Allen was a winner, innovator
George Allen had the third-best winning percentage as a coach in the NFL (.681), exceeded only by Vince Lombardi (.736) and John Madden (.731). He also never coached a team to a losing season.
Allen was a two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year (1967, 1971)
Allen was noted primarily as a defensive innovator and as a motivator. He was an early innovator in the use of sophisticated playbooks, well-organized drafts, the use of special teams and daring trades for veterans over new players. He is also known for sparking the Dallas Cowboys/Washington Redskins rivalry.
He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
Emphasizing special teams play
Allen was also known for emphasizing special teams play, and is credited with being the first coach to hire a special teams coach to focus exclusively on the play of that unit. That first special teams coach, Dick Vermeil, would later win a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams. His second special teams coach, Marv Levy, would lead the Buffalo Bills to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances.
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Personal information
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| Date of birth: April 29, 1918 |
| Place of birth: Detroit, Michigan |
| Date of death: December 31, 1990 (aged 72) |
| Place of death: Palos Verdes Estates, California |
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Career information
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| College: Eastern Michigan |
| • No regular season or postseason appearances |
| • Made coaching debut in 1948 for the Morningside College |
| • Last coached in 1990 for the California State University, Long Beach |
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Career history
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- • Morningside College (NCAA) (1948–1950)
- • Whittier College (NCAA) (1951–1956)
- • Los Angeles Rams (1957)
- • Chicago Bears (1958–1965)
- • Los Angeles Rams (1966–1970)
- • Washington Redskins (1971–1977)
- • Chicago Blitz (USFL) (1983)
- • Arizona Wranglers (USFL) (1984)
- • Long Beach State (NCAA) (1990)
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Career highlights and awards
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- • 1972 NFC Championship
- • 1984 USFL Western Conference Championship
- • 2× AP NFL Coach of the Year (1967, 1971)
- • 2× Sporting News Coach of the Year (1967, 1971)
- • 1971 Pro Football Weekly NFL Coach of the Year
- • 2× UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1967, 1971)
- • 80 Greatest Redskins
- • Redskins’ Ring of Fame
- • 116-47-5 (regular season record)
- • 2-7 (playoff record)
- • 118-54-5 (overall record)
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Career NFL statistics
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| Win-Loss Record |
116-47-5 |
| Winning % |
.712 |
| Games |
168 |
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| • Coaching stats at pro-football-reference.com |
| • Pro Football Hall of Fame
—Information from Wikipedia.org
—Allen on Wikipedia
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