Sam Rutigliano Sam Rutigliano ( born July 1 , 1933 ) is a former National Football League head coach . Rutigliano , the son of Italian immigrants , played high school football at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn . He played college football at Tennessee and Tulsa . He coached at the high school level in New York . This included a stint at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua , NY where he tried to change the school ' s nickname from " Quakers " to the more masculine sounding " Falcons " . He then coached at the college level at Connecticut , Maryland and Tennessee before landing a professional football assistant coaching job with the American Football League ' s Denver Broncos in 1967 . He would be an assistant with the New England Patriots , New York Jets , and New Orleans Saints over the next 11 years before being given the head coaching job for the Cleveland Browns in 1978 . Over the next six years , Rutigliano was the coach of the famed " Kardiac Kids " Browns . He led the 1980 Browns to the AFC Central Division Championship . The final play of the Browns ' playoff game with the Oakland Raiders would be the most memorable moment in Rutigliano ' s coaching career . Down 14 – 12 and within field goal range , Rutigliano decided to run one more play rather than kick a game - winning field goal . The play , called " Red Right 88 " , resulted in a game - ending interception . Despite the early playoff exit , Rutigliano received NFL Coach of the Year honors for the 1980 season . Rutigliano was fired in 1984 after starting the season 1 – 7 . He was replaced by Marty Schottenheimer . In his six and a half seasons with the Browns , Rutigliano compiled a 47 – 50 record . After being let go by the Browns , Rutigliano would serve as an analyst for NBC Sports and ESPN for three years . In 1988 , he was given the head coaching job at Liberty University , a post he would hold for eleven years until retiring in 1999 . Rutigliano would go on to be an assistant coach under Jack Bicknell with the Barcelona Dragons and Scottish Claymores , both of NFL Europe . Beginning in 2005 , " Coach Sam " ( as he is known as in Cleveland ) became a Browns analyst for WKYC channel 3 in Cleveland ( NBC ) , and also for SportsTime Ohio when it began operations in 2006 . In 2011 , he moved to WEWS - TV 5 ( ABC ) to become a Browns analyst . Player addiction recovery program . Throughout the 1970s , substance abuse , particularly of cocaine , was a rampant problem among unmarried NFL players . During Rutigliano ' s tenure with the Browns , the NFL mandated the hiring of a psychiatric professional specializing in substance abuse , and Rutigliano was the first NFL coach to comply with the policy . Dr . Gregory Collins of the Cleveland Clinic was hired as the Browns ' addiction recovery physician . Wanting to take the policy further to assist those players who would not come forward with their addiction problems , with the support of team owner Art Modell , Rutigliano founded an anonymous support group known as the " Inner Circle " , which was attended by approximately a dozen Browns players . The support group was assisted by the efforts of Calvin Hill and Paul Warfield . Only Charles White , who chose to go into a rehab center in Los Angeles , lost his anonymity among the group ' s members . Rutigliano considered the Inner Circle his greatest accomplishment as an NFL coach , and on November 14 , 2007 , Rutigliano was given the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence ' s Bronze Key Award by the NCADD ' s Northeast Ohio affiliate , Recovery Resources . In his speech presenting the award to Rutigliano , Dr . Collins , now Section Head of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation ' s Drug and Alcohol Recovery Center and 2006 Bronze Key Award winner , lobbied to have Rutigliano inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his work with the Inner Circle .