The Philadelphia Eagles made Ray Rhodes' first season as an NFL coach something special, taking him to the playoffs and 1995 Coach of the Year honors.
Rhodes, defensive coordinator for the Super Bowl champion 49ers last year, was hired after Philadelphia owner Jeff Lurie was turned down by Jimmy Johnson and former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil. But it worked out well, because Rhodes took a disjointed team that lost its final seven games in 1994 and turned it into a 10-6 playoff squad.That earned Rhodes 24 votes from a nationwide panel of sports writers and broadcasters in balloting by The Associated Press. He edged Dom Capers of Carolina and Marty Schottenheimer of Kansas City, who had 21 apiece.
"I'm not a guy who's big on personal achievements - anybody who knows me knows that," Rhodes said Tuesday. "Really, this award is a reflection on this organization for making the commitment to get this thing pointed in the right direction."
Rhodes, 45, displayed an aptitude at keeping this year's team focused.
"What you have to do is rally the troops as quick as you can," he said. "If you've noticed, every time we've lost, our players have been able to bounce back the next week and get it back."
The Eagles did just that. After an opening loss at home to Tampa Bay, they won at Arizona. Following two more defeats, home to San Diego and at Oakland, they responded with four straight victories. A loss at Dallas was followed by three more wins, and after a distressing defeat at Seattle, the Eagles beat the Cowboys.
"He's shown a lot of confidence in us and a lot of faith in himself," receiver Fred Barnett said. "He's shown he can handle the job."
Rhodes prepared for a head coaching spot while working in San Francisco. A former wide receiver and defensive back with the Giants and solely a DB for the Niners, Rhodes became an assistant coach in 1981.
"A whole lot of guys are just hanging around, going for the ride. But I was actively involved in everything we did from '81 on, from personnel decisions to everything, and a whole lot of coaches weren't," Rhodes said of his days with the 49ers. "Trying to learn, trying to learn everything about it . . ."
He learned his lessons well.
Capers moved from defensive coordinator with Pittsburgh to become the first coach of the Panthers. They finished 7-9, the most successful expansion team in NFL history.
Schottenheimer led the Chiefs to a 13-3 mark in a season when they were expected to stumble after the retirement of Joe Montana. Unlike Rhodes and Capers, Schottenheimer has been an NFL head coach since 1984, when he was with Cleveland.
Also receiving votes were Bill Cowher of Pittsburgh, the 1992 winner, who got seven; George Seifert of San Francisco and Marv Levy of Buffalo, with six apiece; and Mike Holmgren of Green Bay, with three.
Last year's winner was Bill Parcells of New England.