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Not only did Chuck Knox coach three NFL franchises — the Rams, Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks — but he was named the league’s coach of the year with all three.

Former Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks head coach Chuck Knox waits on the bench before he is honored at halftime by the Seahawks on Sept. 24 2005. (Credit: Kevin Casey/ NFLPhotoLibrary via Getty Images)

Knox, whose gritty toughness reflected his background as the son of a Western Pennsylvania steel worker, died Saturday after a lengthy battle with dementia, the Seahawks confirmed Sunday. He was 86.

“I never had a guy that breathed intensity into a group of men before kickoff as well as he did,” said former Rams tackle Jackie Slater, whose Hall of Fame career was bookended by stints under Knox.

Slater recalled a game at Dallas during the 1992 season when the Rams were double-digit underdogs to the Cowboys, who boasted the best defense in football. It was a simple pregame speech from Knox. He read aloud a newspaper excerpt that previewed the mismatch, spit on the locker room floor, then walked out.

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