Friday, January 28, 2000
Gillman still close to Vermeil
Ex-Miami, UC coach helped with Eagles
The Associated Press
CARLSBAD, Calif. — Sid Gillman remembers his first meeting as a member of Dick Vermeil's Philadelphia Eagles staff in 1979 — the coach broke down and cried.
Gillman smiled at the memory of his friend in tears.
“I was shocked, but that's Dick Vermeil,” Gillman said in a family room overflowing with pictures, plaques and game balls from his storied coaching career, which included Miami University and the University of Cincinnati.
“This is not an act. He is just so emotional. It comes from the heart.”
Living quietly 30 miles north of San Diego with Esther, his wife of 64 years, Gillman speaks with Vermeil once or twice a week.
“We talk about things in general, a little football, but not too much,” Gillman said. “He basically wants to know how we're doing.”
The Gillmans are doing just fine. Sid is 88, Esther is 87, and but both remain sharp.
“Dick is six weeks older than our oldest daughter,” Esther said. “He never felt threatened by someone old enough to be his father. That's what I think is wonderful.”
Vermeil, meanwhile, calls his hiring of Gillman to coach the Eagles' quarterbacks “the smartest thing I ever did.”
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983, Gillman worked on Vermeil's staff for three seasons, and the 1980 Eagles reached the Super Bowl.
“We would never have gone to the Super Bowl without Sid Gillman,” Vermeil said. “His mind would never turn off. He made all my coaches better.”
Gillman coached the Rams from 1955-59, and the Chargers from 1960-71.
“He was so far ahead of his time, people couldn't totally understand what he was doing,” said former 49ers coach Bill Walsh. “He was one of the great offensive minds in football history.”
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