Marv Levy Marvin Daniel Levy ( born August 3 , 1925 ) is a former American and Canadian football coach , front office executive and author . He is a former professional football coach , in the CFL as head coach of the Montreal Alouettes ( 1973 – 1977 ) , and in the NFL as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs ( 1978 – 1982 ) and the Buffalo Bills ( 1986 – 1997 ) , coaching the Bills to four consecutive American Football Conference Championships . He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001 . Early life . Levy ' s family emigrated from Montreal , Quebec , Canada . His father , a decorated World War I veteran , ran a small business on the South Side of Chicago , Illinois , USA . He graduated from South Shore High School in Chicago , in 1943 . Following graduation , he enlisted in the Army Air Forces and spent the remainder of World War II in the military ; Levy was discharged from the army shortly after the war ended . Though he was known to use historical examples to inspire his teams , Levy corrected those who used war and combat metaphors to describe football games by telling them that he actually fought in a war and that football and war were in no way comparable . Referring to the Super Bowl , he once said " This is not a must - win ; World War II was a must - win " . College years . Levy enrolled at Coe College in Iowa . There he earned varsity letters in football , track , and basketball . He obtained a degree in English literature , was granted membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society , and was twice voted student council president . He was also a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity . He was admitted to Harvard University for graduate studies in 1951 , earning a masters degree in English history . College coaching . His first coaching job was at St . Louis Country Day School , coaching football and basketball , the latter in which he coached to a championship . Two years later , Levy returned to Coe College as an assistant football coach ( 1953 – 1954 ) and in his second stint as a head coach , he also won a championship - - once again in basketball . In 1954 , he joined the coaching staff at the University of New Mexico and was named head coach in 1958 . In two seasons as head coach , he guided the Lobos to a 14 – 6 record and earned Skyline Conference Coach of the Year honors both years . He interviewed with the University of California , Berkeley on February 2 , 1960 , and was announced as the new head coach of the Cal Bears on February 5 , 1960 . Despite selecting a young Bill Walsh as a coaching assistant , Levy ' s best record during his four season tenure as head coach at Cal from 1960 - 1963 was 4 - 5 - 1 . He finished his college - coaching career with a five - year stint as head coach at the College of William and Mary where he twice earned Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors . Professional football . Levy began his professional football coaching career in 1969 as kicking teams coach for the Philadelphia Eagles before joining George Allen ' s staff as a special teams coach for the Los Angeles Rams in 1970 . He followed Allen to Washington DC in 1971 , where he served as the Washington Redskins ' special teams coach for two seasons . Levy then served as the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League for five seasons . He coached Montreal to three CFL Grey Cup appearances and two championships , and won the Annis Stukus Trophy ( Coach of the Year ) in 1974 . Levy returned to the NFL in 1978 as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs . He coached the Chiefs for five seasons with steady improvement each year , but was fired at the end of the strike - shortened 1982 season with a 3 – 6 record . Midway through the 1986 season , following a two - year hiatus from coaching and one season as the head coach of the Chicago Blitz of the USFL , Levy returned to the NFL as head coach of the Buffalo Bills . He finished the season with a 2 – 5 record . In 1987 , his first full season with the Bills , the team returned to respectability with a 7 – 8 record and were in the playoff hunt throughout most of the season . The following season the team posted a 12 – 4 record and won the first of six AFC Eastern Division titles . With his high - powered “ no - huddle ” offense , Levy ' s Bills went on to lead his AFC championship team to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances . From 1988 through 1997 , the Bills were first in the AFC in winning percentage and second only to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL . Levy , the winningest coach in Bills ’ history , recorded a 112 – 70 regular season record and was 11 – 8 in the playoffs during his eleven seasons with the Bills . He was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1988 and AFC Coach of the Year in 1988 , 1993 , and 1995 . Coaching tree . Levy ' s coaching tree is among the largest of any NFL head coach ; however , this is largely due to the fact that he once had Bill Walsh as an assistant and most of Walsh ' s assistants never worked under Levy . Among notable non - Walsh coaches are Wade Phillips , who succeeded Levy as the Bills ' head coach and also served as head coach of the Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys ( along with interim coaching stints for the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons ) , as well as former Baltimore Ravens and Baltimore / Indianapolis Colts coach Ted Marchibroda , and New York Sentinels head coach Ted Cottrell . Outspoken pundit Chuck Dickerson worked under Levy for several years in Buffalo before being fired . First retirement . Levy retired in 1997 and became an analyst for NFL . com . In 2001 Levy was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton , Ohio . Along with former Bills ' special - teamer Steve Tasker , Levy did local broadcasts for the Bills ' pre - season games until being appointed the Bills ' general manager in 2006 . During the regular season he was a part of the Chicago Bears pregame show on ESPN Radio 1000 , as well as a Bears postgame show on Comcast SportsNet . General manager . On January 5 , 2006 , Bills owner Ralph Wilson enlisted Levy , at the age of 80 , to act as General Manager and Vice President of Football Operations for the Buffalo Bills . Following the resignation of Mike Mularkey , there was initial speculation ( created by Levy ' s own comments at a team press conference ) that Levy would resume a coaching role with the team . To eliminate this speculation , and to minimize any future tension between Levy and the Bills ' new head coach , team owner Wilson said : " To say it very , very succinctly , Marv Levy is our general manager . He will never be the coach . " Levy ' s first order of business was to hire a new coach as a replacement for Mularkey , who resigned within days of Levy ' s appointment . After a strenuous interview process Levy and team owner Wilson hired Detroit Lions interim head coach Dick Jauron as coach . Jauron formerly was head coach of the Chicago Bears . Second retirement . Following the Bills ' last game of the 2007 season , Levy decided to step down as GM of the Bills ( his two - year contract had expired ) . He has returned to live in his native Chicago , although he has also spent some time in Montreal mentoring then - Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman . In 2009 , Levy collaborated with Buffalo football historian Jeffrey Miller ( Professional Football Researchers Association ) to write a book entitled " Game Changers : The Greatest Plays in Buffalo Bills Football History " . In August 2011 , Levy published a second book , " Between the Lies " , featuring a team based loosely on the Bills ( including a quarterback named " Kelly James " ) progressing to the Super Bowl against a Los Angeles - based team and its take - no - prisoners head coach , while a scandal erupts , placing the integrity of the game at risk . Levy has indicated he has future books planned , some of which may not involve football .