Because he is sentimental, Dick Vermeil often pauses when he tells a story. Sometimes, he will walk over to a photograph on the wall of his office at Arrowhead Stadium that helps him tell it a little better.
"This is Carol," Vermeil, the Kansas City Chiefs coach, said here recently, looking at a picture of his wife. "She was called into the huddle at minicamp, and the team gave her a set of earrings and bracelets."
Vermeil continued to circle the room, trying to explain the togetherness he has fostered in his 11-1 team, when he came to a photo of an auto repair garage amid Northern California's tall trees, a garage that no longer exists, the garage where his father, Louis, kept late hours and taught him the lessons he would apply to every aspect of his life.
"My mom and dad didn't finish high school, but they were able to instill certain values and certain appreciations," said Vermeil, whose parents are deceased. "A guy would bring his car to be worked on and my dad would bring him in the house, feed him dinner, and then go back out and work on the car."
Vermeil stared at the picture and then turned away.
"I learned what hard work is all about," he said, "and it isn't what I do."
At 67, the oldest coach in the NFL, Vermeil has used the teachings of his youth and the trial and error of midlife to become the game's most complete coach. The Chiefs are a reflection of Vermeil, a man who pushes his players through three-hour practices, often the longest in the league, but also showers them with hugs, tears and a compassion that compels them to work even more diligently for him.
That he has fostered another turnaround of an NFL franchise is not a surprise to those who know Vermeil and have watched him in St. Louis and Philadelphia and throughout a coaching life that dates back to 1959 at Del Mar High School in San Jose, California. Through burnout, fits and starts, and with a broadcasting career wedged in the middle, Vermeil can be viewed in almost evolutionary terms now. He is a man who has seen, lived and returned to the sideline for his third season in Kansas City with a complete belief in his methods.
"We tell our guys all the time, `There are no superstars in this program,'" Vermeil said. "Some may be paid more than others, but they are all going to work. I've always felt that you build morale from the bottom of the roster up. Over the years in coaching, some of the best relationships I've had are with special-teams players. Every player's contribution is significant, and that is not a cliche."
During a game against the San Diego Chargers last Sunday, a Chiefs backup linebacker, Monty Beisel, popped his groin muscle on a special-teams play, prompting Vermeil to walk out on the field. Instead of allowing other players or medical personnel to help Beisel to his feet, Vermeil tucked himself beneath Beisel's left shoulder pad and helped carry him off the field.
"He's going to be the first guy there for you," Beisel said after the game, "and the last guy standing."
Al Saunders, the Chiefs' assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, said, "I tell the players here all the time, `You may play for other coaches, but you'll never play for another man like this.'"
Len Dawson, the Hall of Fame Chiefs quarterback, said after the San Diego game: "He's been around long enough that he's more tolerant than he was earlier in his career. He gives them days off. During the bye, he gave them the whole week off."
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