Forrest Gregg Alvis Forrest Gregg ( born October 18 , 1933 ) is a former American football player and coach in the National Football League . During a Pro Football Hall of Fame playing career , he was a part of six championships , five of them with the Green Bay Packers before closing out his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys with a win in Super Bowl VI . He went on to serve as head coach of three NFL teams ( Cleveland Browns , Cincinnati Bengals and the Packers ) , as well as two Canadian Football League teams ( Toronto Argonauts and Shreveport Pirates ) . He was born in Birthright , Texas and attended Sulphur Springs High School . College years . Gregg played college football at Southern Methodist University . Professional career . Gregg was a key player on the Packers dynasty that won five NFL championships and two Super Bowl s in the 1960s . Gregg earned an " iron - man " tag by playing in a then - league record 188 consecutive games from 1956 until 1971 . He also won All - NFL acclaim eight straight years from 1960 through 1967 and was selected to play in nine Pro Bowl s . Gregg closed his career with the Dallas Cowboys , as did his Packer teammate , cornerback Herb Adderley . They both helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl VI , making them the only players ( along with former teammate Fred Thurston , who was on the Baltimore Colts world championship team in 1958 ) in professional football history to play on six teams that won World Championships . Vince Lombardi , the famed head coach of the Packers in the 1960s , claimed " Forrest Gregg is the finest player I ever coached ! " in his book " Run to Daylight " . In 1999 , he was ranked number 28 on " The Sporting News " ' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players , ranking him second behind Ray Nitschke among players coached by Lombardi , second behind Anthony Munoz ( whom he coached ) among offensive tackles , and third behind Munoz and John Hannah among all offensive linemen . Coaching career . After serving as an assistant with the San Diego Chargers in 1973 , he took a similar position the following year with the Browns . After head coach Nick Skorich was dismissed at the conclusion of the 1974 NFL season , Gregg took over as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns , a position he held until 1977 . After sitting out the 1978 season , Gregg returned to coaching in 1979 with the Canadian Football League ' s Toronto Argonauts . In 1980 he became the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals and remained until 1983 . Gregg ' s most successful season as a head coach was in 1981 , when he coached the Bengals to a 12 – 4 regular season record . They defeated the San Diego Chargers 27 – 7 in the AFC championship game ( known as the Freezer Bowl ) , earning them a trip to the Super Bowl . They lost to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XVI 26 – 21 . He finished his NFL coaching career with his old team , the Packers , from 1984 – 1987 . Gregg ' s overall record as an NFL coach was 75 wins , 85 losses , and one tie . He also won two and lost two playoff games . After coaching in the NFL , Gregg went on to coach for two years at Southern Methodist University , his alma mater , during the 1989 and 1990 seasons . He was brought in to revive the Mustang football program after it received the " death penalty " from the NCAA for massive violations of NCAA rules . Although the NCAA had only canceled the 1987 season , school officials later opted to cancel the 1988 season as well due to concerns it wouldn ' t be able to field a competitive team . As it turned out , when Gregg arrived , he was presented with a severely undersized and underweight roster composed mostly of freshmen . Gregg was taller and heavier than nearly the entire 70 - man squad . The team was so short on offensive linemen that Gregg had to make several wide receivers bulk up so they could switch to the line . By nearly all accounts , it would have been unthinkable for the Mustangs to attempt to play the 1988 season under such conditions . In 1989 , the Mustangs went 2 - 9 , including a 95 - 21 thrashing by Houston - - the second - worst loss in school history . After the season , he was named athletic director . The Mustangs went 1 - 10 in 1990 , and after the season Gregg resigned as coach to focus on his duties as athletic director . Gregg ' s coaching record at SMU was 3 wins and 19 losses . He served as athletic director until 1994 . He returned to the CFL with the Shreveport Pirates in 1994 – 95 , during that league ' s brief attempt at expansion to the United States . Gregg ' s overall record as a CFL coach was 13 wins and 39 losses . When former Shreveport Pirate owner Bernard Glieberman bought a stake in the Ottawa Renegades in May 2005 , Gregg was appointed as Vice President of Football Operations . In October 2011 , Gregg was diagnosed with Parkinson ' s Disease , thought to be caused by years of concussions from playing football .