Jauron, Former Bears, Bills HC Dies

For the second time in as many days the NFL has suffered a great loss. Former Detroit Lions safety and head coach Dick Jauron has died, the Buffalo Bills announced Saturday. He was 74 years old.

Jauron’s death came just 48 hours after the Bears announced the death of Virginia Halas McCaskey, who inherited the franchise from her father, George Halas in 1983, and spent over forty years as the principal owner. She was 102.

Jauron was the head coach of the Chicago Bears, Lions (interim) and Buffalo Bills. His teams had a combined record of 60-82 across 10 seasons.

“The Detroit Lions join the NFL community in mourning the passing of Dick Jauron,” the team wrote on social media.

His daughter, Kacy, wrote on her platform of his passing, saying he was recently diagnosed with cancer and his condition suddenly deteriorated the past week. A scan found cancer all through his body, in his lungs, liver and bones, and Kacy said the situation escalated so quickly her dad never knew what was going on nor was he in pain.

Jauron was a fourth-round pick out of Yale by the Lions in the 1973 NFL draft. He spent the first five years of his career in Detroit, finishing second in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting after intercepting four passes and recovering five fumbles. He earned a Pro Bowl nod in his second season after leading the NFC in punt return average at 16.8. He played for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1978-80.

In his eight-year NFL career, Jauron played in 100 games (80) starts, coming down with 25 picks with two returned to the house for touchdowns, 15 fumble recoveries and four sacks, according to Pro Football Reference.

Jauron, a native of Swampscott, Massachusetts, switched over to coaching and started in the NFL in 1985 as Bills defensive backs coach. He spent 28 seasons coaching in the NFL.

Jauron became head coach of the Bears in 1999, and his lone winning season as a head coach came in 2001 when he led Chicago to a 13-3 record in his third season at the helm and won AP Coach of the Year. He was relieved of his duties after the 2003 campaign (35-45 record) and replaced by Lovie Smith.

The Lions went 1-4 in 2005 after Jauron, the defensive coordinator, took over when the team fired Steve Mariucci. He was hired as Bills head coach in 2006. He was fired midseason in 2009, posting a 24-33 record there.

His last job in the NFL came with the Cleveland Browns as defensive coordinator for two seasons from 2011-12 before retiring.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.