Wayne Fontes
Encyclopedia
Wayne Fontes is a former American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 coach and college and professional football player who was the head coach of the NFL's Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

 from 1988 to 1996. His 67 wins and 71 losses are each the most for a head coach in team history.

Background and early career

Fontes was born in the fishing community of New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...

. According to the 1930 US Census, his mother, Matilda Fontes, was born in Central Falls, Rhode Island
Central Falls, Rhode Island
Central Falls is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 19,376 at the 2010 census. With an area of only , it is the smallest and most densely populated city in the smallest state, and the thirty-second most densely populated incorporated place in the United...

. His father, Caetano Fontes, was born in Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...

, a Portuguese colony at the time. Fontes grew up in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 where he played football at McKinley High School
Canton McKinley High School
Canton McKinley Senior High School is a public high school in Canton, Stark County, Ohio, U.S. It is one of the largest and oldest high schools in Ohio.-Athletics:...

. He attended Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

 and graduated in 1962. After he was taken in the ninth round of the 1961 NFL Draft
1961 NFL Draft
The 1961 National Football League Draft took place on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise, and the Vikings were also awarded the first selection position in this draft. This draft was also the first regular draft for...

 by the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, Fontes played one year for the New York Titans
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 of the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

. Fontes played nine games for the Titans in the 1962 season as a defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

, recording four interceptions. He returned one interception 83 yards for a touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

, a franchise record that would stand for 27 years.

After playing one season for the Titans, he injured his posterior cruciate ligament, he returned to MSU to obtain a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

. He became an assistant coach at MSU in 1963. He then coached high school football and basketball at Bay City
Bay City
-Places:Australia* Westfield Bay City, a shopping centre in Geelong, VictoriaPhilippines* Bay City , the reclamation area of Metro Manila in the PhilippinesUnited States* Bay City, Pope County, Illinois* Bay City, Michigan...

, Michigan's Visitation HS for two years losing only two games in his first year in 1964, and his team was undefeated in his second year in 1965, winning their league championship. He later left for the University of Dayton
University of Dayton
The University of Dayton is a private Roman Catholic university operated by the Society of Mary located in Dayton, Ohio...

 to serve under head coach John McVay
John McVay
John McVay is a former American football coach who rose through the coaching ranks from high school, through the college level, and to the NFL...

. He also served as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

, Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

. He ultimately developed a close relationship with John McKay
John McKay (football coach)
John Harvey McKay was an American football player and coach. He was served as the head coach at the University of Southern California from 1960 to 1975 and of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976 to 1984. In 16 seasons with the USC Trojans, McKay compiled a record of 127–40–8 and...

 after working under his wing at USC, and went on to work as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

 from 1982-1984.

Head coach

After 13 seasons as an assistant in the NFL, Fontes took over the Lions as interim head coach in mid-season of 1988 after head coach Darryl Rogers
Darryl Rogers
Darryl Dale Rogers is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at California State University, Fresno , San Jose State University , Michigan State University , and Arizona State University , compiling a career college football record of 126–77–7...

 was fired. Fontes was regarded as somewhat of an up-and-comer in NFL coaching circles during his time in Tampa Bay as defensive backs coach under John McKay, and became a highly regarded ball skill and positioning educator for defensive backs in the "3-4" defense. A personable "player's coach" and excellent motivator, Fontes was a key hire by Darryl Rogers, and would ultimately go on to coach Detroit for another seven seasons. The Lions were primed for success after William Clay Ford
William Clay Ford
William Clay Ford may refer to:*William Clay Ford, Sr., grandson of Henry Ford, son of Edsel Ford and owner of the Detroit Lions*William Clay Ford, Jr., great-grandson of Henry Ford, son of William Clay Ford, Sr., chairman of Ford Motor Company...

 handed the job to Fontes in 1988, and the ownership pulled out all the stops - drafting Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

-caliber players such as Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders left the game just short of the all-time rushing record...

, Chris Spielman
Chris Spielman
Charles Christopher "Chris" Spielman is a former American football player and is currently an analyst for ESPN's coverage of college football games.-Football career:...

, Robert Porcher
Robert Porcher
Porcher is perhaps best recognized as a standout with the Detroit Lions. A 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive-end, Porcher was a dominant pass-rush specialist and defensive leader on Detroit teams that were perennial Super Bowl contenders in the 1990s....

, Luther Ellis
Luther Ellis
Luther John Elliss is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League. He played for the Detroit Lions for 8 seasons before he was released in 2003. He played for the Denver Broncos for one season, before retiring in 2004. In his time in the NFL, he was a two time Pro...

, Lomas Brown
Lomas Brown
Lomas Brown, Jr. is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League for eighteen seasons in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Brown played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played...

, Bennie Blades
Bennie Blades
Horatio Benedict "Bennie" Blades Sr. is a former American football cornerback and safety in the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Miami.-University of Miami:...

, Jason Hanson
Jason Hanson
Jason Douglas Hanson is an American football placekicker for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League, where he has spent his entire 20 year career. He was drafted by the Lions in the second round of the 1992 NFL Draft...

, Jerry Ball
Jerry Ball
Jerry Ball is a former professional American football defensive lineman in the NFL who played primarily as a nose tackle. During his career he went to three Pro Bowls. In the NFL for 13 seasons, Ball recorded 32.5 sacks during his career, most of them coming as a nose tackle with the Detroit Lions...

, Herman Moore
Herman Moore
Herman Joseph Moore is a former American National Football League wide receiver. At George Washington High School in Danville he played mostly as a kicker and also as a tight end. He went to the University of Virginia, where he was a 2-sport athlete...

, Kevin Glover
Kevin Glover
Kevin Glover is a former American football Center for the Detroit Lions , and Seattle Seahawks . He attended the University of Maryland.-College career:...

, and Rodney Peete
Rodney Peete
Rodney Peete is a former American football quarterback from the University of Southern California who played in the National Football League for 16 years. He retired in 2004 and is now in broadcasting.-Early life:...

. Detroit also made aggressive moves in free agency during this time, signing players such as quarterback Scott Mitchell
Scott Mitchell
Scott Mitchell may refer to:*Scott Mitchell , former quarterback*Scott Mitchell , footballer*Scott Mitchell , offensive lineman in the CFL...

 and perhaps most notably Pat Swilling
Pat Swilling
Patrick Travis Swilling is a former American football linebacker in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and a delegate in the Louisiana House of Representatives. He earned five Pro Bowl appearances.-College career:...

, which would ultimately cost the Lions a 1st Round Draft Pick (Willie Roaf
Willie Roaf
William Layton Roaf, sometimes nicknamed "Nasty" is a former American football offensive tackle.-Football career:...

). The Lions would go on to achieve marginal success during his tenure. The team made the playoffs in 1991, 1993, 1994, and 1995 under his leadership. Fontes coached the 1991 and 1993 squads that won the NFC Central Division Title. The 1991 team won 12 regular season games (a franchise record), and Fontes earned NFL Coach of the Year honors through the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

 and United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...

. But Detroit was unable to find success in the post-season during this time, and Fontes became a sort-of media scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...

, which ultimately resulted in his termination. Despite his successes, it was widely considered that the Detroit Lions of this era underachieved, never earning a berth in the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

.

Legacy

Fontes' ability to survive rumors of being fired earned him nicknames like "Big Buck" (stemming from a comparison he made between his job security and a hunted buck deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

) and "Rasputin" (coined by Chris Berman due to Fontes' apparent ability to "miraculously" coax a winning streak out of his team every time he was about to be fired). Berman also referred to him as the "Nanook of the North
Nanook of the North
Nanook of the North is a 1922 silent documentary film by Robert J. Flaherty. In the tradition of what would later be called salvage ethnography, Flaherty captured the struggles of the Inuk Nanook and his family in the Canadian arctic...

" because of Fontes' desire to bundle up so heavily in the winter cold. He has also been referred to as "Mr. Snuffleupagus", due to his resemblance of the "Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...

" character of the same name. He was also the brunt of many media jokes. Jokes like "Mr. Fontes is an expert in primary colors and beige" reflect the lack of respect that haunted his tenure. Fontes was regarded as very personable, often joking with the media about his precarious job situation. He drew the line for this comedy though after the Detroit Free Press ridiculed him for sporting Mickey Mouse ears at a Disney charity. The Free Press ran a tongue-in-cheek multiple choice quiz as to why he was wearing them the following day. The offbeat answers ranged from "Wearing his thinking cap" to "President of the Mouse Davis
Mouse Davis
Darrel "Mouse" Davis is an American football coach and former player. A veteran coach at the high school, college, and professional levels, he is currently the wide receivers coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Davis served as the head football coach at Portland State University from...

 fan club". An irate Fontes slammed the media for making such a personal attack against him in such bad taste. He said, "It ain't funny....if you don't like me, tell me. That's bull. Didn't like it at all. I did something for charity and for kids, and I'll keep doing things for charity and for kids." This strong sense of compassion and sacrifice for others is probably what endeared players to him. The players responded to Fontes and always came to his defense when the coach fell into the "firing line".

Fontes popularity was waning in the later years of his career with the Lions. Many local media outlets and fans were openly critical of Fontes, forgetting that he was arguably the most successful coach in Lions' history behind Buddy Parker
Buddy Parker
Raymond "Buddy" Parker is a former football player and coach in the National Football League who served as head coach for three teams: the Chicago Cardinals, the Detroit Lions and the Pittsburgh Steelers....

 (1951–1956). The desolate years of medocrity prior to Fontes seemed to be an afterthought. Many felt the Lions were underachieving and that a change in leadership to a firm disciplinarian, such as Bobby Ross
Bobby Ross
Robert Joseph Ross is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at The Citadel , the University of Maryland, College Park , the Georgia Institute of Technology , and the United States Military Academy , compiling a career college football record of 103–101–2...

, would produce better results. The move backfired as Ross was never able to build a strong relationship with superstar running back Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders left the game just short of the all-time rushing record...

. It's widely speculated that the hiring of Ross accelerated the retirement of Sanders, who was very close with Fontes. In ESPN's SportsCentury video on Barry Sanders, Barry's father confirms that Barry contemplated retiring before the start of the 1997 season, which was to be Ross' first season as Lions coach. In his autobiography, "Now you see him", Barry says of Wayne Fontes: "I thought he deserved another chance." (ISBN 1-57860-139-8 p. 97)

As of 2011, Fontes is the only Lions coach to lead the team to a NFC championship game (vs the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

 following the 1991 season). He led them to the playoffs in four out of eight seasons while he was head coach, including three consecutive playoff berths (1993, 1994, and 1995). He left the Lions compiling the most wins in franchise history (67), most playoff appearances (5), most losses (71), and is 9th (out of 23 coaches) in total win percentage.

Some rumors indicate that Fontes drafted Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders left the game just short of the all-time rushing record...

 in 1989 against the wishes of other members of the Lions staff, and accounts from some contemporaries do indicate that Fontes was definitely focused on acquiring Sanders. Barry Sanders made a point to thank Fontes for his guidance in his Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...

 induction speech. The mutual admiration and respect between Fontes and Sanders was very strong and transcended beyond the football field. Toward the end of his time in Detroit, an anti-Fontes sentiment grew among some Lions team members, but Sanders remained a staunch supporter of the coach. Of Fontes, Sanders said: "He proves that a coach can show affection and appreciation and still win." Sanders, to this day, credits Fontes for making him a superstar running back.

Fontes still supports local Detroit charities on occasion with his former players although those opportunities have been fewer as of late. After serving briefly as a color commentator on the English-language broadcasts of NFL Europe
NFL Europe
NFL Europe was an American football league which operated in Europe from 1991 until 2007. Backed by the National Football League , the largest professional American football league in the United States, it was founded as the World League of American Football to serve as a type of spring league...

 games, Fontes retired to his home in Tarpon Springs
Tarpon Springs, Florida
Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 21,003 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 22,554....

, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. He is frequently spotted at Tampa Bay Buccaneers games where he maintains a strong friendship with Jim Gruden, father of former Buccaneers Head Coach Jon Gruden
Jon Gruden
Jon David Gruden is an American football analyst and former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for seven seasons and prior to that the Oakland Raiders for four seasons. In his first year as the head coach of Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII, defeating the Raiders whom he had...

.

See also

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