Vincent Michael Tobin (September 29, 1943 – July 3, 2023) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach who was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). During his four decades of coaching, he primarily served as a

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

in the NFL,

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL), and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He was also a defensive coordinator at his alma mater, the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

, where he had played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

Early life

Vincent Tobin and his brother

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

were both born on a farm near

Burlington Junction, Missouri Burlington Junction is a city in northwestern Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. The population was 521 at the 2020 census and is the second largest city in the county by population. History Burlington Junction was founded in 1879, and n ...

. Their father, Ed, was basketball captain at the Conception Junction, Missouri high school. The brothers both attended Maryville High School, which is 16 miles from Burlington Junction, but the family thought their sports prospects would be much better at the bigger school, so they commuted each day to the school. The brothers, who are two years apart in age, both played football at Maryville and the

College coaching career

Tobin was a

for the

and entered the coaching ranks as a graduate assistant with the team in 1965. He was Missouri's

from 1971 to 1976.

Pre-NFL coaching

Tobin was the defensive coordinator for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

and for the Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars of the

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

. The Stars appeared in all three USFL championship games under Tobin and head coach Jim Mora, winning the last two in 1984 and 1985. He helped in the advancement of future

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Sam Mills Samuel Davis Mills Jr. (June 3, 1959 – April 18, 2005) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers. He also played f ...

' professional football career.

NFL coaching

Chicago Bears

After the USFL folded, Tobin, along with seven other Stars assistants and head coach Jim Mora, was hired by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

on January 28, 1986. He resigned four days later on February 1 to become the defensive coordinator with the

Super Bowl XX Super Bowl XX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

Champion

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He succeeded

Buddy Ryan James David "Buddy" Ryan (February 17, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). During his 35-season coaching career, Ryan served as the head coach of the ...

who became head coach of the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

one day after Tobin had joined the Saints. While the Bears' defensive unit ranked among the league's highest during his tenure, they never achieved the same dominance as they did in 1985, with the team's only playoff wins coming over Ryan's Eagles in 1988's Fog Bowl and in 1991 against New Orleans. Following the 1992 firing of head coach

Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka ( ; born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former professional American football, football player, coach, and television commentator. During his playing career, he was UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year, UPI NFL R ...

, Tobin was released with the rest of the Bears coaching staff.

Indianapolis Colts

Tobin was hired in 1994 to be the defensive coordinator of the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

by his brother Bill Tobin, the team's acting

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. He left the team following the 1995 season.

Arizona Cardinals

In 1996, Tobin became head coach of the Cardinals, succeeding Buddy Ryan again. His one winning season and playoff berth as a head coach came in 1998 when the club posted a 9–7 record. He then coached the Cardinals to their first playoff win in 50 years during the 1998 season by defeating the 3rd-seeded

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. The team lost the next week to the 1st-seeded

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. After seven games of the 2000 season, Tobin was fired after posting a 2–5 record. His record in Arizona was 28–43, with a 1–1 postseason record.

Detroit Lions

In 2001 Tobin was hired as the defensive coordinator for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, and the club posted a 2–14 record. He was fired after one season.

Head coaching record

Personal life and death

Vince Tobin's brother Bill Tobin was the general manager of the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts. Vince served as Colts defensive coordinator while Bill was general manager. Tobin died on July 3, 2023, at age 79.

References

External links

Biography at ''Packers.com''

– Cardinals statistics under Tobin {{DEFAULTSORT:Tobin, Vince 1943 births 2023 deaths American football safeties Arizona Cardinals head coaches BC Lions coaches Chicago Bears coaches Detroit Lions coaches Green Bay Packers coaches Indianapolis Colts coaches Missouri Tigers football coaches Missouri Tigers football players NFL defensive coordinators Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars coaches People from Nodaway County, Missouri