‘It’s quite heartwarming.’ Former UK, NFL coach moved to tears by HOF recognition.
Leeman Bennett, an NFL head coach for eight seasons, was moved to tears the day he received a phone call notifying him that he would be inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame. He couldn’t contain himself when that news became public during an announcement Friday at The Salvation Army located in downtown Lexington.
“To think that many people still remember and think that much of ya, and that type of thing, it just gives you those type of feelings,” Bennett told the Herald-Leader. “It’s very emotional. This is still my state, and I’m just glad to still be considered and remembered. It’s quite heartwarming.”
Bennett, a Paducah native who spends most of his days either in Atlanta or Jacksonville, from 1958-1960 played for Blanton Collier at the University of Kentucky and took an assistant coaching job under Collier immediately after his playing career ended. He stayed on for a year under Charlie Bradshaw but left following the 1962 season to serve in the military; he returned to UK’s staff in 1965 and from there went on to coach at Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and the U.S. Naval Academy.
Bennett got his first NFL coaching job in 1970 as an assistant with the St. Louis Cardinals (that franchise would move to Arizona in 1988). He joined the Detroit Lions in 1972 and in 1973 headed to the Los Angles Rams, where he coached receivers for four years (three of which ended with losses in the NFC Championship game). His efforts in L.A. led to his first head coaching job at any level: with the Atlanta Falcons in 1977. It was a post he held through the 1982 season. He was fired despite, at the time, being the only head coach with an overall winning record in the team’s history.
“My whole feeling of betrayal was not that someone had promised me anything, but the way in which we had worked together, the progress we had made,” Bennett said in January 1983. “I’d rather they said to me in 1981, Oh Leeman, if you don’ t win next year we’ re going to get rid of you. Oh, or, oh Leeman, you’ re doing a horse manure job.’ Nothing was ever said.”
He later became the second head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whom he led in 1985 and 1986.
But his most impressive effort came in the 1980 season with the Falcons: in the regular season they went 12-4, setting a team record for wins that stood until 1998 and that has only been topped three times since. That team lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round of the NFC Playoffs.
Bennett got out of coaching and away from professional football after his time with the Buccaneers. He bought a car dealership and became chairman of the Peach Bowl marketing and selection committees, roles he has held for more than 30 years. He was the bowl’s head chairman for two terms in the 2000s.
“It’s been great to watch it grow from what it was years ago when we used to have trouble getting teams who didn’t really want to come to the Peach Bowl,” Bennett said. “Now it’s hard to keep ’em away.”
The Peach Bowl’s payout used to be meager, Bennett said; today, thanks to its affiliation with the College Football Playoff, it’s one of the most lucrative.
“That’s probably the thing that’s changed as much as anything, is the money,” Bennett said of college football during his playing days compared to these days. “… And the interest of the fans. Football has become, I guess, the American sport. I think it has (passed baseball).”
Five other inductees
Bob Fry, offensive tackle/coach: A third-round selection in the NFL Draft by the L.A. Rams after a collegiate career at UK, Fry played 10 seasons in the NFL and was an assistant coach in the league from 1967-1984. Fry is being inducted posthumously; he died in November.
Elois Grooms, defensive end: The Monroe County High School graduate was a third-round NFL Draft selection out of Tennessee Tech in 1975. He started 108 of the 138 games he played in 12 NFL seasons with the New Orleans Saints, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles.
Cletidus Hunt, defensive tackle: One of only 16 Kentucky State University players drafted by the NFL, Hunt accumulated 119 tackles and 17 sacks in 85 games for the Green Bay Packers over a five-year career.
Glenn Presnell, player/coach/administrator: He is credited with selecting the Detroit Lions’ team colors, which have remained to this day, after he signed a contract to play for the franchise’s inaugural team in 1934. Presnell, who died in 2004 and is being inducted posthumously, later served as the head coach at what was then known as Eastern Kentucky State College (now EKU) before becoming its athletics director.
Eric Wood, center: The youngest member of this year’s class was a star on the offensive line at Louisville and was selected with a first-round pick by the Buffalo Bills, with whom he spent his entire nine-year career (cut short due to a neck injury). He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2015.
Blanton Collier Award
This year’s Blanton Collier Award for Integrity will be presented to Anthony Munoz, a former offensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals, during the induction ceremony at the Lexington Opera House on June 26. Munoz was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998 and has previously been recognized as one of the NFL’s 100 greatest players.
This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 2:51 PM.
