Herman Edwards

Herman 'Herm' Edwards is the American head coach of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. He previously was a player in the NFL, playing the position of cornerback for eight seasons (1979-1986) with the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons. Before being hired with the Chiefs, Edwards was the head coach of the New York Jets from 2001-2005. He is famous for the quote and sound bite, "You play to win the game!", a message that Edwards gave during a New York Jets press conference. It also became the title of his book, a collection of "leadership lessons" for the reader to use as personal motivation.

Years as a college and NFL player

The son of an African American World War II veteran and his German war bride, Edwards played college football at the University of California in 1972 and 1974, at Monterey Peninsula Junior College in 1973, and at San Diego State in his senior year, 1975. He graduated from the latter with a degree in criminal justice.

In the NFL, Edwards played nine seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1977 to 1986, making a championship appearance with the team in Super Bowl XV. His 33 career interceptions is just one short of the franchise record, but his lack of speed often led to his being beaten on deep pass routes by opposing wide receivers. Despite this, he appeared in 135 consecutive regular-season games for the Eagles, and then played briefly for the Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons in 1986 before announcing his retirement.

The highlight of Edwards' playing career occurred on November 19, 1978, in the final seconds of a game against the New York Giants at the Meadowlands. The Giants led 17-12 and the Eagles had no time-outs remaining; but instead of simply taking the snap from center and falling on the ball, Giants quarterback Joe Pisarcik (who would later join the Eagles) attempted to hand the ball off to running back Larry Csonka. However, the ball came loose, and Edwards picked it up and returned it for a touchdown, enabling the Eagles to win 19-17. This play became known in Philadelphia as The Miracle at the Meadowlands and in New York as simply "The Fumble."

Early years coaching

After his days as a player ended, Edwards became an assistant coach at San Jose State (1987-1989), then was an NFL scout and defensive backs coach with the Kansas City Chiefs (1990-1995). With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996-2000), he was Tony Dungy's assistant head coach before being hired as the Jets' 13th non-interim head coach in franchise history on January 28, 2001.

Head coach of the New York Jets

The Jets made the playoffs three times while Edwards was their head coach, in 2001, 2002, and 2004. In his five years as Jets coach, Edwards had a 39-41 record, including a 2-3 playoff record. Despite accumulating an impressive record of 19-13 and 2 playoff births over his first 2 seasons, the New York Jets regressed dramatically over the length of his tenure. His regular season record over from 2003 on was 20-28, and his record over his final 20 regular season games was 5-15.

He is further overshadowed by future NFL coaches John Fox and Marvin Lewis, both of whom were candidates for the job when he was hired to coach the Jets. Both have since gone on to take teams that were in much worse shape than the Jets were, when Edwards took them over, and turn them into solid playoff contenders. Under Edwards, the Jets went from being playoff contenders to being one of the worst teams in the league.

Edwards's team-oriented approach to coaching has often been contrasted with the coaching styles of the Jets' NFC counterparts, the New York Giants, where Jim Fassel and later Tom Coughlin took a disciplinarian approach to the game. Edwards has taken much criticism for major mistakes in game and clock management. "The Sermonator", as he has been called, will forever be remembered as the man who squandered a deeply talented Bill Parcells' roster. It has also been noted that when Edwards's needed to motivate his team the most, he could not do so. When healthy, the Edwards Jets succeeded on the backs of the players; when injured, the Edwards Jets failed on the back of their head coach.

Head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs

On January 8, 2006, Edwards signed a 4 year, $12 million contract to become head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, replacing the retiring Dick Vermeil. The hiring of Edwards by the Chiefs occured under dubious circumstances. Carl Peterson, GM of the Chiefs, heavily leaked stories to the press about Edwards in a pattern of behaviors that could have been considered tampering. Additionally, some New York Jets fans and players alike because they felt that the Jets management settled for too little in compensation from Kansas City. Edwards had two years remaining on his contract with the Jets, for compensation, the Chiefs gave the Jets their 4th round pick in 2006 NFL Draft. However, it is believed by many observers that Edwards had worn out his welcome with Jets Owner Woody Johnson, and that Johnson welcomed the opportunity to go in another direction. Eric Mangini, a protegé of Bill Belichick, has since replaced Edwards in his old job as Head Coach of the New York Jets.

Trivia

Edwards vows not to watch the Super Bowl until he himself participates in one as a coach. Edwards played in Super Bowl XV with the Philadelphia Eagles, alongside his then-coach and later Chiefs coach predecessor Dick Vermeil. ^*
Edwards is beloved by reporters for his colorful quotes and soundbites.
Edwards was signed by current Chiefs General Manager Carl Peterson as a rookie free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1977. Peterson served as the Eagles Director of Player Personnel at the time; twenty-nine years later, Peterson signed Edwards as the Chiefs' tenth head coach in 2006. ^*
Edwards is well-known for his love of barbecue.
Edwards does not allow players to have cellphones in the locker rooms. He believes even the lockerroom is a 'workplace.' ^*
Edwards reportedly doesn't read the newspapers, watch sports television or even listen to sports radio. He prefers not to multitask, but chooses to concentrate on learning the intricacies and nuances of a clock.^*
Edwards has fired as many coordinators as he has won playoff games.

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Years as a college and NFL player

Early years coaching

Head coach of the New York Jets

Head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs

Trivia

See also