THE AFL 1960–69: A RETROSPECTIVE
Lou Saban Was Always a Coach on the Move — A Lot of Moves
No one had a more diverse and lengthy coaching resume, but his greatest successes came in the AFL with the Buffalo Bills
It did not take a genius to figure out what the woebegone Buffalo Bills should do on offense when the 1972 NFL season began.
Then again, it had been pretty obvious ever since O.J. Simpson joined the team in 1969 that he should be the focal point of the attack, yet he gained just 1,927 yards in his first three seasons.
Incredibly, neither John Rauch nor Harvey Johnson — his first two pro coaches in Buffalo — seemed capable of grasping the concept that Simpson was a superstar in the making, and he needed to be unleashed.
Lou Saban was no genius. But he could recognize greatness when it was right in front of him, and only when Saban — who had coached the Bills from 1962–65 in the old AFL — returned to the team prior to 1972 did Simpson become the centerpiece of the Buffalo offense.
“I believe in running the ball, basic, hard-nosed football,” Saban said at the time. “We have a great runner, a game-breaker who is a big-play athlete. I intend to use him.”
