As ridiculous as it may sound, longtime Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy isn’t against the idea of once again coming out of retirement to coach his former team.
The 91-year-old coached the Bills for more than a decade from 1986 to 1997. He led the team to four consecutive Super Bowls from 1990 to 1993, and holds the record for most career wins in franchise history with 112. Levy retired from the sidelines following the 1997 season, but was brought back as general manager in 2006 for a couple years, before retiring a second time. With Rex Ryan being shown walking papers, Buffalo are definitely in the market for a new head coach.
Speaking with 104.5 The Team in Albany, Levy said he’d come back to the Bills if offered, but admitted the likelihood of that happening is slim.
“I might do it,” Levy said. “It was one of those things where after forty-seven years of coaching I really needed to get that deep breath to step aside but after a couple of years passed I very much would have liked to come back…. But I’d do it but I’m not deluding myself to think that the offer would come. If the offer did come I sure would consider it. Sure.”
Levy won’t become the next Buffalo Bills head coach. At 91, it would be unfair to ask him to carry the responsibilities of the day-to-day operations of the position. That wouldn’t exactly be perceived as a forward move, either.
However, an unlikely comeback would create a new precedent. Levy would become the oldest coach in NFL history if he ever came back. The oldest coach in league history is George Halas with the Chicago Bears, who was 72 when he retired. Levy was also 72 when he retired from coaching. If he did return to the sidelines, Levy would have nearly three decades on Pete Carroll, who’s currently the oldest coach in the NFL right now at 64.
Levy is undoubtedly an important face in the franchise’s history. But it’s ridiculous to think he’ll ever be a head coach in the NFL (or likely any other team, regardless of level) again. The Bills need new blood on the sidelines, not to rehash the past for the sake of nostalgia. Maybe he can work on a new fight song for the team, however.
