Give Me Your Chuck Knox Stories

[Gap Filler]

We got some down time before the Rams game so lets do a blast from the past type deal...

With Bum Phillips passing, Al Davis passing not too long ago, and Knox in his 80's too. I want some story time. I want to appreciate the man before he passes. I'm calling out all you old timers who got to see Knox do his thing. I didn't get to see much since I was born in '77.

What was he like with the media?
How did he run his practices?
Did he favor vets over younger guys?
Was he always Ground Chuck or did he like to air it out at times?
Tell me what you know about Favre and Behring situation?
What was his weakness as a coach?
Was he as calm and cool as I remember on the sidelines or did he lose it on the referees?
What was his thoughts on artificial turf after the Curt Warner deal? The Kingdome and its loud fans?
Stuff like that?

 

[imnKOgnito]

"You play the hand you're dealt."

 

[KitsapGuy]

He went from Ground Chuck to Air Chuck for a time.

 

[imnKOgnito]

He went from Ground Chuck to Air Chuck for a time.

This is true. The year Warner went down Dave Krieg threw 32 touchdowns en route to a 12-4 record and might have been the big story of the year if Dan Marino hadn't been busy shattering the previous TD passes in a season record.

 

[imnKOgnito]

Coincidentally, that '84 defense was maybe as vicious and relentless as this years brand. That one sported one hell of a secondary, too.

 

[chris98251]

We brought in every running back that was washed up or a has been looking for help, Franco Harris, Lawrence McCutcheon, Cullen Bryant, Ivory from the Patriots and there were more, the only reason we ever went Air Chuck was no running backs and having Dave Kreig excelling with a passing game I think pissed him off more then anything. Knox had those Blue eyes that looked like blue ice and a steel stare, if he was pissed you knew it. Before coming here while at Los Angeles he had a number of good QB's, they always ran the ball, wear them down ball protection, problem with Knox is he never adjusted to something other then that, never let the game be put on a QB's shoulder if he could help it, was predictable always. Why he always struggled post season when everyone is good.

 

[RiverDog]

"I've seen teams with an offensive coordinator in charge of the offense, a defensive coordinator in charge of the defense, a special teams coach in charge of the special teams, and a head coach that ain't in charge of noth'in."

 

[AROS]

Total old school coach in the good way. Ruled the locker room with anecdotes and quotes. Wasn't physically imposing but his aura and style more than made up for that.

Not sure Chuck Knox would be as successful today as he was in the 80's...Totally different world. Having said that, he was a brilliant coach who maximized each and every player we had back then. And that's saying A LOT.

 

[drdiags]

I had a few of the books written about him. He was a tough-minded coach. No excuses. The players responded to him along with Tom Catlin. Offensively, he started off with a style that helped make a team tough, though it didn't look appeasing. He replaced Zorn with Krieg but never was satisfied with his play. The era back then was similar to this one. The truly dynamic teams had high-profile QBs and the Seahawks along with their QB were just a bunch of junkyard dogs.

His special teams under Rusty Tillman were legendary. The talent acquisition was average, though JL Williams, B Blades, Curt Warner was good. Carlton Gray, Owen Gill and others weren't so good. Kelly Stouffer and Brian Bosworth are a few other examples that could have been good or bad depending on how you judged what they gave up and what they got.

He could never get the team to that next level, but toward the end he was hamstrung by an ineffective owner and dysfunctional FO. Never knew about the Favre debate until lately. He seemed to favor veterans. Reggie McKenzie, Crumpler, Bush, Big House Ballard and others were brought in to help mold his teams.

Loved his old corny sayings. He had a weekly show on KOMO with Bruce King (or was that KING with Lou Gellos), the Coach's Show (Knox talks Hawks) where he would talk about a few specific plays. He drove me nuts with his use of the clicker, rewinding a play over and over with just a few frames, never letting the play run un-touched. Wanted to take that thing from him.

I think I gave those books to a .NET member a few years ago. But if not, you are more than welcome to have them. Let me look around.

 

[drdiags]

This is the book I bought about Knox. It was a good read, turns out I must have given it to one of the fellas at one of our get togethers:

http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Knox-The-Life-Coach/dp/0151334501

I do have these 3 books which contain some stories as well if interested

"Steve Raible's Tales from the Seahawks Sideline"

"Then Zorn Said to Largent ..." (Paul Moyer and Dave Wyman with Chris Cluff"

"The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. Heart Pounding, Jaw Dropping and Gut Wrenching Moments in Seattle Seahawks History" - Chris Cluff

 

[tdlabrie]

I remember going to see him for his presentation/speech about "Motivation". Despite the fact that, for team interviews, he always used quotes and clichés, and as few words as possible, he was surprisingly good with his Motivation speech.

Afterward during the Q&A, all anybody wanted to talk about was the Seahawks, not Motivation. He finally pulled the plug and left. I felt sorry for him (yeah, I know he got paid anyway) because he was really sincere and interesting about motivation.

 

[RiverDog]

Very conservative coach, perhaps a step or two behind the times. You didn't cross him. I saw a play where Manu T. committed a personal foul that cost us a game. Knox cut him the following week.

Knox was the first coach to insist that all of his OL wear knee braces even though their knees were perfectly healthy.

 

[halps80]

Gap, not to nitpick, but a bunch of the guys you mentioned (Gray, House Ballard, Crumpler) were Flores/Erickson era pick-ups.

 

[The Radish]

I still have his book "GROUND CHUCK" around here somewhere.

Has everyone forgotten his success in Buffalo and LA? He had a great coaching career much like Mike Holmgren having success with different teams. Tho he never made it to a SuperP owl.

:les:

 

[BlueThunder]

Yep, if you wanna know about Chuck Knox, read "Hard Knox". LOVED that book! And for those of you that have read it, you know this line... "Eighth Grade Sewickley"...

 

[drdiags]

Gap, not to nitpick, but a bunch of the guys you mentioned (Gray, House Ballard, Crumpler) were Flores/Erickson era pick-ups.

Yeah, everytime I try to go off my memory of things, I get messed up. Nice correction and man, does this get worse? I need to replace my hard-drive.

 

[djb28]

Chuck Knox was a friend of the family growing up. My Aunt owned a Jewlwery store in Buffalo for 50 years. He use to shop it along with many Buffalo Bills in the late 70's.
I do not remember if that was how she knew him or if there was a connection before that. He did frequent many Family meals and I was awe struck by him. He was so kind.
I was his number one fan at 8 years old. When he left the Bills for the Seahawks I was an instant fan and never turned back.

My Grandparents and Aunts have all passed away. That farm house outside of Buffalo went up for sale after sitting for the last 15 years. I went back there before it sold 2 years ago and it was like walking back in time
It looked exactly the same as it did when I was a kid. All those memories were sitting there just where I left them. I know he wouldnt remember me from Adam
But the impact he had on me is for Life. He was my favorite coach of all time. And he introduced me to the Seahawks!

 

[3Girls'HawkDad]

If you put a phonograph needle on Chuck Knox butt cheek it plays The Stroke by Billy Squier.

 

[chris98251]

Knox came from Pennsylvania and a Coal Miner town, back when dieing was a frequent event in that profession, those guys were tough SOB's and he was driven to succeed as not to have to work there. I can't remember the details but it was a big factor in his football life young and old.