Allie Sherman - Coaching Career

Coaching Career

Upon his retirement, Sherman turned to coaching and became the New York Giants backfield coach in 1949, a position he held until 1953. That year, he took his first head coaching position with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (one of his players was Hall of Famer Bud Grant) of the Canadian Football League. In 1957, Sherman returned to the Giants as a scout, and then joined the coaching staff two years later as offensive coordinator, replacing Vince Lombardi.

Finally in 1961, Sherman was given an opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL, and he made the most of it. That year, he led the Giants to the NFL Eastern Division championship and a spot in the NFL Championship game. Although they lost the championship to the Green Bay Packers, 37–0, Sherman was named NFL Coach of the Year because the Giants had improved from a 6–4–2 record in 1960 to 10–3–1 in 1961.

The following year, with legendary players such as Y.A. Tittle and Frank Gifford, Sherman continued his winning ways and led the Giants back to the NFL Championship games after they repeated as NFL East champs with a 12–2 record. Sherman was named NFL Coach of the Year although his Giants again fell to the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship Game, this time 16–7; it was the first time in NFL history that a coach had been named Coach of the Year in back-to-back years. In 1963, the Giants won their third straight division title, but again lost in the NFL Championship Game, this time to the Chicago Bears, 14–10 (it was the Giants' last appearance in a championship game until Super Bowl XXI in the 1986–87 season).

Sherman coached the Giants for another five seasons, but with the retirements of Tittle, Gifford, and other stars, the team did not have the same success. By 1966, the fans were getting restless and talk of firing Sherman became more common. The spectators at Yankee Stadium took to waving "Goodbye Allie" banners and even put the slogan to song. By 1968, even though the team had a record of 7–7, the fans' dissatisfaction reached a peak, and after a poor preseason performance in 1969 (including a 34–17 loss to the New York Jets) they got their wish and Sherman was dismissed. Sherman had a career record of 57–51–4 during his tenure as Giants coach.

Speaking of the rigors of football, Sherman said: "In this game, a player aches from July to December."

NFL coaching record (1961–68 NY Giants): 57–51–4; 0–3 in the playoffs.