????????????????, ????????????
— San José State Football (@SanJoseStateFB) August 6, 2022
??| https://t.co/2IAHYMKgqk
??| @nflnetwork#AllSpartans | #ClimbTheMountain pic.twitter.com/lgCNW1ijY0
CANTON, Ohio - San José State legend Dick Vermeil was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Vermeil is the 28th head coach to ever be inducted and joins fellow SJSU alum Bill Walsh (1931-2007), a 1993 inductee. Bryant Young, who coached the defensive line at SJSU in 2010, was also inducted.
"We are excited and proud that the hall of fame selected legendary Spartan, Dick Vermeil, to be recognized for his career," San José State Football Head Coach Brent Brennan said. "Coach Vermeil storied career is only surpassed by the quality of man he is and the volume of lives he has touched. All Spartans are proud today!"
Vermeil joined the 1956 San José State football team as one of four Spartan quarterbacks and started the 1957 season throwing for 580 yards and one touchdown. He would finish his time at SJSU with both a bachelor's and master's degree in physical education before heading into coaching.
The fire, passion, leadership, and will to win would attract then Los Angeles Rams head coach George Allen, the architect of the Rams' "Over the Hill Gang" 50-plus years ago to appoint Vermeil, younger than some of the team's grizzled veterans, as one of the National Football League's (NFL) first special teams coaches in 1969 after climbing the coaching ladder from high school to junior college to college.
Before becoming an NFL head coach in 1976 with the Philadelphia Eagles, there were three seasons at UCLA, 1970 as the offensive coordinator and the 1974 and 1975 seasons as head coach capped by leading the Bruins to a 1976 Rose Bowl victory over Ohio State and three more seasons as a Rams assistant coach (1971-73).
In a 15-season professional football head coaching career canvassing parts of four decades, Vermeil was a turnaround specialist. Three times, he took over franchises either in disarray, disillusioned, dysfunctional, or dumbfounded by years of losing. Each time, through the Vermeil definition of hard work, developing and acquiring talented players, and family values, the Philadelphia Eagles, the St. Louis Rams, and the Kansas Chiefs put years of losing in the rearview mirror and marveled in the accolades of winning football. Vermeil coached in two Super Bowls and won Super Bowl XXXIV with the Rams.
Combining the Rams' Super Bowl XXXIV victory on January 30, 2000, Vermeil became the first head coach to coach teams to a Rose Bowl and a Super Bowl victory. Pete Carroll would accomplish the same feat in 2013 when Seattle won Super Bowl XLVIII.
DICK VERMEIL'S PREVIOUS ACCOLADES
| San José State University Sports Hall of Fame |
| San José State University Sports Hall of Fame Legend |
| San José State University CEFCU Stadium Ring of Honor |
| Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year – 1999 |
| Pro Football Weekly NFL Coach of the Year – 1979, 1999 |
| The Sporting News Coach of the Year – 1979, 1999 |
| The Maxwell Club of Philadelphia Coach of the Year – 1999, 2003 |
| California Sports Hall of Fame – 2011 |
| Missouri Sports Hall of Fame – 2001 |
| Pacific 8 Conference Coach of the Year – 1975 |
| Rose Bowl Hall of Fame - 2014 |
| Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame - 1994 |
| St. Louis Football Ring of Honor - 2008 |
#AllSpartans