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Dick Vermeil

Dick Vermeil, left, is introduced at the California Community College Athletic Association Hall of Fame banquet at the Hilton Concord on Wednesday night.

CONCORD – Dick Vermeil doesn’t mind acknowledging how much unintended recognition comes when you win a Super Bowl.

The Calistoga native, who won Super Bowl XXIV with the St. Louis Rams in 1999, admitted that he’s made victory laps he wasn’t always sure he deserved when he compared himself to others. Sometimes, Vermeil said, it was more the result of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy rather than accomplishing similar feats to those honored beside him.

But the coaching legend is always gracious, humbled and thankful each time he gets recognized.

So when the California Community College Athletic Association called to notify him he was going to be enshrined into its Hall of Fame, he did what he always does in these moments. Like a coach evaluating a team or studying an opponent, he came to understand what he was walking into and concluded his brief but cherished time in the community college ranks was worthy of the honor.

That was the very idea he expressed when he spoke during the induction ceremony at the Hilton Concord Wednesday night as the first-ever Napa Valley College inductee in the 34-year-old hall of fame. For Vermeil, 81, it was more about all the honorees that came before him, many of whom he had relationships with.

“I went through 135 people who were already in and, like I said (during my speech), I knew a lot of them personally and a number of them really touched my life,” Vermeil said after the dinner. “I felt I belonged on their team and they were on my team all along. I felt good about that.”

Aside from his high school sweetheart and wife of 62 years, Carol Vermeil, Dick Vermeil invited only two wine club members to the induction ceremony. The rest of his entourage – whether it was a former player, coach or person he impacted along the way – came on their own accord, underlining the kind of coach and friend Vermeil was.

As he settled into his acceptance speech, he pointed out every unexpected guest that came to see him, flashing an incredible recollection of details and a wit that earned repeated laughs throughout his remarks.

“I didn’t invite any players I know from the area that were still in good enough health to get here,” Vermeil said during the speech, “but you know, some guys showed up anyway.”

He thanked his parents and Bill Wood, a teacher and football coach at Calistoga High who encouraged him to pursue football beyond the prep ranks. But like many who elect to go the community college route, Vermeil was behind academically.

That led him to Napa Valley College, known back then as Napa Junior College.

“(That was) one of the great stopping points for me because it got me going,” Vermeil said. “Every professor I had … they all helped me. They knew I was behind and they weren’t there to eliminate me; they were there to educate me. And I caught up. That gave me an opportunity to walk on at San Jose State.”

Vermeil highlighted the people at every crossroad in his life, and the relationships that constantly lifted him from one position to the next as he climbed the coaching ladder.

“People like that saw things in me that I didn’t see, and it helped me as a coach to start looking for things, when I had the opportunity, to see things in people maybe they didn’t see,” he continued.

He concluded the speech by imparting three signature philosophies that helped him become a great coach, and each insight was something he learned directly from his players. This impromptu lesson, in a room filled with community college administrators and athletic directors, was visibly embraced and concluded with the only standing ovation of the night.

Vermeil, inducted alongside Dick Tucker of Orange Coast College, Ed Galigher of Chabot College, Christine (Tanaka) Jang of Cosumnes River College, and Aisha Nicole Maston of Bakersfield College, echoed a sentiment shared by each inductee, celebrating the impact of the JUCO experience and how much it paved the way for their success later in life.

Reflecting on the Napa years

Initially, Vermeil wanted nothing to do with Napa JC.

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Dick Vermeil

Dick Vermeil is seen in a photo that ran with a Register article on Sept. 18, 1964 about his upcoming Napa Junior College coaching debut against Hollister.

When he walked into the locker room as a prospective head coach prior to the 1964 season, jerseys were strewn across the floor from the last game of the previous season. It was a perfect metaphor for the state of the program.

He also didn’t like that the colors were the same as Napa High School. Few people in Napa even cared to go to the college’s football games.

Everything about that visit was off, but it was the advice of one of his mentors, and the prospect of taking on the “challenge” that pushed a 27-year-old Vermeil to accept the job.

“It was a great experience,” he said. “I recruited like a son-of-a-gun. I drove the big orange van that had ‘Napa JC’ on it. It was like a groundskeeper car or something like that. I drove that all over recruiting kids, and we got enough kids to have a halfway decent football team … I think that was probably the best team they had at Napa JC.”

Vermeil said he had the full support of the college administration. They were “all in” on changing the narrative surrounding the program, so they allowed him to do everything his way. He changed the school colors to green and gold – like the Green Bay Packers, he said – and was given brand new equipment for all the players.

“I worked like mad to get that done,” he said.

His younger brother, Al Vermeil, had been redshirted at College of San Mateo but was living with Dick and Carol at the time. So when his older brother got the job, he transferred to Napa as the team’s starting linebacker and offensive guard.

“He got the city of Napa behind us, and that was pretty amazing,” Al said. “To go from not drawing – from what I understand in the past – from not drawing too many people to filling that place and having standing room only … I just remember it being a lot of fun for all of us.”

It was a small team, so most guys played both ways. That’s something Steve Yates, an All-League prospect from Napa High, recalled. As the team’s starting defensive end and offensive tackle, he was an instrumental part of the program during Dick Vermeil’s single season as head coach.

“I remember just the tightness of the team,” Yates said. “Dick brought us together. A lot of people came from different areas and didn’t know each other. When we got together, we formed a team. I think (about) just the camaraderie and the family atmosphere that he brought to the game and his ability to bring the best out of everybody.”

Napa went 7-2 that season, the program’s best season since 1955 when Vermeil was a player there. Memorial Stadium was filled to the brim, especially after beating Monterey. Napa had struggled against the Central Coast power for years, and that signature win propelled the Chiefs to the championship game against Santa Rosa.

However, Napa lost that game. In fact, that’s the first thing Vermeil remembers whenever he thinks back to the ’64 season. He blames himself for the loss, saying the Chiefs should’ve been “further along in the passing game” since they couldn’t dispatch Santa Rosa with their usual one-two punch of dominating defense and a good ground game.

Still, it’s a season remembered fondly by all involved. Al Vermeil was struck by how much that team improved each week, and the way his older brother maximized talent like all good coaches can.

“He was not only a good technical coach but he was a great motivator of people,” Al said. “If you look at NFL Films, in the 10 top motivators, he’s only second to Lombardi. He can make you play to your fullest potential, or closest to it. He just had a knack of knowing what to say and what to do at the right time.”

Dick Vermeil said he would’ve liked to have invested more time in building on his foundation at Napa JC. He even bought a house that year for $17,500.

But Stanford called seeking an assistant coach, and it was hard to refuse an offer like that.

“I thought I was going to be there the rest of my life,” he said. “I really planned on it; this is where I’m going to be.”

After that is when the legend of Vermeil began to take shape. His time at Stanford led to an assistant coaching position with the Los Angeles Rams in 1969. A year later, he was offensive coordinator for UCLA before going back to the Rams for another two seasons. Then UCLA hired Vermeil as head coach.

In his first gig as a head coach of a four-year college, he won the school’s first conference championship in a decade and beat No. 1 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

That experience made him one of the most desirable coaches in the country and vaulted Vermeil to the NFL, where he went on to lead the Philadelphia Eagles (1976-82), St. Louis Rams (1997-99) and Kansas City Chiefs (2001-05) as one of the most celebrated coaches in league history.

Through all that, even with countless distinctions and trophies and worldwide recognition, Vermeil is forever indebted to his time at Napa JC.

“Each opportunity at a community college gave me an experience to grow,” he said, “and I met other people that were further along than I was, and (they) showed me the way. People that were good examples.

“I am a big believer in community college programs.”

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Sports Reporter

Yousef has been a sports reporter at the Napa Valley Register since February 2015, and hosts the Napa Register Radio podcast. He is a proud UGA graduate and has written for the Sacramento Bee, The Advocate and the Athens Banner-Herald, among others.