Mike McCormack ( American football ) Michael Joseph " Mike " McCormack ( born June 21 , 1930 ) is a former American football player and coach in the National Football League . He played with the Cleveland Browns from 1954 - 1962 and served as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles , the Baltimore Colts and the Seattle Seahawks . He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984 . Playing career . McCormack was drafted by the New York Yanks in the 1951 NFL Draft . After one year of play , he then served two years of military service in the United States Army before being traded to the Browns . In his first season with the team , he played on the defensive line , with his fumble recovery in the 1954 NFL Championship game against the Detroit Lions helping set up an important early touchdown . The following season , he was shifted to offensive tackle and helped the Browns once again capture the NFL title . He would play a key role in helping legendary running back Jim Brown become one of the dominant players in the game , ending his career with four selections to the Pro Bowl . According to Paul Zimmerman ' s 1984 book , " The New Thinking Man ' s Guide to Pro Football " , legendary Browns coach Paul Brown stated that McCormack was the best offensive lineman he ever coached . The book states that McCormack " [ c ] ould handle the Colts ' Gino Marchetti better than any tackle in the game . Power combined with great intelligence and 4 . 8 speed . ' I ' ve seen him have games , ' former player and NFL executive Bucko Kilroy says , ' where if you were grading him , he ' d score 100 . Not one mistake , and his guy would never make a tackle . ' " Coaching career . His coaching career began in 1962 with the first of four consecutive stints as an assistant in the annual College All - Star Game . In 1965 , he was hired as an assistant coach with the Washington Redskins , spending the next eight seasons working under four different head coaches , including former teammate Otto Graham from 1966 - 1968 . In 1973 , he was hired as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles , but a 16 - 25 - 1 record over three seasons resulted in his dismissal following the conclusion of the 1975 season . He moved on to serve as an assistant with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1976 - 1979 , then was hired as head coach of the Baltimore Colts in 1980 . However , two frustrating seasons ended in his dismissal from the Colts . In 1982 , McCormack joined the Seattle Seahawks , eventually becoming president and general manager . He also served as the Seahawks interim head coach for the remainder of the 1982 season when Jack Patera was fired after the first two games . McCormack took over during the 57 - day players strike and led the team to a 4 - 3 record , the only time he compiled a winning record as an NFL head coach . He then returned to his management position when the Seahawks hired Chuck Knox as their new head coach in 1983 . In January 1989 , he was abruptly fired by the new Seahawks owner , Ken Behring , who explained the decision was necessary in order to make changes in the financial operations of the team . Later that year , McCormack became a consultant for Jerry Richardson and his ownership group that were seeking to land an NFL expansion team in Charlotte , North Carolina . In 1993 , he was hired by the newly formed Carolina Panthers as their team president and general manager . He retired from the Panthers organization in 1997 .