 Allen for the defense: The intense George Allen liked to have a safety-first offense and leave the rest to players like linebacker Jack Pardee (32) and Chris Hanbuger (55). (Bill Snead/The Washington Post) |
|
He was seconded by Cooke, who was convinced that Beban would be the Redskins quarterback of the future after an apprenticeship under Jurgensen.
Williams compounded his error by negotiating a guaranteed, three-year, $350,000 deal for Beban. Despite the promise the rookie had shown, though, Beban failed in attempts at both quarterback and defensive back. "Poor Gary," Williams once said. "He just couldn't cut it. I don't know why. George doesn't talk about it. He probably doesn't want to embarrass me."
All of that was forgotten on January 6, 1971, when Williams introduced Allen as the Redskins' next head coach, "the best football coach in the world" and "the last coach I ever hire." Williams had paid a high price — including ceding to Allen complete control of the football operation, with the last word on trades, the college draft, even player contracts.
Allen became the highest paid coach at that point in NFL history. His seven-year contract called for a salary of $125,000 a year, with a $25,000 bonus for signing and up to $150,000 toward the home of his choice, plus interest payments on the mortgage. He also would receive incentive bonuses for making it into post-season games: $5,000 for the playoffs, $10,000 more for the conference championship, $15,000 more for the Super Bowl.
|
Other Pages in Chapter 3: 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112
|
Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 Names, Numbers Trivia Quiz Index |
