Former Bears head coach Dick Jauron has passed away after a brief illness. He was 74.
Jauron spent 36 seasons in the NFL, eight as a player and 28 as a coach. He served as Bears head coach from 1999-2003. He was named NFL Coach of the Year in 2001 after leading the Bears to the NFC Central championship with a 13-3 record.
That magical season was highlighted by a six-game winning streak, including back-to-back improbable overtime comeback victories over the 49ers and Browns on Mike Brown interception return touchdowns.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Coach Jauron and his family," the Bears said in a statement. "A class act and true Illinois native, Dick took great pride in representing our state, his family and proud Bears fans. On the field, his leadership guided our Bears to a division title in 2001, as he honorably earned AP NFL Coach of the Year recognition. We extend our deepest sympathies to Coach Jauron's loved ones and our sincerest condolences to all who were honored to call him Coach."
Jauron was also interim head coach with the Lions in 2005 and Bills head coach from 2006-09. He most recently served as Browns defensive coordinator in 2011-12.
Long snapper Patrick Mannelly was in his second season with the Bears when Jauron became head coach.
"I got to know his family—his two daughters and his wife—and he was just such a good dad to his kids and loving to his wife," Mannelly said. "He was a mentor to a young player looking at a coach about how to be a good family man. That's one thing I admired about him. The other was he was just so steady every day. You knew what you were getting. He was very honest, very blunt, which I loved as a player. If you were messing up, he would tell you that you were messing up. He would be that honest with you. Everybody respected him because you knew what you were getting every day out of that man."
From a personal standpoint, Jauron was Bears coach when I was hired by the team as senior writer in 2001. He was one of the best people I've ever met. He embraced me from Day 1, introducing me to players and coaches during a team meeting and always giving me his full support.
Here's a story that embodies the type of man he was: One afternoon during training camp in Bourbonnais, he entered the cafeteria for lunch but realized he had forgotten his ID in his room. Instead of getting angry at the college student asking for his ID and telling her who he was, he respectfully made the 10-minute walk back to his room to get his ID. I mean, how many NFL head coaches would do that?
"He was everything as a man that you strive to be—honesty, integrity, just how you present yourself as a professional," said former quarterback Jim Miller, who played for Jauron with the Bears from 1999-2002. "When players walked through Chicago, they knew that they were going to be treated fairly, he was going to treat you honestly, he was going to tell you exactly where you stood. Everything was up front. You knew as a player what was expected, and that's all you can ask for.
"What a tremendous man; very well-respected throughout the National Football League for how he represented himself as a man and a coach."
As a player, Jauron appeared in 100 NFL games with 80 starts as a safety for the Lions (1973-77) and Bengals (1978-80), registering 25 interceptions—two of which he returned for touchdowns—15 fumble recoveries and 4.0 sacks.
Jauron was selected by Detroit in the fourth round of the 1973 draft out of Yale. As a rookie, he recorded four interceptions and a league-leading 208 return yards, including a 95-yard TD. In 1974, he was named to the Pro Bowl.
Jauron was born in Peoria, Ill., Oct. 7, 1950. He attended grammar school in Rensselaer, Ind., when the Bears held training camp there at St. Joseph's College, before his family moved to Massachusetts.
Jauron lettered in football, basketball and baseball at Swampscott High School in Massachusetts.
At Yale, he was a three-time first team All-Ivy League selection and left the school as its all-time leading rusher with 2,947 yards. As a senior, Jauron was named first team All-America and won the Asa S. Bushnell Award as Ivy League Player of the Year. He also earned three varsity baseball letters and was chosen in the Major League Baseball draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Former Bears safety Gary Fencik was a freshman receiver at Yale when Jauron was a senior. Freshmen were not allowed to play varsity sports at the time, but Fencik was awestruck by Jauron on and off the field.
"He had some spectacular games," Fencik said, recalling one when Jauron's 87-yard fourth-quarter TD run helped lift Yale to a comeback win over Columbia. "They were going to lose to Columbia and you're like, 'This guy is the miracle man!' And he was the most unassuming person I probably have ever met."
Jauron is survived by his wife, Gail, and daughter, Kacy. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Amy, who passed away Dec. 28, 2014, at the age of 28.
