. "Colts promote Infante to head coach," United Press International, Thursday, February 15, 1996. Retrieved May 6, 2018
  17. Myers, Gary. "Hired: Baltimore Ted, Indy Lindy," Daily News (New York), Friday, February 16, 1996. Retrieved May 11, 2018
  18. Preston, Mike. "On emotion-filled day, Marchibroda loses job Team contacts Seifert as potential candidate for Ravens head coach," The Baltimore Sun, Tuesday, December 29, 1998. Retrieved May 12, 2018
  19. Denlinger, Ken. "Billick Named Coach of Ravens," The Washington Post, Wednesday, January 20, 1999. Retrieved May 12, 2018
  20. Sessler, Marc (January 16, 2016). "Former NFL Coach Ted Marchibroda Dies at Age 84". National Football League. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  21. "Renowned former NFL coach Ted Marchibroda dies at age 84". Washington Post.com. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  22. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. "The NFL Coaching Tree 2008". Sports Central. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
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