He was not on the list.
As good a coach as Dick Stanfel was teaching offensive line
play — and former Bears pupils give him the highest credit — he was probably a
greater player as a standout in the 1950s.
Stanfel, who was a Bears assistant coach from 1981 through
1992 and was the architect of the line that helped pave the way to Super Bowl
XX, died Monday at his home in Libertyville after a long illness. He was 87.
The Lions drafted Stanfel in 1951 from the University of San
Francisco, a football powerhouse at the time, and the right guard was part of
two championship teams in four seasons,named the team’s MVP after the 1953
season over stars such as Bobby Layne and Doak Walker. Stanfel was traded to
the Redskins in 1956.
A five-time Pro Bowl selection, Stanfel was selected to the
1950s All-Decade team. He was a senior nominee for the Pro Football Hall of
Fame in 2012 but was not voted in.
“He was a great, great coach and a great man too,” former
Bears center Jay Hilgenberg said. “A motivator? A technician? He was all of the
above. He pulled for you personally too. All of his stories and his toughness
and what the game meant to him, he was so great. He’d always tell you, ‘You
make sure after this game that guy knows your name.’ He was a classic.”
Added former left tackle Jimbo Covert: “He was a great,
great person. We are going to miss him.”
The Bears led the NFL in rushing for four consecutive
seasons with Stanfel leading the offensive line from 1983 to 1986, an NFL
record.
Stanfel made a major impact in his final season with the
team, a leading figure in the decision to convert James “Big Cat” Williams from
defensive tackle to the offensive line where he started 134 consecutive games
at right tackle.
“There is a long list of people who say they were the
originator, but I think Dick had a lot to do with it,” Williams said.
The Bears knew Stanfel was a tremendous player in his time.
“It’s my rookie season with the Bears and here I am a free
agent rookie with this veteran coach and I figured out during the meeting that
in the College All-Star Game, my dad (Jerry) and Dick played against each
other,” Hilgenberg said. “And I remember my dad always telling me he had a
really good game and he was second in the MVP voting.
“I told Dick that as we were walking up a hill going to
practice and Dick looks at me and he says, ‘That’s right. I was the MVP. I
kicked his ass.’”
After retirement, Stanfel began his coaching career at Notre
Dame and soon became one of the best in the NFL, also working for the Eagles,
49ers and Saints, for whom he was an interim head coach for four games in 1980.
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