August 07, 2022

Congratulations Dick Vermeil!

It was 22 years in the making but it finally happened.  Saint Louis Rams head coach Dick Vermeil was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame yesterday afternoon.  Vermeil coached the Rams to their only Super Bowl Championship in St. Louis in the fall of 1999 and won the big game in late January 2000.

Vermeil came to the Rams and had losing records in 1997 and 1998 winning just nine games over those two years.  But, then in 1999 a pre-season injury to starter Trent Green led to Kurt Warner taking the reins of a very talented team that came to be known as "The Greatest Show on Turf".

Under Vermeil's direction and tutelage that 1999 Rams team turned it around posting a 13-3 record.  It then beat the Vikings in the playoffs and the Buccaneers to win the NFC Championship.  On Sunday January 30, 2000 the St. Louis Rams became world champions beating the Tennessee Titans 23-17 in Super Bowl 34.  I remember watching the NFL's highlight film a few months later and Vermeils only audible reaction to the win was simply "Super Bowl Champions".

Vermeil won his gold jacket to the Hall of Fame by coaching 15 seasons in the NFL and winning 120 games.  He also took the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl 15 in 1980 where the Eagles lost to the Oakland Raiders and John Madden 27-10.  Vermeil also coached the Kansas City Chiefs for five years taking them to the playoffs one time.  All together Vermeil's NFL teams appeared in the post season six times.

A total of eight men were elected to the Hall in Canton, Ohio.  In addition to Vermeil, Tony Boselli, Cliff Branch, Leroy Butler, Art McNally, Sam Mills, Richard Seymour, and Bryant Young were enshrined in a nationally broadcast ceremony.

Congratulations to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022!


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