From Montreal to Buffalo: Marv Levy’s pursuit of victory
Hall of Famers
Published on : 9/12/2025
By Ryan Michael
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
(Editor’s note: This article is the latest in an ongoing series looking at quarterbacks’ achievements that have aged well over the past 80 NFL seasons.)
While in Canton, Ohio, commemorating the Enshrinement of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025, coach MARV LEVY celebrated his 100th birthday, a milestone the entire audience, including roughly 100 Hall of Famers, was eager to applaud.
Also worthy of applause: Levy’s accomplishments and contributions to professional football over a span of more than two decades.
Levy spent 21 years coaching in the National Football League and five years coaching in the Canadian Football League. During those runs, his teams won two Grey Cups (1974, 1977), one NFC championship (1972) and four AFC championships (1990-93) as a positional, assistant or head coach. He helped rebuild two NFL franchises (Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills) from two-win teams into playoff contenders.
Most fans are familiar with the 1990-93 Bills becoming the first, and to date only, team to win four consecutive conference championships. Fewer are aware of how extensive, diverse and dominant Levy’s coaching career was.
After coaching at the NCAA level for 16 years (1953-1968), Levy entered the NFL with tremendous experience, earning his first professional gig as a kicking teams coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1969. In 1970, he was hired as the Los Angeles Rams’ special teams coach. The Rams finished with a 9-4-1 record. Levy then coached special teams for the Washington Redskins, finishing 9-4-1 in 1971 and 11-3 in 1972 before going on a run to win that year’s NFC Championship Game for a berth in Super Bowl VII, the first of his five Super Bowls appearances.
Levy was offered a head coaching opportunity with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL in 1973, beginning a five-year run that produced four winning seasons, three Grey Cup appearances and two Grey Cup Championships. His success up north earned him his first head coaching opportunity in the NFL with the Chiefs in 1978. Inheriting a team that finished 2-12 the previous season, the Chiefs improved to 4-12 (1978), 7-9 (1979), 8-8 (1980) and 9-7 (1981). A highlight during that run was the Chiefs’ 31-17 victory on the road, in Oakland, versus the eventual Super Bowl champion Raiders.
Levy was let go after the Chiefs posted a 3-6 record during the strike-shortened 1982 season. After a brief stint as the head coach of the USFL’s Chicago Blitz in 1984, Levy returned to the NFL, joining the Bills in 1986. He was named the team’s head coach halfway through the year, winning two of five games with a team that had finished 6-37 over their previous 43 games.
As he had done with the Chiefs, Levy helped rebuild the Bills, with the team improving to 4-12 (1986), then 7-8 (1987) over the next two years. What followed was a run of dominance that was, by some measures, unparalleled in NFL history.
From 1988-1993, the Bills finished 80-32 (including the postseason), making five appearances in the AFC Championship Game and going to four consecutive Super Bowls. The advent of the “K-Gun” offense — a no-huddle system run under Levy and offensive coordinator Ted Marchibroda — overwhelned opposing defenses. Future Hall of Famers JIM KELLY (quarterback), THURMAN THOMAS (running back), ANDRE REED (wide receiver), JAMES LOFTON (wide receiver) and others executed the system to near perfection. The defensive side of the football, anchored by Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith, earned three top-six finishes in points allowed.
Levy’s teams dominated the American Football Conference, notching conference championship wins over the Los Angeles Raiders (51-3), JOHN ELWAY and the Denver Broncos (10-7), DAN MARINO and the Miami Dolphins (29-10) and JOE MONTANA and Levy’s former team, the Chiefs (30-13). They also dominated the National Football Conference, winning 14 of 20 games from 1990-93.
By the end of his NFL coaching career in 1997, Levy had led the Chiefs and Bills to 154 wins, including the postseason. He produced nine winning seasons, seven with 10 or more victories.
Levy made popular the famous quote: “When it’s too tough for them, it’s just right for us.”
His Hall of Fame coaching career is a true testament to that.
Ryan Michael is a sportswriter, a statistician for KOA’s “Broncos Country Tonight” and a contributor to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can follow him on X (@theryanmichael) and on “Broncos Country Tonight”.
This article is the latest in an ongoing series highlighting noteworthy quarterback play over the past 80 seasons. Information from Pro-Football-Reference.com’s database helped make the research possible.
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
(Editor’s note: This article is the latest in an ongoing series looking at quarterbacks’ achievements that have aged well over the past 80 NFL seasons.)
While in Canton, Ohio, commemorating the Enshrinement of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025, coach MARV LEVY celebrated his 100th birthday, a milestone the entire audience, including roughly 100 Hall of Famers, was eager to applaud.
Also worthy of applause: Levy’s accomplishments and contributions to professional football over a span of more than two decades.
Levy spent 21 years coaching in the National Football League and five years coaching in the Canadian Football League. During those runs, his teams won two Grey Cups (1974, 1977), one NFC championship (1972) and four AFC championships (1990-93) as a positional, assistant or head coach. He helped rebuild two NFL franchises (Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills) from two-win teams into playoff contenders.
Most fans are familiar with the 1990-93 Bills becoming the first, and to date only, team to win four consecutive conference championships. Fewer are aware of how extensive, diverse and dominant Levy’s coaching career was.
After coaching at the NCAA level for 16 years (1953-1968), Levy entered the NFL with tremendous experience, earning his first professional gig as a kicking teams coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1969. In 1970, he was hired as the Los Angeles Rams’ special teams coach. The Rams finished with a 9-4-1 record. Levy then coached special teams for the Washington Redskins, finishing 9-4-1 in 1971 and 11-3 in 1972 before going on a run to win that year’s NFC Championship Game for a berth in Super Bowl VII, the first of his five Super Bowls appearances.
Levy was offered a head coaching opportunity with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL in 1973, beginning a five-year run that produced four winning seasons, three Grey Cup appearances and two Grey Cup Championships. His success up north earned him his first head coaching opportunity in the NFL with the Chiefs in 1978. Inheriting a team that finished 2-12 the previous season, the Chiefs improved to 4-12 (1978), 7-9 (1979), 8-8 (1980) and 9-7 (1981). A highlight during that run was the Chiefs’ 31-17 victory on the road, in Oakland, versus the eventual Super Bowl champion Raiders.
Levy was let go after the Chiefs posted a 3-6 record during the strike-shortened 1982 season. After a brief stint as the head coach of the USFL’s Chicago Blitz in 1984, Levy returned to the NFL, joining the Bills in 1986. He was named the team’s head coach halfway through the year, winning two of five games with a team that had finished 6-37 over their previous 43 games.
As he had done with the Chiefs, Levy helped rebuild the Bills, with the team improving to 4-12 (1986), then 7-8 (1987) over the next two years. What followed was a run of dominance that was, by some measures, unparalleled in NFL history.
From 1988-1993, the Bills finished 80-32 (including the postseason), making five appearances in the AFC Championship Game and going to four consecutive Super Bowls. The advent of the “K-Gun” offense — a no-huddle system run under Levy and offensive coordinator Ted Marchibroda — overwhelned opposing defenses. Future Hall of Famers JIM KELLY (quarterback), THURMAN THOMAS (running back), ANDRE REED (wide receiver), JAMES LOFTON (wide receiver) and others executed the system to near perfection. The defensive side of the football, anchored by Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith, earned three top-six finishes in points allowed.
Levy’s teams dominated the American Football Conference, notching conference championship wins over the Los Angeles Raiders (51-3), JOHN ELWAY and the Denver Broncos (10-7), DAN MARINO and the Miami Dolphins (29-10) and JOE MONTANA and Levy’s former team, the Chiefs (30-13). They also dominated the National Football Conference, winning 14 of 20 games from 1990-93.
By the end of his NFL coaching career in 1997, Levy had led the Chiefs and Bills to 154 wins, including the postseason. He produced nine winning seasons, seven with 10 or more victories.
Levy made popular the famous quote: “When it’s too tough for them, it’s just right for us.”
His Hall of Fame coaching career is a true testament to that.
Ryan Michael is a sportswriter, a statistician for KOA’s “Broncos Country Tonight” and a contributor to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can follow him on X (@theryanmichael) and on “Broncos Country Tonight”.
This article is the latest in an ongoing series highlighting noteworthy quarterback play over the past 80 seasons. Information from Pro-Football-Reference.com’s database helped make the research possible.
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