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Three-time NFL Coach of Year Knox dies at 86
8:11 PM ET

  • Brady HendersonESPN

SEATTLE — Chuck Knox, who has the second-most victories of any coach in Seattle Seahawks history and who also coached the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills, died at age 86 after suffering from dementia.

The Seahawks on Sunday confirmed the news of Knox’s death.

Nicknamed “Ground Chuck” for his teams’ run-first offenses, Knox went 80-63 during the regular season over nine years as Seattle’s coach. His debut season with the Seahawks in 1983 was highlighted by the first playoff appearance in franchise history; Seattle advanced to the AFC Championship Game against the Raiders with a road upset of Dan Marino’s Miami Dolphins in the divisional round.

Knox is the only head coach in the Seahawks’ Ring of Honor, having been inducted in 2005. His 80 victories with Seattle are second to Mike Holmgren’s 86. Pete Carroll is third with 79.

“The Seahawks family is saddened by the loss of Chuck Knox, and our deepest sympathies are extended to his wife, Shirley, and the entire Knox family,” the Seahawks said in a statement. “His presence projects an external toughness, but merited instantaneous respect by the genuine care and concern he held for his players. He was one of the great influences not only in football, but in life.”

Carroll along with former players Jack Youngblood and Brian Bosworth, who both played under Knox, were among those who paid tribute on Twitter.

Born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, Knox compiled a regular-season record of 186-147-1 and went 7-11 in the playoffs during his 22 seasons as a head coach. He coached the Rams (54-15-1) from 1973 to 1977, the Bills (37-36) from 1978 to 1982, the Seahawks from 1983 to 1991 and the Rams (15-33) again from 1992 to 1994.

He was named the AP Coach of the Year in 1973, 1980 and 1984 and also won the UPI version of the award in 1983 and 1984.

“Chuck Knox was the best coach I ever had,” Tom Mack, a former Rams guard and Pro Football Hall of Famer, was quoted as saying in a 2016 Los Angeles Times story. “He always took the time to know each player well enough that he could talk to each player and hit their hot buttons. I never saw another coach like that.”

In their statement, the Rams said that Knox “established a winning culture and a legacy that will never be forgotten, being the only coach to lead the Rams to five consecutive double-digit-win seasons. The memories and accomplishments that Coach Knox left behind will continue to inspire us and Rams fans.”

Soccer

Liverpool, Real Madrid fans in for Kyiv hotel price shock

Kiev – Fancy shelling out 3,500 euros ($4,200) for a night in a budget hotel?

Liverpool and Real Madrid fans who do not may end up sleeping rough for the night when they come to Kiev for the Champions League final.

The Ukrainian capital is the focus of fan fury after its hotels began charging 100 times their standard rates for the big match on May 26.

And some supporters lucky enough to book their beds before they turned into luxury items were aghast to discover their reservations annulled.

The Liverpool FC supporters club even posted a “rough” guide on Facebook that included overnight stays in the Polish city of Wroclaw.

The trek back out of Kiev was set for 3:00 am.

The European football governing body UEFA issued a diplomatic statement to AFP agreeing it might be wisest to just pop in and out of town on match day.

“It is expected that the preferred option for the majority of travelling fans will be charter flights arriving and leaving on the same day,” UEFA said.

The rates some of the city’s more modest places are charging sometimes look like a misprint.

A hotel called Harmony on Andriyivskiy Descent offers a room with a double bed and a miniature TV set balanced on a windowsill for 3,534 euros.

Another two euros gets you a breakfast.

A person at reception asked AFP to write a formal letter to management when asked why the price had been revised up for that one day from the usual 29 euros.

Fans who thought they were being clever by booking long in advance also had trouble getting answers after discovering they had no places to stay.

“Booked my hotel for Kiev months ago,” a Liverpudlian named Stephen wrote on Twitter.

“Now @bookingcom decided that they are gonna cancel it for me free of charge so I can re-book it for 15 grand!”

A spokesperson for Booking.com said all of the site’s prices were set by the hotels and that it was ready to defend the interests of clients who had their reservations tossed out.

Virus attack

The Spanish sport daily Marca published accounts of similar horror stories befalling Real fans.

One received a message from his hotel asking him to cancel his reservation “because we will not have electricity and water for the dates indicated”.

Another place said “a virus attack” was responsible for a cheap room being offered when in fact there were none.

Kiev city authorities have responded by assigning the problem to the state anti-monopoly committee.

The committee said on Tuesday that it had started “to monitor prices on the hotel services market”.

It has not been heard from since.

All of which prompted kind Ukrainian souls to start a Facebook page offering free couches to desperate lovers of the beautiful game.

It had nearly five thousands members by Saturday and a big writeup in the Liverpool Echo newspaper.

Page creator Victor Kylymar told the paper that he was not really into football but felt an “obligation” to help people out.

“This is a common event for all of Europe and to use this to make money is not the best idea,” Kylymar said.