Marion Campbell obit

Former Eagles player and head coach Marion Campbell dies at 87

 

He was not on the list.

Marion Campbell, a former All-Pro on the Philadelphia Eagles' 1960 championship team who later went on to become their head coach, died Wednesday at the age of 87, the team announced Sunday night.

"Marion Campbell will be missed by the Eagles community but also remembered for his spirited impact on our game," Eagles owner Jeff Lurie said in a statement. "Like Chuck Bednarik, he was a great two-way player during a special era in NFL history. He played with the type of toughness that our town so deeply admires."

A fourth-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 1952 out of Georgia, Campbell served in the United States Army before embarking on an NFL career that would span eight seasons, two with the 49ers and six with the Eagles.

Nicknamed the "Swamp Fox," Campbell eventually returned to Philadelphia after his playing days were over to serve as defensive coordinator on Dick Vermeil's staff, a role he held for six seasons and included a Super Bowl appearance in 1980.

Campbell was later named as Vermeil's successor following the coach's unexpected retirement in 1982. The Eagles went 17-29-1 in Campbell's three seasons at the helm, and he was fired with one game remaining in the 1985 season.

Campbell had two separate head-coaching stints with the Atlanta Falcons, from 1974 until '76 and from 1987-89, before returning to his alma mater, where he served as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator for the 1993 season.

As a player:

 

    San Francisco 49ers (1954–1955)

    Philadelphia Eagles (1956–1961)

 

As a coach:

 

    Boston Patriots (1962–1963)

    Defensive line coach

    Minnesota Vikings (1964–1966)

    Defensive line coach

    Los Angeles Rams (1967–1968)

    Defensive line coach

    Atlanta Falcons (1969–1974)

    Defensive coordinator

    Atlanta Falcons (1974–1976)

    Head coach

    Philadelphia Eagles (1977–1982)

    Defensive coordinator

    Philadelphia Eagles (1983–1985)

    Head coach

    Atlanta Falcons (1987–1989)

    Head coach

    Georgia Bulldogs (1994)

    Defensive coordinator