On February 4, 1969, Al Davis, former owner of the Oakland Los Angeles Las Vegas Raiders elevated a seemingly unknown linebackers coach to head coach. Davis was already known as a maverick, a man who wasn’t interested in doing things the way they’d always been done. Instead, at the time, he was a shrewd businessman with a very keen football intellect.
While no other team would give this former collegiate player a second thought as a professional head coaching replacement, Davis saw something others did not. The potential Davis spied in his new head coach paid off in legendary fashion.