Bobby Ross lost his first preseason game as he started his coaching career with the Chargers. On the plane ride home he forcefully broke up a card game. One player was asked what Ross’s predecessor, Dan Henning, would have done in that situation. The player said, and I paraphrase, “He’d join in the game.”

Allen was undoubtedly a great coach, but as a rookie coming into the league and getting drafted by Washington, I'd immediately demand a trade on draft day. The reason his teams were filled with so many veterans is because he despised rookies and didn't have the patience to wait for them to develop. "The future is now" was his philosophy. He would rather gamble away a potential dynasty for a championship now. Luckily as a rookie coming into the league on draft day you were unlikely to be drafted by Washington because they liked to trade picks to get the aforementioned veterans (remember this was before free agency and trades were the only way you could change teams).

@KevinT7274

9 ай бұрын

Theismann came to the Redskins in 74', Allen chose to stick with the veteran Kilmer and Theismann didn't become the full-time starter until Allen was gone in 78'. If Allen had went with Theismann for the last couple seasons when Kilmer's play had started to decline would Theismann have possibly been a HOF player?

@Solitude47152

4 ай бұрын

@@KevinT7274 Allen traded a first round draft pick for Theisman . I don’t know why, he just returned punts.

Allen probably had mild OCD, from my own experience with it and everything I've heard about him over the years.

I'll take Bud Grant's attitude any day: it's entertainment, not life and death. When the game is over, you move on to the next one. Allen's was the sort of attitude that inspired psychologist Thomas Tutko to write his book "Winning is Everything and Other American Myths" (1976). Yes, that's assistant coach Marv Levy behind Allen at the 12:44 mark.

Marv Levy had a balanced perspective. He said of the Super Bowl "This is not a must win. World War II was a must win."

@DolFan316

9 ай бұрын

ACTUALLY...that's not even really true. There are many alternate timelines where the Axis nations win (far more than the alternative in fact) and...believe it or not, life afterwards isn't nearly as bad as you might imagine. Turns out controlling the world was a lot more work than anybody could handle before 2020 or so. It's not like the Nazis could remotely shut off everything in people's homes or freeze their bank accounts or send drones to take them out.

@hotwheel6663

6 ай бұрын

That why he lost 4 in a row.

@VinnyXwolf

Ай бұрын

Interesting side note, Marv Levy was on this Redskins staff. He was the Special Teams Coach, which produced the Redskins only TD in Super Bowl VII

This is very similar to what happened in 2006 during Jose Mourinho's first stint as Chelsea's coach during a preseason tour of the US. For some context heading into this tour, Chelsea had won their 2nd straight Premier League title and were widely considered to be one of the best clubs in the world at the time with players like Didier Drogba, John Terry & Frank Lampard. Chelsea had won every single match of the tour in convincing fashion including a 7-1 beat down of Mexican side Chivas in Dallas where riot police had to separate Mourinho from the angry Chivas fans after the match. There was one more match to go against a team of MLS All Stars in Chicago in the MLS All Star Game. In the few days leading up to the match, Mourinho had bashed the MLS calling it "amateur & full of no name hacks who couldn't cut it in Europe" & said Chelsea would easily win 8-0. I should point out that this took place a year before David Beckham joined the league & many people outside of the US including quite a few in it agreed with Mourinho's views about MLS. However in one of the most shocking upsets in American soccer history, the MLS All Stars beat Chelsea 1-0 thanks to a goal in the 70th minute by Dwayne De Rosario. Like the game being mentioned in the video this was a meaningless game but like George Allen, Mourinho went absolutely nuts during the post game press conference, ripping the referee as if he had lost a Champions League or Premier League match. Then to make things even more crazy, Mourinho saw the referee in the parking lot as he was getting on the team bus & threatened to beat him up in front of his players & the referee's wife & kids. Because of all this, the US Soccer Federation threatened to ban him from coaching in the US for life & the State Department told their UK counterpart to put him on a no fly list. Chelsea management had to convince both entities not to do that which they were able to do. Luckily Mourinho was much calmer when he returned to the US on another preseason tour with Chelsea the following year.

I could see being upset about a lack of focus, but I'd save the melodrama for the Super Bowl loss.

Even as a fan, I didn't act like this in January 2023 when my Buccaneers lost a game at the Falcons that meant nothing to the playoff picture. Allen was wilding here. All he had to worry about was his key players' health going into that game vs. the Packers.

I wonder if the reason for Allen's chagrin was because of what happened three years earlier when he was coaching the 1969 Los Angeles Rams. At the time, the Rams started the season with 11 straight wins: 11-0. The Rams coasted to the Coastal Division title; the final games made no difference. However, the Rams lost their last three games to the Lions, Vikings, and Colts; then bowed out of the playoffs with a loss to the eventual NFL champion Vikings. Allen may have fretted about his team starting fast but finishing flat in a repeat. His teams did have that happen a few times. Check out the 1971 Redskins (fast start to 6-1-1, then went 3-3 to end the season, then lost in the first round of the playoffs). Anyway, losing those last two 1972 games may have reminded him of what happened in 1969. That was a gut punch.

Na his dumbest moment was having his son Bruce. He did so much damage to the Washington franchise.

Excellent video. I would point out that getting fired in the 1978 preseason when he went to the Rams was bizarre. But that was a management decision. Allen was obsessed with winning and 50 years ago people used this kind of over dramatic hyperbole

@flyinelvis69

9 ай бұрын

What worked with Allen in his forst go round with the Rams and early on with the Redskins was a style of coaching that was ending. They lost their first 2 preseason games badly. I watched one and they looked no where near prepared to play football, preseason or not. The game was rapidly passing him by

@Solitude47152

4 ай бұрын

The players revolted, they told management we want Malivasi to be Coach. That’s what happened.

Great video. This is about a season and a half before I started following the Redskins. George Allen was a great coach, but kind of nuts and hated what he did to Sonny. Give me Joe Gibbs all day, a kind and decent man who won more when it counted.

@scottybarbo3245

9 ай бұрын

Joe Gibbs 82 Super Bowl team included Theismann, Riggins, George Statke, Dave Butz… we have George Allen to thank.

@davidfiddleman2312

9 ай бұрын

@@scottybarbo3245 true but the only one he truly correctly used was Starke.

Allen took EVERYTHING personally. He was a football genius but an emotional cripple. His career is rife with incidents when he flipped out and was unprofessional.

I couldn’t stand George Allen

George allen's winning percentage is remarkable. Always had a winning season in 12 years

@Rockhound6165

9 ай бұрын

Even in the USFL. He was 12-6 with Chicago and 10-8 with Arizona(same franchise who swapped cities).

@donsmith5479

9 ай бұрын

His playoff winning percentage is not, he was 2-7. If Staubach didn't get hurt in preseason, Allen may not have those two wins.

@Fireyninjadog

9 ай бұрын

No, he wasn't levy, lombardi, or grant, but he was great if your franchise needed hope. He took a team that had been terrible for most of the 60s and led them to victory 49 times in just 5 years. He then went to Washington, where the redskins hadn't made the postseason since 1945, and led to a 9-4-1 record his first year there. He was named coach of the year twice for a reason. His teams just had the misfortune of either missing out on the playoffs or playing playoff games on the road. He was 2-0 at home in the postseason, but 0-7 on the road. Still, the fact that he never once had a losing team, in 12 years, is very impressive

Hmmm. Wonder how he felt about losing Super Bowl VII…

Right now Mike Tomlin is in the same crowd as George Allen so far because in the 15 years he's been with the Steelers he hasn't had a losing Season either. Big Ben as Starting QB finished his NFL career without having a losing season either. Reminds me of the 2004 season I think it was the final game of the Season the Steelers were playing the Bills and the Bills had a chance of getting into the post season and ending the Flutie curse but they ended up losing to the Steeler's and their back ups knocking them out of the post season. Dear god if Mark Madden was a journalist back then he would have eaten George Allen alive and called him a crybaby on top of other things. He said some similar stuff about Kordell Stewart when he was crying during the 2001 AFC championship game during the top 10 most devastating losses video. Yeah Allen was a moron for saying that losing a game is like a death in the family. I wondered how George Allen's postgame press conference was after losing SB VII to the Dolphins and if he was crying and saying the same BS.

@forestgeorge8855

9 ай бұрын

When did Mark Madden become credible?

@Fender178

9 ай бұрын

@@forestgeorge8855 He was never credible he was the only Sports guy I thought of who wouldn't be afraid to speak his mind about the topic is all. I am sure that there were other sports journalists that were similar in mindset as him.

If the loss had cost the Skins home field in the playoffs, I could see being a bit upset. But, it didn't. W-L records were not counted for playoff seedings, but in any case, Washington beat both the Packers and Cowboys at home (by a combined score of 42-6). So, Allem was nuts.

Love your channel but sorry that membership is too rich for my blood 😂😂😂. Keep up the great work! 👍🏻

I thought this video was going to be about the time he had the cops throw one of his own sons out of the stadium during an away game. When his boy was on the sidelines, he was so obnoxious heckling the other team that the referee was going to flag the Skins for unsportsmanlike conduct. Allen decided that it was better to throw his own kid under the bus than take a 15-yard penalty, so he told the referee that his own kid was one of the ball boys provided by the home team. The referee had security throw the kid out. Maybe JaguarGator9 can do a video on that one -for Father's Day!

To support your point about this loss being like a preseason game, after the Eagles beat Washington in the season finale in 1991, Washington defensive tackle Eric Williams said, ”People were throwing helmets because they hate losing,” defensive tackle Eric Williams said. “But in terms of the big picture, it’s about like a preseason game.” That was in the Washington Post story about the game. Yes, they were upset. Yes, they were disappointed, but no one was calling it like a death in the family.

It was George Allen who told Dick Vermil to take the Eagles job in 75

George Allen was very passionate. He was also about the human game of chess. Any type of loss might convince the other team that they can beat them. I get comparing the loss of a parent to a football game is ridiculous, but some people have strange spiritual beliefs and I don’t mean just standard religious beliefs, like Christianity, either. Allen was passionate about the win. When he coached his last team prior to his death, he was still about the win. I shouldn’t condone it, but I understand it.

@KevinT7274

9 ай бұрын

For all of Allen's regular season success, 72' was the only season his team won playoff games. His other 4 appearances his teams were 0-4. Did he burn his veteran teams out during the regular season?

@forestgeorge8855

9 ай бұрын

@@KevinT7274 I stand corrected. They didn’t win one playoff game after ‘72.

8:32 Which is worse than if you did nothing but spike to the ball to the ground on every single play.

Allen was credited with wipping the Bears into shape in '65 season; then he left to be a HC. '65 Bears eliminated from playoffs by phantom td

Allen was a great coach and a great defensive mind. He turned he Bears defense around, made a contender of the Rams and Redskins. He was quirky for for sure, but many coaches are. He was dedicated and hard working. Only a moron would call him a moron.

And I thought Dick Vermeil was melodramatic.

He was using Psychology. At least it worked till the Super bowl. 😊

@stevenzimmerman4057

9 ай бұрын

Allen absolutely despised losing,but I think you might have a point... Used phycology 😊

Nice!

IDK if it's his craziest. He was paranoid about Miami staff/fans spying on his practice prior to SB VII. He also consulted an astronomer about the position of the Sun during that Super Bowl. Should have spent more time figuring out what to do about that Miami defense.

Although the win loss record didn't mean anything as far as hosting the NFC Championship game went, seeding did have impact on the divisional round. The two best records got home games in that round. however this game wouldn't have changed the Redskins and 49ers the second best record around.

If Sonny Jorgensen was healthy, they would have beaten the Dolphins in the Super Bowl

Say what you want but George Allen gave the undefeated Dolphins all they could handle. Held their powerful offense to 14 points.

@DolFan316

9 ай бұрын

The mighty '07 Patriots were also held to 14 points despite being far more prolific. Also, they lost.

@pronkb000

9 ай бұрын

On the other hand, his offense put up zilch and the team was one dumb misplay away from being probably the only team who would ever get shut out in a Super Bowl.

I'm a Bills fan. Wasn't alive yet in the 70s. I know from facts they only had 2 good years in that decade. But in loses or wins there had to be at least 2 controversial/dumb decisions every year.

Allen was never considered an offensive mind. He ran a 2 back offense, while the San Diego SuperChargers where scoring record points during the season. He should have tried to go to the Don Coryell offense. His offense sucked. He never used the draft to build the team and get the best OL talent.

Hard to believe George Allen did something dumber than dying because he wore his wet clothes for hours in the cold after getting a Gatorade shower

@andrewr62

3 ай бұрын

He died of a heat attack and had a previous heart condition. The so called gatorade shower resulted in a cold from which he quickly recovered. His family always disputed this story.

Fun note is that George Allen has a field named after where I attended college sadly our school doesn’t have a football team anymore

@mgb4692

9 ай бұрын

@@user-hs7qf5vv2n Where Terrell Davis started, though he redshirted and never played for Allen

You never told us to score of that game plus he was probably already mad earlier in the day

@chaosgreyblood

9 ай бұрын

Bills won 24-17, spoken at the 7:55 mark. Were you even paying attention?

badges . we don't need no stinking badges

What OJG9 fails to mention is that the *Redskins* would've had the top seed anyway after beating Philly. They not only had the tiebreaker over the Cowboys but also beat the Packers that season who finished a game behind them anyway, and the third division champ (49ers) were just 8-5-1. So really, they had nothing to play for with 2 games remaining regardless.

@OfficialJaguarGator9

9 ай бұрын

I brought that up multiple times throughout the video. Seeding wasn’t a thing back then; if you won the East, you won the East, and it didn’t matter what the Central and West teams did

@DolFan316

9 ай бұрын

@@OfficialJaguarGator9 My point is that Allen's team would've been the top seed anyway and got to play two home postseason games as if they were. It was the Dolphins who got screwed by that rule far more.

@chriserrington5958

9 ай бұрын

An interesting note is that, despite having the conference's best record, Washington (12-3) would have played the NFC Championship game at San Francisco (9-5-1) based on the rotational system had the 49ers beaten Dallas in the divisional round. Many Washington players (especially Larry Brown) stated they were happy Dallas won, not because the Cowboys were their bitter rivals or that they'd play at home, but because it meant they wouldn't have to play on Candlestick Park's rock-hard Astroturf. @@DolFan316

40 Men together can't lose!

This video was so interesting to me that I even put up with OJG9 saying "Washington" roughly 200 times out of fear that KZread might cancel him for saying the word Redskins. At least he didn't pretend they were called the Commanders back then like some people do. I just assumed for all these years that they tanked this game like all teams in their position did even back then (the Lombardi Packers tanked their finale VS the Steelers in '67) so finding out otherwise was a revelation to me.

Buffalo 9 point favorites ?? Did this narrator have this right ?

@OfficialJaguarGator9

Ай бұрын

Washington was the 9 point favorite

what an awful take lol. George Allen is a legend.

If you were able to think deeper about what George was doing instead of calling him dumb and a moron, maybe you could see that this was a motivational plot to get the Skins going for the playoffs!! George was a very intelligent man! Seeing what George did would motivate anyone to play their best!! And the Redskins did against a good Packer team and they destroyed Dallas in the NFC championship game!!! George was no dummy or a moron by any means!!!

@Solitude47152

4 ай бұрын

Allen was a hell of a coach. Dedicated

I was wondering if you would mention the '72 Dolphins re: playoff seeding (and the Fins didn't have an easy time against the Steelers coming off the Immaculate Reception). If the Super Bowl wasn't set up years in advance and would be a logistical nightmare to change, I'd suggest an incentive-if a team goes undefeated in the regular season, they get to play at their home field for the whole postseason INCLUDING the Super Bowl.

@orbyfan

9 ай бұрын

That wouldn't work, because with everything involved in a Super Bowl, the location has to be determined well in advance.

@Rockhound6165

9 ай бұрын

At the time the playoffs were decided on a weird rotation basis. Take 1968. The 13-1 Colts played the NFL title game @ 10-4 Cleveland. Didn't make sense.

@andrewpadaetz5549

9 ай бұрын

@@Rockhound6165 the NFL at that point switched between East (even years) and West (odd years) for NFL title games which was the case since 1933 but once it went to three divisions in 1970 made zero sense.

maybe he was just plain tired? That happens

@RicoCosta317

9 ай бұрын

Nah, that was Allen's personality. Tightly wound and laser focused on every game. Definitely a great coach but by all accounts not the easiest to play for.