Neill Armstrong
 |
||||||
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | W | L | T | PCT | W | L |
| 1978 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 0 | 1 |
| 1980 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 0 | 0 |
| 1981 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 30 | 34 | 0 | .469 | 0 | 1 |
| Career | 30 | 35 | 0 | .462 | ||
Born: March 9, 1926 Tishomingo, OK
Neill Armstrong became the Chicago Bears 9th head coach in 1978. The Bears hired Armstrong away from the Minnesota Vikings where he was an assistant for nine years: seven of which as the Defensive Coordinator.
In 1981, Halas had received a letter from Dallas Cowboy assistant coach and former Bear great Mike Ditka. The letter stated that if the Bears were ever looking for a Head Coach Mike Ditka was requesting consideration. Halas fired Armstrong and hired Ditka for the 1982 season. The move sent shockwaves throught the organization and prompted Gary Fencik and Alan Page to write a letter on behalf of defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan (architect of the "46" defense) to be retained. All the defensive platers signed it and gave it to Halas, who honored the request.
Unfortunately, the Ditka hire also prompted Jim Finks to resign after the 1983 draft. Finks had hired Armstrong from the Minnesota Vikings where they both helped build the dominate Vikings teams of the 70s. The Armstong firing occurred without Finks being consulted.
Coaching Career
After his playing career concluded, he immediately entered the coaching ranks. An interesting coaching career that included stops with expansion NFL teams and a CFL stint.
• 1978-1981—Chicago Bears Head Coach
• 1969-1977—Minnesota Vikings assistant (Defensive Coordinator for 7 seasons)
• 1963-1968—Edmonton Eskimos (CFL) Head coach where his team made the playoff three of six seasons.
• 1962—Houston Oilers assistant football coach
• 1955-1961—Oklahoma State assistant football coach
Playing Career
• 1951, 1953-1954—Winnepeg Blue Bombers is were Armstrong finished his career by earning All-Star honors in the CFL.
• 1947-1951—Philadelphia Eagles selected Armstrong with in the first round. He played on two National Football League championship teams in five seasons (1947-51) with the Eagles.
• 1943-1946—Oklahoma State University (A&M) Wide Receiver who led the nation in receiving in 1943 and 1946. Armstrong was an All-American Honorable Mention from 1943-1945, before being named to the All-American squad in 1946. At OSU, Armstrong lettered in three different sports: football, 1943-1946; track, 1943-1946, and basketball, 1944. As a track hurdler, he was the Texas Relays champion in the high hurdles.
