Dick Jauron, former Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills head coach, dies at 74

Dick Jauron, the former head coach of the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills, died at the age of 74 following a brief battle with cancer, the Bills confirmed on Saturday.

His best season on the bench came in 2001, when he guided the Bears to a 13-3 record and was named AP NFL Coach of the Year.

Jauron was a two-sport standout at Yale in the early 1970s, and he was selected by both the Detroit Lions in the 1973 NFL draft and the St. Louis Cardinals in the Major League Baseball amateur selection. He eventually made football his lifetime passion, starting with five seasons as a defensive back in Detroit and three more with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jauron, a Pro Bowl pick in 1974, made 25 interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, in 100 career games with the Lions (1973-77) and Bengals (1978-80) before retiring in 1980.

Jauron, who was well-liked, went into teaching and was hired by the Buffalo Bills five years later as their defensive backs coach. He moved on to coach defensive backs in Green Bay and became acquainted with Reid, the assistant offensive line and tight ends coach.

After a decade of experience, he became defensive coordinator for the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars under Tom Coughlin. The Jaguars advanced to the AFC Championship Game in their second season and made the playoffs twice more while Jauron was in charge until the 1998 season, when he was appointed as Chicago's head coach.

By 2001, the former defender had assembled a formidable defense that included defensive lineman Ted Washington, linebacker Brian Urlacher, and safety Mike Brown, all of whom were named first-team All-Pro. Jauron's defense led the league in points allowed that season, the first time this has happened since the Bears did it three times in the 1980s.

Jauron was sacked in 2003 and became Detroit's defensive coordinator, serving as interim coach for five games in 2005. He spent the following four seasons as Buffalo's head coach, but never won a game.

He concluded with a 60-82 record and one postseason appearance in portions of ten seasons as a head coach.

Jauron's death came just two days after the Bears announced the death of Virginia Halas McCaskey, who inherited the franchise from her father, George Halas, and served as the major owner for almost four decades. She was 102.