Wellington Mara and John Fox
... Last offseason, I put together an article on Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry - their similarities, differences, and the fact that they were the offensive and defensive ‘assistants’ (that was the term for coordinators back then) for the NY Giants in the 1950s. It was a time of tremendous innovation for both men: Lombardi developed a lot of his offensive theories and plays, including the early versions of the Power Sweep that would be so effective in Green Bay, and Landry developed the 4-3 defense by taking a concept that Paul Brown innovated and moving it a step further. Both men are, and belong, in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Wellington Mara, an icon as an owner and an unusually fair-minded man in a very tough profession ended up having to let both of them go to other teams over a short period of time at the end of the 1950s decade - Jim Howell, the head coach over both, wasn’t quite ready to retire yet, and each, Landry and Lombardi, received serious offers that let their careers continue to ascend. Mara felt that in order to treat them fairly, he had to let them leave. That would result in the champion-level Giants to plummet and to go through what they called ‘15 Years in the Wilderness’, but to Mara, it was simply the right thing to do. You can find that story in Lombardi and Landry, by Ernie Palladino. It’s a good read.
Fast-forward ahead to the time between the seasons of 2001 and 2002 and another coordinator left the Giants. John Fox, the Giants defensive coordinator, left to take the head coaching job in Carolina with the Panthers. When that happened, Mara took the time to hand-write a personal letter to Fox, thanking him for his contributions to the team and telling him that Mara felt very sincerely that losing Fox was much like he was losing Lombardi or Landry again (and remember, they left the Giants before they were more than blips on the football scene - their greatness had yet to be honed). Mara, who worked closely with the team and had seen Fox’s innovation and skill with the players, said that he felt that Fox could rise to a similar level in the right situation...
Wellington Mara and John Fox
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