Today in Patriots History
Chuck Fairbanks
April 2, 2013:
Former Patriots head coach Chuck Fairbanks passes away from cancer at the age of 79.
New England Patriots Coach Chuck Fairbanks, right, makes a point as he discusses play with quarterback Steve Grogan,
during a workout on Dec. 15, 1976 at Schaefer Stadium in Foxboro as they prepared for playoff game with Oakland Raiders Ben Dreith.
Fairbanks coached the Patriots in the 1970s.
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Chuck Fairbanks, the man who helped raise the Patriots to prominence in the 1970s, passed away in Scottsdale, Ariz., Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 79.
Fairbanks coached New England from 1973-78, leading the team to a 46-40 record and two playoff berths.
“Coach Fairbanks gave the Patriots instant credibility," New England owner Robert Kraft said. "For Patriots fans of that era, Fairbanks was the Bill Parcells before Bill Parcells. Meaning, he did for the Patriots in the '70s what Bill Parcells did for the team in the '90s."
A pioneer of the game, Fairbanks helped the Patriots to relevance by popularizing the 3-4 defense (elements of his system are still used today) and streamlining the draft process. Under his watch, the team drafted players such as Sam Cunningham, Steve Grogan, John Hannah and Mosi Tatupu.
When it was learned last year Fairbanks was battling cancer, Patriots coach Bill Belichick credited him for his impact on the organization.
"At the time he came here, he did a great job in turning the Patriots around, making them one of the top teams in the AFC," Belichick said. "Some of the things that he brought to the Patriots and the league in the '70s were things that stood the test of time and have been a big principle of this league for many, many years, such as the 3-4 defense, the way he organized the draft, personnel meetings, things like that."
Fairbanks' influence on New England can still be felt.
The offense the Patriots run, the Erhardt-Perkins system, was birthed by Ron Erhardt and Ray Perkins while they were working for Fairbanks in the 1970s. Instead of organizing plays by route trees or calling a single receiver's route, the Erhardt-Perkins system organizes plays by concepts.
"Chuck has had a tremendous influence on the league as well as this organization in terms of nomenclature and terminology and those kinds of things,” Belichick said. “I’m sure Chuck could walk in and look at our playbook and probably 80 percent of the plays are the same terminology that he used – whether it be formations or coverages or pass protections. ... All of the stuff that was really the fundamentals of his system are still in place here."
The Patriots struggled early under Fairbanks, but in 1976, two years after installing his 3-4 system, the team went 11-3 and made the playoffs, where it faced the Raiders in the first round. With New England leading 21-17 late in the fourth quarter, a controversial roughing-the-passer call wiped out an Oakland incompletion and extended a drive in which quarterback Ken Stabler ran in with eight seconds left for a comeback victory.
New England appeared poised to make another run in 1978, but Fairbanks' tenure came to a controversial close that season. Owner Billy Sullivan suspended Fairbanks after accepting the coaching job at Colorado and though he was reinstated before a a playoff game against the Oilers, the Patriots lost. Fairbanks later admitted to recruiting players while still coaching New England.
Prior to landing in New England, Fairbanks coached at Oklahoma, where he implemented the wishbone-T offense. The Sooners won three Big Eight conference titles and went 11-1 in each of his final two seasons.
Chuck Fairbanks, ex-New England Patriots coach, 79 -- AP/Patriots.com
Chuck Fairbanks, who spent six seasons as coach of the New England Patriots and coached Heisman Trophy winner Steve Owens at Oklahoma, died Tuesday in Arizona after battling brain cancer. He was 79. Oklahoma said in a news release that Fairbanks died in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale.
He won 46 games for New England, a franchise record at the time. The Patriots made the playoffs in their fourth season under Fairbanks in 1976 and two years later were on their way to their first outright AFC East title when owner Billy Sullivan angrily suspended him for the final regular-season game because he had agreed to go to Colorado. Fairbanks returned for the playoffs, but New England lost to Houston.
Fairbanks was 52-15-1 in six years with the Sooners, including an Orange Bowl victory his first season and consecutive Sugar Bowls wins in 1971-72 before taking over the Patriots.
The Sooners went 10-1 and beat Tennessee in the Orange Bowl in Fairbanks' first year in 1967. He won 11 games each of last two seasons with OU, beating Auburn and Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.
Fairbanks worked in real estate and golf-course development after his coaching career. He occasionally worked as a consultant for NFL teams in training camp, including with the Dallas Cowboys when Bill Parcells was coach.
Former Patriots coach Chuck Fairbanks died of brain cancer on Tuesday, according to the club. He was 79.
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Fairbanks coached the Patriots from 1973-78, leading the franchise to some of its greatest success by the end of his tenure, including two playoff berths. The Patriots were 3-11 prior to his arrival and went 11-3, 9-5 and 11-5 over his final three seasons.
Fairbanks' Patriots legacy has been widely discussed, in part because of how his time with the franchise ended, with Fairbanks ultimately becoming head coach at Colorado in 1978. But most agree the foundation created by Fairbanks was instrumental, as a big part of his success came in drafting top-notch players, including offensive lineman John Hannah, linebacker Steve Nelson, tight end Russ Francis and cornerback Mike Haynes, among others.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick acknowledged Fairbanks' across-the-board influence last September.
"Chuck has been a good friend for a long time and he's meant a lot to this organization. At the time he came here, he did a great job turning the Patriots around and making them into one of the top teams in the AFC," Belichick said.
Belichick also touched on some of the football-specific areas in which Fairbanks had a big influence in the 1970s.
"They were things that stood the test of time and have been a big principle of this league for many, many years, [with] the disciples and people with him -- 3-4 defense, the way he organized the draft, personnel meetings," he said.
Fairbanks also coached the Oklahoma Sooners from 1967-72, and famously gave offensive coordinator Barry Switzer the nod in 1970 to implement the wishbone offense, which turned Oklahoma into an offensive powerhouse for the next two decades.
BOULDER -- Chuck Fairbanks, who replaced Bill Mallory and preceded Bill McCartney as head football coach at the University of Colorado, passed away Tuesday m...
cubuffs.com
Fairbanks took over the Sooners' coaching reins after Jim Mackenzie passed away from a heart attack following the 1966 season. He immediately guided OU to a 10-1 record and a Big 8 title with the lone blemish on his rookie record coming by a narrow 9-7 margin vs. Texas. Fairbanks posted back-to-back 11-1 campaigns in 1971 and 1972 as the Sooners registered Sugar Bowl wins over Auburn and Penn State.
Fairbanks was the first OU coach to use the wishbone-T formation, a triple-option offensive attack that Texas used on its way to the 1969 national title. The wishbone-T became the backbone of OU's offensive dynasty for the next 20 years.
In 1973, Fairbanks left OU to coach in the NFL for the New England Patriots. During his six-year tenure as New England's head coach, Fairbanks produced a 46-41 record as the Patriots earned a Wild Card spot in 1976 and won the AFC East in 1978, marking the club's first division title since 1963.
Fairbanks began his coaching career at Ishpeming High School in Michigan. From there, he went to Arizona State (under head coach Frank Kush) and Houston (under head coach Bill Yeoman) before coming to OU as a defensive backfield coach in 1966. As a player at Michigan State, Fairbanks played offensive end on the Spartans' 1952 national championship team. In 1954, he concluded his playing career by earning a berth in the Blue-Grey All-Star Game.
Former CU linebacker and punter Steve Doolittle played two seasons under Fairbanks.
"Chuck came on board in 1979 and he brought the pro approach," Doolittle said. "The guys we had at the time didn't understand this type of treatment. After all we were brainwashed by Bill Mallory the disciple of Woody Hayes. We even wore wool socks when it was 100 degrees outside.
"Chuck was a far superior coach in technique and finesse," Doolittle continued.
