Allen Gets Fired, Then He’s Rehired

Thirty-one years ago today, Dan Reeves, owner of the Los Angeles Rams, and George Allen, the coach, launched a 12-day war of nerves.

First, with an 8 a.m. phone call, Reeves told Allen he was fired. In announcing it publicly later in the day, the owner cited “a personality conflict.”

It certainly had nothing to do with Allen’s job performance. The Rams were coming off a 10-3-1 season and were 11-1-2 the year before that.

“This was probably the biggest Christmas shock of my life,” said Allen, the 1967 NFL coach of the year. He had two years left on his $40,000-a-year contract.

The onetime Chicago Bear defensive coordinator had a troubled history with NFL owners who hired him, but never with his players. Whether during his tenure with the Rams or the Washington Redskins, his players were intensely loyal to him, because in both places he turned them into winners.

The firing touched off an unprecedented player revolt. Within hours of the announcement, veteran players like Charlie Cowan and Eddie Meador were threatening Reeves with retirement, rather than play for a new coach. Said Cowan: “I don’t want to play if we can’t possibly win a championship. I want at least a chance to compete. But Reeves apparently doesn’t want a winner.”

Reeves, who had said that “winning with Allen wasn’t fun,” began to buckle, finally yielding to player demands 12 days later.

“I came back because my players stood up for me,” Allen said of his return.

Later, it came out that Allen had turned down two “enormous” coaching offers during the 12-day war with Reeves.

Also on this date: In 1908, Jack Johnson soundly beat Tommy Burns at Sydney, Australia, to become the first black world heavyweight champion. Johnson earned a record purse: $30,000. . . . In 1977, 17-year-old Steve Cauthen rode four upset winners before 42,711 on opening day at Santa Anita.