The Tale of Three Defensive Backs

by Jeffrey J. Miller

We here at the Pro Football Journal take great pleasure in occasionally presenting subject matter that is—as our description states--truly “esoteric.” My colleagues (John, Coach, Nick, Chris and Eric) have an uncanny knack for providing fascinating stories with information you, gentle reader, will not find anywhere else.  I am proud to be included among these exceptional historians and do my best to keep pace with their prodigious and informative output. 

So, in the interest of esoterica, I would like to talk about a happening that I believe occurred only once in the history of the National Football League. During the years 1972 through 1980, three men served as the Buffalo Bills’ defensive backfield coach: Billy Atkins, Richie McCabe and Jim Wagstaff. 

What is unusual about this is the fact that all three of these men were teammates on the Buffalo Bills during the team’s first two years as members of the American Football League and, even more interestingly, were all members of the same position group (defensive back).  

Jim Wagstaff  -  Billy Atkins  -  Richie McCabe

    

When the Buffalo Bills joined the upstart American Football League in 1959, owner Ralph C. Wilson hired Buster Ramsey, to be the team’s first head coach.  Bringing with him a reputation as a defensive guru, it is not surprising that Ramsey prioritized that side of the ball when piecing his roster together. 

He was able to do so by bringing in a group of defensive backs whose resumes included experience on NFL rosters, including Atkins (San Francisco), McCabe (Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins), Wagstaff (Chicago Cardinals) and Billy Kinard (Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers).  As a result, the Bills finished a solid third in overall defense in 1960. 

Our story picks up in 1972, when Lou Saban hired Billy Atkins to tutor the Bills defensive secondary.  Atkins had been a classic multi-threat performer at Auburn University where he played fullback, linebacker and punter. He led the Tigers to a National Championship in 1957 and was rewarded with the team’s Most Valuable Player award. He was drafted by San Francisco in the 5th round in 1958 and played two seasons with the 49ers before signing on as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills of the new American Football League in 1960. 

Atkins never missed a start in two years with the Bills, and by his second year was recognized as one of the league’s best defensive backs. After playing much of the 1960 season as a corner, Atkins was moved to free safety in 1961 and led the AFL with 10 interceptions, earning First-Team All-AFL honors for his efforts. 

Despite his stellar defensive play and leading the loop in punting both years, Ace was traded to the New York Titans in 1963. He retired from active duty after the 1964 season and spent six years as the head coach at Troy State University where he led the Trojans to an overall record of 44-16-2, including an NAIA championship in 1968.

After Lou Saban returned as head coach of the Bills in 1972, he turned to Atkins to oversee the defensive backfield. The Bills had been a laughingstock for several seasons, but it wasn’t long before their fortunes were turning as they improved from 4-10 in 1972 to 9-5 in 1973 and again in 1974 when they reached the post-season for the first time since 1966. 

When Atkins left Saban’s staff in January 1976 to become the defensive backfield coach with the San Francisco 49ers, Saban tapped Richie McCabe to fill the void. This would actually be McCabe’s third stint with the Bills, having also been a member of Joe Collier’s coaching staff 1966-68. 

Like Atkins, McCabe had been a member of the Bills’ inaugural squad, signing as a free agent with club after spending parts of four NFL seasons between the Pittsburgh Steelers (who had drafted him in the 22nd round in 1955) and the Washington Redskins.  After a standout campaign in 1960 in which he was selected All-AFL by the Associated Press, McCabe’s career came to a screeching halt with a devastating knee injury in 1961. 

New Head Coach Jim Ringo, who had taken over for Saban midway through the disastrous 1976 campaign, promoted McCabe to the dual posts of Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backfield Coach in February 1977. 

That season proved a dismal failure as the Bills finished 3-11 and owner Ralph Wilson hired highly touted Chuck Knox away from the Los Angeles Rams as the team’s new head coach. Ringo’s entire staff, McCabe included, was let go as Knox sought to bring in his own guys. 

Which brings us to Jim Wagstaff.  Wagstaff had been coaching the secondary under Knox for five seasons. He was invited to join his good friend in Buffalo, making him the third straight former member of the original Buffalo Bills’ defensive backfield to man the position. 

Wagstaff was a standout defensive performer at Idaho State prior to being drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 21st round in 1958. Wagstaff failed to make the Lions’ lineup and spent the 1959 season with the Chicago Cardinals before casting his lot with the AFL Bills in 1960. He was named Second-Team All-AFL after pilfering six enemy passes that first year. He missed just a single game in his two seasons with the Bills.

After coaching at the high school and college levels for the next several years, Wagstaff was hired by Chuck Knox as the Rams’ secondary coach in 1973. Under Wags’ guidance, the Rams led the league in interceptions in 1976 and the team won five straight division titles.

 In his first year as the Bills’ DB helmsman, the Bills yielded a league-best 104.0 yards per game.  Wagstaff spent three seasons tutoring the Bills’ defensive backs (1978-80), the last of which saw the Bills return to the playoffs for the first time since 1974. 

He left the team in February 1981 to become the defensive secondary coach with the San Diego Chargers. (Note: The streak of succession ended when Knox hired Ralph Hawkins as Jim Wagstaff's replacement. Though Hawkins was not a former Bills player, he had served the team before as a defensive assistant during the John Rauch administration, 1969-70).   

So there we have it. This is believed to be the only time in NFL history that three men from the same team and position group subsequently served that team in the same post in succession.