Personally I do not feel bad in the least for the man. He will pocket 38 million over the 4 years of his contract-more than set for life. He can use the money to fund his ministry as well as his family obligations. He failed as a head coach but has his reputation intact as a decent human being. Enjoy your life Frank. You may have lost in football but you are a winner in life.

o


Actually, Reich's football legacy will likely be more remembered for being the quarterback who engineered 2 of the greatest comebacks ever in BOTH professional AND college football than for his 2 stints as a head coach.


In 1984, his University of Maryland team was losing to Miami-Fla by a score of 31-0 at halftime ...... Reich engineered an unprecedented comeback for his Terrapins to win that game by a score of 42-40.

In 1992, his Buffalo Bills were trailing the Houston Oilers by a score of 35-3 in the 3rd quarter of an AFC Wildcard playoff game ..... amazingly, Reich engineered yet another historic comeback, leading his Bills to a 38-35 win in overtime in what turned out to be the team's 3rd of 4 consecutive runs to a Super Bowl appearance.

o

They actually took a 38-35 lead in regulation and the Oilers had to come back with a game-tying drive to force OT. Bills won 41-38.

o


I know.

The Oilers also had the first possession of OT as well, but Warren Moon threw an INT which sealed their fate.

o

Reich will not be remembered for one or two games.That isn’t his legacy. You are a good man C & O who looks for the positive in people. Have to admire that. Reich was an excellent back up QB but will more likely be remembered as a head coach, and not a very good one at that. As a player he had the distinction of being on a team that lost 4 Super Bowls in a row.

o


It's much better to make it to 4 Super Bowls in a row and lose them than it is to lose in the conference championship game, or lose in the divisional playoffs. Winning a Super Bowl is like winning a gold medal in the Olympics, and losing in the Super Bowl is like winning a silver medal in the Olympics. The further that a team goes in the post-season, the more impressive/accomplished it is ...... the notion that making it to a Super Bowl and not winning it makes one a "loser" is absurd, twisted logic. Jim Kelly was not more of a loser than was Dan Marino because of the fact that his teams lost 4 Super Bowls compared to Marino's teams losing 1 Super Bowl. And John Elway was not a loser prior to his team winning back-to-back Super Bowls in the final 2 years of his career because of the fact that his teams had gotten blown out in 3 previous Super Bowls.

Also, I'm not reaching for the good in Reich when citing his legacy. Football fans have, and will continue to think of Reich for those 2 historic games ...... "one or 2 games", as you dismissively describe them, don't begin to describe the weight of their significance.

Lastly, I don't always just look for the good in people. I believe that Chuck Pagano was, at best, a below-average coach, arguably even a bad head coach. The fact that he overcame cancer doesn't change that specific legacy in my eyes. Which is not to say that his battle with cancer won't have a legacy of its own ...... "Chuck-Strong" does, and will continue to have a lasting legacy of its own. But it doesn't necessarily change his legacy of how effective he was as a head coach.

o

Depends on where you live.

In Indy, he'll be remembered as a failed coach.

In Carolina, he'll be remembered both as the franchise's first ever starting QB, and as a failed coach.

In Buffalo and Maryland, he'll be remembered almost solely as the author of magical comebacks.

In the rest of the country, it's likely half and half.

o


Thank you ...... I was about to add that a player and/or coach's legacy is not necessarily confined to a bunch of pissed-off Colts fans.

Also, Reich's legacy in Charlotte, North Carolina could very well wind up being attached to the GM that put together what is arguably the worst roster in the NFL for Reich to work with ...... I don't think that Bill Parcells or the late Vince Lombardi could have coached this 2023 Panthers team to a relatively respectable 7 or 8 wins, and it's possible that many Panthers fans understand that.

o

The Panthers roster isn't that bad. Why can't you admit that Reich is a bad coach?

Mannings comeback over the Buc's, to me at least, was much more historic than any of Reichs.