Ted Plumb

Thomas E. "Ted" Plumb[1] (born August 20, 1939) is a former American football player and coach. His playing career ended after a neck injury in training camp as he looked like a promising young receiver for the Buffalo Bills out of Baylor University. Plumb served as the wide receivers coach with the "Monsters of the Midway" Chicago Bears, and he served as the director of pro scouting for the "Greatest Show on Turf" 2000 St. Louis Rams. Plumb retired after that 2000 season to his home in Alba, Texas.

Ted Plumb
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1939-08-20) August 20, 1939
Reno, Nevada
Career information
College:Baylor
Career history
As coach:
Career highlights and awards
Coaching stats at PFR

Early life and marriage

Plumb was recruited out of Mt. Diablo High School to play at Baylor University as a wide receiver for the Bears. He made the trek from San Francisco, California to Waco, Texas before he realized that Baylor had made a coaching change, and his scholarship was no longer honored. Plumb told his new head coach that he belonged on the team, and was offered a chance to tryout that summer before his freshman year. Plumb worked in the cafeteria and practiced with the team until he eventually earned a scholarship, a starting spot, and was eventually selected in the NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills in 1962 (Chicago Tribune, 1986). Ted Plumb met his wife Marianna while attending Baylor.

Plumb and his wife, Marianna, raised three children as he coached around the country. His oldest child, Loyal Plumb, was born in 1962. His second son, John Plumb (born in 1963) currently resides in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Plumb youngest child, Molly Plumb/Smith (born in 1969) lives in Dallas and serves as a teacher at Chase's Place, a school for children with special needs.

Coaching career

After suffering his injury in training camp with the Buffalo Bills in 1962 Ted Plumb started his coaching career with five years in the high school and junior college ranks before joining the Texas Christian staff in 1968. He also coached at Tulsa (1971) and Kansas (1972–73). From Kansas, Plumb received a call from the New York Giants and soon accepted a job as an Offensive Backfield Coach (Including TE & Rec) in 1974 beginning a long and successful coaching career in the NFL.

After three years with the Giants, Plumb joined the Atlanta Falcons as a quarterback/receiver coach in 1977. Teddy served 3 more years in Atlanta before joining the Chicago Bears coaching staff in 1980.

Plumb was an offensive specialist for the Chicago Bears from 1980 to 1985, helping coordinate the offense and coach the receivers. He was part of the staff when the Bears won Super Bowl XX in 1985. When Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan was hired as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles the following season, Plumb was brought along as the team's offensive coordinator.[2] After the 1989 season, which saw the Eagles lose in the first round of the playoffs, Plumb urged head coach Buddy Ryan to hire New York Jets offensive coordinator Rich Kotite as quarterbacks coach for the Eagles. The Eagles' previous assistant head coach, Doug Scovil, died from a heart attack shortly before week 14 in 1989. Plumb and Kotite had been friends since 1977, and Plumb was a candidate for the vacant Jets head coaching position before Bruce Coslet was given the job.[3]

Instead, Ryan hired Kotite as offensive coordinator on February 6, 1990, to replace Plumb. Plumb was originally going to stay with the Eagles as a receivers coach,[3] but instead became a receivers coach for the Phoenix Cardinals. Plumb coached with the Cardinals for 5 years before accepting a job with his previous team the Chicago Bears in 1996. In 1998 Plumb accepted a job with the Carolina Panthers, and finished his career with the St. Louis Rams from 1999 - 2000. Plumb brought in some outstanding talent that year as the Rams' Director of Pro Scouting leading to what became "The Greatest Show on Turf". This became the second pinnacle of an already outstanding coaching career as Plumb helped lead the 2000 Rams to a Super Bowl Championship. Ted Plumb made the decision to retire from coaching in 2000, but is still called on from time to time as the world of sports is always wanting to hear more about those two legendary teams: the '85 Bears and the '00 Rams.

References
  1. "Ted Plumb". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  2. Kawakami, Tim (January 30, 1990). "Sources: Ryan Ousts Ted Plumb". The Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  3. "Kotite pick to replace Ted Plumb". Reading Eagle. February 6, 1990. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
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