Joe Bugel retires today

Legendary Redskins offensive line coach Joe Bugel retires today at noon, according to ESPN 980 radio, the station owned by Redskins owner Dan Snyder.

Bugel was born Pittsburgh in 1940 and became an offensive line coach with the Detroit Lions in the mid-1970s. He joined the Redskins with Joe Gibbs in 1981 as offensive line coach and built what came to be known as the Hogs, the biggest and best offensive line of the decade. That offensive line, featuring players like Russ Grimm, Joe Jacoby, Jeff Bostic, and Mark May led the Redskins to a Super Bowl victory in Bugel's second season in Washington. After the 1989 season, Bugel left Gibbs and the Redskins to become head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 1990-1993. Bugel failed to build a winner in Arizona and moved on to coach the offensive line for the Oakland Raiders. That led to a brief and horrible one year as head coach of the Raiders before moving on to coach the offensive line for the San Diego Chargers from 1998 to 2001. In 2004 he returned to the Redskins to coach the offensive line for his old boss and friend Joe Gibbs, who returned as head coach of the team that year. Bugel stayed on after Gibbs left and coached the offensive line in 2008 and 2009 for head coach Jim Zorn.

In five full season as a head coach in the NFL, Bugel compiled a record of 24-56, but it is as a great offensive line coach that Bugel will always be known. He created a great offensive line for the Houston Oilers in the late 1970s before coming to Washington and building what is now acknowledged as one of the greatest offensive lines of all time. It was Bugel who named his players the Hogs during training camp in 1982, months before that line would lead the Redskins to victory in Super Bowl 17. Loved and respected by his players, Bugel was known as Boss Hog during his first tenure with the Redskins.

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