Marion Campbell, who served the Eagles as a player on the 1960 NFL Championship team, an assistant coach on Dick Vermeil’s Super Bowl team and later as a head coach, died on Wednesday, the Eagles announced Sunday night.
Campbell was 87.
Campbell is the second former Eagles head coach to die in the span of 15 days. Buddy Ryan, who succeeded Campbell in 1986, died on June 28.
Campbell was a fourth-round draft pick of the 49ers out of Georgia in 1952. After two years in the Army, he began his NFL playing career with the 49ers in 1954 as one of the NFL’s last two-way linemen.
After two years with the 49ers, Campbell came to Philadelphia, where he was a six-year starter. He made the Pro Bowl team as a defensive lineman in 1959 and 1960 and was a first-team Sporting News all-pro in 1960. He retired after the 1961 season.
Campbell, affectionately known as “Swamp Fox,” began his coaching career with the Falcons in 1969 and became the Falcons’ head coach in 1974. He was Vermeil’s defensive coordinator from 1977 through 1982 and replaced Vermeil when he stepped down after the 1982 season.
In his tenure as defensive coordinator, the Eagles led the NFL in scoring defense twice and ranked first in yards allowed once and second once.
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In three years as the Eagles’ head coach, Campbell’s teams went 17-29-1 and didn’t reach the playoffs.
But those years were critical because under Campbell and personnel chief Lynn Stiles the Eagles acquired players such as Randall Cunningham, Reggie White, Wes Hopkins, Andre Waters and Gregg Garrity, who would become key players under Ryan, their next head coach.
After Norman Braman fired Campbell late in the 1985 season, he returned to the Falcons for a second stint as head coach, this one running from 1987 through 1989.
It was Campbell who hired an unknown assistant coach named Tom Coughlin as the Eagles’ wide receivers coach in 1984, starting an NFL career that resulted in two Super Bowl championships.
In retirement, Campbell lived in St. Augustine, Florida until a few years ago, when he moved to Texas to be closer to his grandchildren.
