Bobby Beathard, Hall of Fame Executive and 4-Time Super Bowl Winner, Dies at 86

Legendary NFL general manager Bobby Beathard, who was part of four Super Bowl-winning teams during a professional tenure that lasted nearly four decades, died Monday at the age of 86 at his Franklin, Tennessee home.

Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press reported that Beathard's family relayed the news to the Washington Commanders, per a team spokesperson. Beathard's son Casey told Glenn Rifkin of The Washington Post that the cause was complications of Alzheimer's disease.

Beathard began his NFL career as a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs (1963, 1966-67) and Atlanta Falcons (1968-71) before joining the Miami Dolphins as their director of player personnel from 1972-77.

The 1972 Dolphins remain the only undefeated and untied team in NFL history, finishing the year 17-0 (including playoffs). The 1973 Dolphins followed that season up with another Super Bowl victory. Miami went 63-21 in the regular season with Beathard on board.

Beathard then moved on to Washington, where he worked as the team's general manager from 1978-88. Washington made three Super Bowls (1982, 1983 and 1987), winning two in 1982 and 1987. The team went 66-24 from 1982-87.

Many players from Beathard's era were on the team's roster in 1991 when Washington went 14-2 en route to a dominant Super Bowl-winning run.

Washington is where Beathard's outside-the-box thinking came to light, as noted in his Pro Football Hall of Fame profile:

"His visionary thinking soon became a template for the NFL where first-round draft picks were weapons to be used in trades. His keen sense for talent was apparent on each team, but especially in 1982 when the Redskins Super Bowl-winning team included 27 free agents signed by Beathard since he joined the team. In his 11 years in Washington, the Redskins had only three first-round picks. The team went to the Super Bowl three times and won twice."

In 1990, Beathard took over a San Diego Chargers team that finished with a losing record six of the last seven years. His first-ever Chargers draft pick, linebacker Junior Seau, starred for the Bolts and ended his career with 12 All-Pro team honors and six Pro Bowl appearances.

Two years later, the Chargers engineered one of the more remarkable regular-season comebacks in franchise history by going 11-1 after an 0-4 start to win the AFC West. San Diego then won the division title again in 1994 en route to an AFC title. The Chargers lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.

"A great GM but even a better person," Chargers Executive Vice President of Football Administration/Player Finance Ed McGuire said after Beathard's passing. "That's how he should be remembered and that's how he'd want to be remembered."

Chargers owner Dean Spanos also called Beathard "one of the best judges of football talent in NFL history."

That's hard to argue: Beathard ended his prosperous NFL executive career with seven Super Bowl appearances and four Lombardi Trophies. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.