Today in Patriots History
Chuck Fairbanks
In memory of Chuck Fairbanks, born on this date 92 years ago
Born June 10, 1933 in Detroit
Died April 2, 2013 in Scottsdale, Arizona at the age of 79
Patriot Head Coach and General Manager, 1973-1978
Hired on January 26, 1973
Pats résumé: first playoff berth in ten years; 46-39 regular season record
If Bill Parcells can gain entry to the Patriots Hall of Fame, then Chuck Fairbanks should have been enshrined long ago. Fairbanks had a better record, and revitalized a franchise that was more moribund than the one Parcells inherited. While Tuna whined about the Krafts meddlesome manners, it was nothing remotely close to what Fairbanks had to endure with the Sullivans. Fairbanks' 1976 team had a .786 winning percentage - a franchise record that stood for an amazing 27 years, and to this day remains the best of any non-Belichick/Brady team.
Another important fact to consider when comparing Faibanks to Parcells is that Fairbanks operated in an era with no free agency and no salary cap. As a result good teams stayed good for long periods of time, while bad teams remained mired in mediocrity for years. Parcells had the benefit of free agency in his first year, and the salary cap the following year. Both of those resulted in his ability to acquire talent far more easily than Fairbanks could, who had to rely solely on the draft, trades, and rookies that were not selected through what was then a 17-round draft.
That '76 team deserved to be the franchise's first super bowl championship team, and would have been if not for what was arguably the worst officiated game in the history of pro sports. On defense they led the league in takeaways, while on offense they led the NFL with 5.0 yards per carry, and were 2nd in points scored. Two years later the Pats led the league in yards gained, and set an NFL record that would stand for 41 years, with 3,165 yards rushing.
After seven years of awful to average-at-best drafts had left the Patriot roster devoid of talent, in
Chuck Fairbanks' first draft the team selected
John Hannah,
Sam Cunningham and
Darryl Stingley. The next year they drafted
Steve Nelson,
Andy Johnson and
Sam Hunt. Then in '75 the Pats added
Russ Francis,
Rod Shoate and
Steve Grogan. For most teams a three-year stretch like that would be extremely impressive, but the Patriots were not done yet - hitting gold the following year.
Grogan had performed well enough in relief of injured
Jim Plunkett for Fairbanks to put the number one overall pick from the 1971 draft on the market.
Three days prior to the 1976 draft the trade was made, with the Pats receiving two first round selections in the upcoming draft, first and second round 1977 picks, and a backup QB for good measure.
Those four draft picks turned out to be center
Pete Brock, safety
Tim Fox, running back
Horace Ivory, and cornerback
Raymond Clayborn, who was belatedly voted in to the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2017. That group of four went on to play a combined 482 games for the Patriots.
In Fairbanks first season the Pats only went 5-9, but the improvement was already apparent. The offense improved from 24th to 16th in points scored, while the defense rose from 26th to 16th. The next year Fairbanks installed his 3-4 defense and the team started out at a league best 6-1, before injuries were too much to overcome. Still, the 7-7 finish was the first non-losing record since just missing out on a chance at the first super bowl in 1966, ending a streak of seven consecutive losing seasons.
1975 saw a player strike over the Sullivan's miserly negotiating tactics that led to a canceled preseason game, and a distraction that could not be overcome. Unfortunately this was just a foreshadowing of events to follow a couple years later.
In '76 the Pats went 11-3, making the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. The team ranked second in scoring offense and third in turnover differential. The Pats led the league with 5.0 yards per rush, and had not lost a game since October. Then came the
Ben Dreith game, arguably the most egregiously one-sided officiated game in the history of the
NFL professional sports. With Pittsburgh decimated by injuries and the AFC vastly superior to the NFC that year, the Raider-Patriots game was the de facto league championship game. Yes, it still bothers me to this day.
Fairbanks worked out contract extensions for Hannah and
Leon Gray, two future Patriot Hall of Famers. The Sullivans screwed Fairbanks over however, not approving the deals and forcing him to renege on the contracts. Hannah and Gray walked out on the team during preseason and did not return until week four. The Pats had lost two games to below average teams by that time and never recovered, going 7-3 the rest of the way to finish 9-5 - but missing the playoffs with a .643 winning percentage.
In 1978 Fairbanks worked out a contract extension with Stingley, just prior to his being viciously hit and paralyzed by Jack Tatum in a preseason game. When the Sullivans refused to honor that verbal commitment, it was the final straw; Fairbanks started looking for another job. The team won the AFC East, but then word leaked out that Fairbanks had been hired by the University of Colorado.
Billy Sullivan suspended Fairbanks prior to the final game of the season, making the OC the head coach when the Pats had the ball, and the DC the head coach when on defense. The ridiculous arrangement predictably failed, and Fairbanks was allowed to return and coach the first home playoff game in franchise history. Under gloomy skies a lethargic and distracted team was defeated by Earl Campbell, Dan Pastorini and Bum Phillips' Houston Oilers on new years eve of 1978. With that loss, the Patriots' Chuck Fairbanks era was over.
But there was a brief lull in the doldrums of the mid-to-late 60’s and before the Super Bowl team of 1985 and that was during the tenure of Chuck Fairbanks.
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The first thing he did was fix a Patriots draft system that was pretty much broken at that time. In his first draft Fairbanks landed HOF OL John Hannah, RB Sam Cunningham, WR Darryl Stingley as well as NT ‘Sugar Bear’ Ray Hamilton. A year later he brought in LB Steve Nelson, RB Andy Johnson and LB Sam Hunt. The core of his teams in New England was being put together. Russ Francis and Steve Grogan joined the team in 1975.
This time of year the Patriots Hall of Fame committee meets to decide who will be the newest inductees. Each of the past couple years a heated debate has been centered around Bill Parcells, but I t…
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The Patriots had six-straight losing seasons prior to Fairbanks’ arrival, and hadn’t been to the playoffs in ten years. By 1976 the Patriots had (at that time) their best team ever, handing the eventual Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders their only loss of the season. Oakland would win the re-match in the playoffs in a hard fought game that featured a marginal roughing the passer penalty on Sugar Bear Hamilton on a third-and-18 incomplete pass that would set Oakland up for the 24-21 win.
But to this day, many believe the ’76 Pats teams was one of their best ever, even if they didn’t even make it to the Super Bowl. Before that, the Patriots truly were nobodies in the NFL landscape. If we really want to talk about a coach who put the Patriots on the map, Fairbanks would have to be the original choice.
Former Patriots Head Coach Chuck Fairbanks Passed Away -- Patriots.com
Mr. Fairbanks built successful football teams in college at the University of Oklahoma and in the N.F.L. with New England. But controversy often followed him.
www.nytimes.com
Now that Tom Brady has shown us his throwback resume, lets flash back to the Patriots-Raiders AFC divisional playoff game that took place on Dec. 18, 1976.
archive.boston.com
The 1976 New England Patriots are chronicled in the 98.5 the Sports Hub special "Rough Injustice". Listen for interviews with John Hannah and many others.
985thesportshub.com
Raiders fans complain about the "Tuck Rule Game" in the 2002 playoffs. But what about that roughing the passer call in the '76 AFC divisional round game...?...
thegruelingtruth.com
‘Roughing the Passer’ The Patriots Raiders Playoff Game What Raider fans never talk about
2:48 Video
11/7/1976 Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots highlights, National Football League Week 9
1:46 Game Highlight Video
1976 New England Patriots
1:21:41 Season Highlights
1976 New England Patriots Team Season Highlights "Second Revolution"
21:48 Season Highlights
1978 New England Patriots Team Season Highlights "How The East Was Won"
22:08 Season Highlights
