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 Through
the ages there have been great men who
have had a major influence on the people
with whom they have come into contact
with. One such man is Hall of Fame,
former Buffalo Bills Head Coach Marv
Levy. Levy, who has a Master's degree
from Harvard, was best known as an
intelligent and analytical football
coach. Perhaps better suited for the
political field rather than the football
field, Coach Levy led the Buffalo Bills
to an unprecedented four straight Super
Bowls. He used his Harvard education to
motivate and shape the careers and lives
of many pro football athletes...>>>
Book Marv Levy for Your Next Event
Coach Levy, (more affectionately known
to fans and friends simply as Marv) was
born in Chicago, Illinois. He went to
Coe College in Iowa where he earned 3
varsity letters in football, 4 in track
and 1 in basketball. After graduating
college, Marv entered law school. About
three weeks later, he made the decision
to become a football coach. Instead of
just another lawyer in the world, the
world ended up with one of the greatest
football coaches of all time.
Levy's first coaching job was as an
assistant at Coe College. He went on to
serve as the head coach at the Country
Day School in St. Louis, the University
of New Mexico (1958-59), University of
California (1960-63) and William and
Mary (1964-68). Marv got his first NFL
coaching job in 1969 as a special teams
coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. In
the next few years, he would serve as a
special teams coach for the Rams and the
Redskins. He also coached the Montreal
Alouettes in the Canadian Football
League for five years and led them to
two Grey Cup championships.
Marv's first head coaching job would be
with the Kansas City Chiefs from
1978-1982 where he led them to a
disappointing 31-42 record. After
leaving Kansas City, Levy did some color
commentating for a few years. His next
big break came in 1986 when he was hired
to be the head football coach of the
Buffalo Bills. Levy went on to become
the most successful coach in Buffalo
Bills history with a 112-70 record
(123-78 including post season play).
Behind the likes of Jim Kelly, Thurman
Thomas, Andre Reed and Bruce Smith, it
took Levy only two years to lead the
Bills to the AFC Championship game in
which they lost to the Cincinnati
Bengals. The Bills would win the eastern
division six out of the next eight
seasons and make the playoffs in eight
out of the next nine years. During that
run, Levy and the Bills would become the
only team in NFL history to go to four
straight Super Bowls (from 1991-1994).
After 47 years of coaching, Marv retired
on December 31, 1997. He will be
remembered not only as the winningest
coach in Buffalo Bills history and a
Hall of Fame football coach, but also as
one of the NFL's most classiest
individuals. Levy not only molded
football players but he also molded men
character, class and pride.
In August of 2001, Marv was rewarded for
all of his hard work when he was
bestowed pro-football highest honor. He
was inducted into the Pro Football Hall
of Fame, in Canton, Ohio in his very
first year of eligibility. In his NFL
coaching career, Levy ranked 10th
all-time with a 154-120 record, had a
.634 winning percentage, won six
division championships and four straight
AFC Championships and led the Bills to
four straight Super Bowl appearances. He
is one of only 14 coaches to win 100
games with one NFL team. Equally as
impressive, Coach Levy compiled a 17-5
record against the winningest coach in
NFL history, Don Shula and the Miami
Dolphins.
Coach Levy and the Bills will be
remembered for their ability to bounce
back and rise again, and in the words of
Levy's personal hero Winston Churchill,
"Never, never , never, never, never
surrender!"
>>> Book
Marv Levy for Your Next Event
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