Buddy Parker Raymond " Buddy " Parker ( December 16 , 1913 – March 22 , 1982 ) is a former football player and coach in the National Football League who served as head coach for three teams : the Chicago Cardinals , the Detroit Lions and the Pittsburgh Steelers . Parker grew up in Kemp , Texas , just outside of Dallas , and played collegiately for Centenary College in Louisiana for three years beginning in 1932 . Parker then signed with the Lions as a fullback in 1935 , and during his first season , he helped the team capture the NFL championship . After one more year in the Motor City , he was traded to the Cardinals and spent the next seven seasons with Chicago , also seeing time on defense as a linebacker and defensive back . During the latter two years , he added the duties of backfield coach before becoming a full - time assistant in 1945 . In 1947 , the Cardinals captured their second ( and only undisputed ) NFL title , then lost in a blizzard in the following year ' s championship clash at Philadelphia . On February 3 , 1949 , he and Phil Handler were named co - head coaches of the Cardinals , replacing Jimmy Conzelman , who had left to work for a local advertising agency . The unique arrangement , which had Parker handling the offense and Handler the defense , quickly proved to be unworkable , and Handler was returned to the front office on October 25 with the Cardinals sporting a 2 - 4 record . In the season ' s final six games , Parker ' s team won four games , but a 52 - 20 loss to the crosstown Bears was quickly followed by Parker ' s surprising resignation on December 11 . Publicly he stated , " I ' m tired of being a head coach . The duties are too demanding , " but Parker also reportedly was upset with his uncertain job status . After first reconsidering his abrupt departure , Parker then signed as backfield coach of the Lions January 21 , 1950 . However , after head coach Bo McMillin found himself in continuous battles with players during the ensuing campaign , he resigned on December 19 , with Parker being promoted to the top job the following day . Parker and quarterback Bobby Layne would popularize what became known as the two - minute offense , which allowed a team ' s offense to quickly move down the field late in a game . In Parker ' s first year , he led the team to a 7 - 4 - 1 record , good for a second place tie in the Western Conference . While the record was slightly better than average , he began bringing in the talent that would turn the team into a dominant force over the next few years . Parker ' s superstitions also became legendary , with none of his players ever wearing the number 13 , and the team always staying at the Chicago Hilton hotel when playing either the Bears or Cardinals . That choice of lodging changed after the team was placed one year on the 13th floor and lost . The 1952 NFL season saw the Lions defeat the Los Angeles Rams in a divisional playoff on December 21 , then use a strong defensive effort to defeat the injury - plagued Cleveland Browns on the road by a 17 - 7 score . In 1953 , the two teams again met for the title , with some late heroics by Layne and Jim Doran helping to squeeze out a 17 - 16 thriller in the December 27th game . Putting together a 9 - 2 - 1 mark in 1954 , the Lions and Browns met for the third straight year , but this time , Cleveland battered Detroit by a 56 - 10 score . The after - effects of the result lasted throughout the following year , when retirement and injuries plunged the Lions to a 3 - 9 last - place finish . Parker was able to make another run for the title in 1956 , but the Lions dropped the season finale to the Bears , the key play coming when Layne was knocked out of the game with a concussion from a hit behind the play that Parker felt was both cheap and illegal . On July 26 , 1957 , Parker obtained quarterback Tobin Rote , a prescient move that would help the team when Layne broke his ankle and Rote then led the Lions to their third championship in six years . However , Parker would not be around to enjoy the championship season after stunning the football world by resigning on August 12 during the team ' s preseason training camp . In his resignation Parker cited an inability to control his players , but his struggle in obtaining a two - year contract from Lions ' management also likely played a role . After first reports had him replacing Baltimore Colts head coach Weeb Ewbank , Parker would instead take over the Steelers on August 27 , signing a five - year contract . During his first season , Parker led the team to a 6 - 6 mark and began making countless trades that left the team with few top draft choices over the next six years . During the 1958 preseason , Parker attempted to get the players ' attention by cutting five veterans , including Billy Wells , the team ' s leading rusher the previous season . He also reunited with Layne , trading for the signal caller on October 6 . The price ( quarterback Earl Morrall and two first round draft picks ) was steep , but the immediate impact was evident : the team improved to 7 - 4 - 1 , the team ' s best record in a decade . The next two years , the Steelers managed to compete at a . 500 level , but dropped to 6 - 8 in 1961 . The next year , the team finished second in the Eastern Conference with a 9 - 5 mark , then came within one game of competing in the 1963 NFL championship game before falling to the New York Giants . During the latter year , the team challenged despite the retirement of Layne and the tragic off - season death of Eugene " Big Daddy " Lipscomb . The aging team then began a decline that would continue until the arrival of Chuck Noll in 1969 . During the 1964 NFL season , Parker ' s team finished 5 - 9 , but Parker signed a three - year deal on January 22 , 1965 , saying that the team was not that far away from a championship . He would change his mind when the team dropped its first four exhibition games , and repeated history by resigning on September 5 , reportedly telling team owner Art Rooney , " I can ' t win with this bunch of stiffs . " Parker would never again coach , spending much of his remaining years in the real estate field , but he did receive job offers . In January 1966 , he was under consideration for a Rams ' assistant position under George Allen , then was a candidate for head coach of the Washington Redskins in December 1968 . On March 7 , 1982 , he underwent surgery for a ruptured ulcer , but complications left him unconscious until his death 15 days later .