Offensive line guru led Raiders in 1997
Former Oakland Raiders head coach Joe Bugel, regarded as one of the top offensive line coaches in NFL history, has died. He was 80.
Bugel died Sunday, according to a statement from Washington’s NFL team, which did not disclose a cause of death.
He was the Raiders’ assistant head coach/offense in 1995 and ’96 and their head coach in 1997. Oakland went 412 in ’97, and Jon Gruden replaced Bugel for the 1998 season.
Former Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown tweeted, “Saddened to hear of the passing of legendary coach Joe Bugel. He was a passionate but soft hearted coach who cared about the players. One of his favorite sayings was, “men, this week’s game is gonna be a Donnybrook”! No more Donnybrooks coach, RIP!!”
Bugel was the architect of “the Hogs,” the dominant offensive lines that helped lead Washington to three Super Bowls under Hall of Fame head coach Joe Gibbs.
Bugel was the team’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 1981 and ’82 and became the assistant head coach in 1983, a role he had until 1989 before becoming the head coach of the Phoenix Cardinals.
He returned for a second stint with Washington as assistant head coachoffense from 2004 through ’09.
“Joe had an incredible passion for the game of football.
He came to work every day with such great excitement and his players had tremendous respect for him. The strength of our coaching staff on both sides of the ball was a key reason we had so much success,” Gibbs said in a statement.
“Bugel was such a big part of that and his impact was felt not only by those ... teams, but truly across the entire league. I will miss his friendship and I will always cherish our latenight arguments putting together the game plan each week.”
With players such as Jeff
Bostic, Joe Jacoby and Hall of Famer Russ Grimm on the offensive line, Washington won the Super Bowl after the 1982, 1987 and 1991 seasons with three different quarterbacks.
Joe Theismann, the QB for the team’s first Super Bowl title, tweeted: “Joe Bugel was a friend as much as a coach. For those of us who had the privilege to know him we were blessed. He’ll have the best Oline in heaven. RIP Joe.”
Bugel was promoted to assistant head coach in 1983, the year Washington scored a thenNFL record 541 points.
That team reached the Super Bowl, losing to the Los Angeles Raiders.
In his first nine years in Washington, Bugel helped the team have four 1,000yard rushers, one 4,000yard passer and nine 1,000yard receivers.
After his first stint in Washington, Bugel was hired by the Cardinals as head coach in 1990. He led the team for four seasons, going 2044. He coached the offensive line for the thenSan Diego Chargers from 1998 through 2001.
After a twoyear break from coaching, Bugel returned to Washington in 2004 as assistant head coachoffense under Gibbs, although his primary job was to work with the offensive line. He stayed as offensive line coach in 2008 and retired following the 2009 season.
Bugel was born March 10, 1940. A Pittsburgh native, Bugel was a twoway player in football at Munhall High School. Bugel is survived by his wife, Brenda, and daughters Angie and Jennifer. His daughter, Holly Bugel, died in 2008.