| No. 55, 50 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | (1938-08-03)August 3, 1938 Forkland, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died: | August 19, 2023(2023-08-19) (aged 85) Ithaca, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 227 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Bessemer City (Bessemer, Alabama) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Georgia Tech (1957–1959) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1960: 2nd round, 20th pick | ||||||||||||
| AFL draft: | 1960 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||
| Career: | 28–29–2 (.492) | ||||||||||||
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||||||
Maxie Callaway Baughan Jr. (August 3, 1938 – August 19, 2023) was an American professionalfootball player and coach in theNational Football League (NFL). Baughan playedlinebacker for thePhiladelphia Eagles,Los Angeles Rams, andWashington Redskins. He later served as a linebacker coach and defensive coordinator for several college and NFL teams. Baughan playedcollege football for theGeorgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
After attendingBessemer City High School inAlabama, Baughan playedcollege football for theGeorgia Tech Yellow Jackets from 1957 to 1959.[1] While at Georgia Tech, he played and started at both linebacker andcenter.[2] In 1959, he was Georgia Tech's captain, a consensusAll-American, theSoutheastern Conference Lineman of the Year, and theMost Valuable Player in the1960 Gator Bowl.[2] He set a Georgia Tech single-season record with 124 tackles.[2]
Baughan was selected in the second round (20th overall) of the1960 NFL draft by thePhiladelphia Eagles, additionally being chosen as a first-round pick in the1960 AFL Draft by theOakland Raiders.[1] He joined the Eagles and became a starter immediately at the rightside linebacker position, starting nine of 12 games in his rookie season as the Eagles went on to win the1960 NFL Championship over theGreen Bay Packers, which remained the team's last league title untilSuper Bowl LII in the 2017 season.[1][3] He was chosen to his firstPro Bowl that year, posting threeinterceptions in the game, and was also the runner-up for the NFL's rookie of the year award.[4][5] He went on to play the following 10 years in the NFL and was anAll-Pro selection in seven of those years.[4] Baughan played his first six years with the Eagles and earned Pro Bowl selection in all but one of those years.[4] During a game against thePittsburgh Steelers in 1965, he helped the Eagles set a team record with nine interceptions in the 47–13 win, with six of those points coming off an interception by Baughan which he returned for the only score of his career.[6]
By 1966, the number of games the Eagles won had sharply declined and Baughan decided that he wanted out of Philadelphia. However,George Allen, who was entering his first season as an NFL head coach with the Los Angeles Rams, won the right to Baughan's services by sending two players (linebacker Fred Brown and defensive tackle Frank Molden[7]) to the Eagles in return. Baughan and Allen would develop a strong relationship, spending extensive time studying game film together. Baughan would later state that he learned more about football from Allen than anyone else.[8] Baughan was chosen to be the Rams' defensive captain and was in charge of signal calling for the unit.[9] He was selected for the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons with the Rams and was also a first-team All-Pro choice three times.[4] After an injury-plagued 1970 season, in which he played in only 10 games, Baughan retired from the NFL.[4][10]
Baughan's contractual rights were traded along withJack Pardee,Myron Pottios,Diron Talbert,John Wilbur,Jeff Jordan, and a1971 fifth-round pick (124th overall—traded toGreen Bay Packers forBoyd Dowler) from the Rams to theWashington Redskins forMarlin McKeever, first and third rounders in1971 (10th and 63rd overall—Isiah Robertson andDave Elmendorf respectively) and third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounders in1972 (73rd, 99th, 125th, 151st and 177th overall—toNew England Patriots, traded toPhiladelphia Eagles forJoe Carollo,Bob Christiansen,Texas Southern defensive tackle Eddie Herbert and toNew York Giants respectively) on January 28, 1971.[11][12]
In 1974, Allen, now the head coach of the Redskins, talked Baughan into a brief return to the NFL as a player-coach.[13] He appeared in two games, mainly as a backup toChris Hanburger.[13][4] At the conclusion of that season, Baughan retired.[4] He finished with 18 interceptions (including one returned for a touchdown) and 10 fumble recoveries in 147 games played; Baughan also unofficially posted 24.5sacks.[4]
After retiring from the NFL, Baughan served as thedefensive coordinator at hisalma mater, Georgia Tech, from 1972 to 1973.[14] Following his brief return to playing in 1974, he went back into coaching by becoming the defensive coordinator for theBaltimore Colts in 1975.[13] During his time with the Colts, the team won three straightAFC East divisional championships from 1975 to 1977.[15] He left the Colts in 1980 and then served through 1982 as the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator with theDetroit Lions.[15]
Baughan was named head coach of theCornell Big Red college football team in 1983.[16] He led them to theIvy League championship in 1988, their first since 1971.[17] However, he was forced to resign before the next season after information surfaced about an affair he had with an assistant coach's wife.[18] Baughan then coached a team inJapan in 1989 before returning to the NFL in 1990 as linebackers coach of theMinnesota Vikings.[19] Following two years with Minnesota, he coached the linebackers for theTampa Bay Buccaneers from 1992 to 1995, and then served in that same role with theBaltimore Ravens from 1996 until retiring after 1998.[14]
Baughan died inIthaca, New York, on August 19, 2023, at the age of 85.[20] On December 3, 2024, his family announced through theConcussion Legacy Foundation that Baughan had stage 3CTE.[21]
Baughan was inducted into theGeorgia Tech Hall of Fame in 1965 and theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1988.[22] He was also inducted into theGeorgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1980, theAlabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1983, thePhiladelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, and the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame.[23][24][25][26]
Despite his NFL accomplishments, Baughan has not been elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame. Several sources have considered him among the best players not inducted.[10][27][28][29][30] In 2005, he was named to theProfessional Football Researchers Association's Hall of Very Good in the association's third HOVG class, an honor for the best players not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[31] He was reportedly a favorite among Hall of Fame selectors for the class of 2020, but was not elected.[32] He was also a finalist for the classes of 2023 and 2024, but missed selection both times.[33][34] As of December 2024, he is again a finalist for the senior class of 2025.[35]
In 2012, Baughan received theOutstanding Eagle Scout Award from theNational Eagle Scout Association of theBoy Scouts of America.[36] Baughan was inducted into thePhiladelphia Eagles Hall of Fame on October 19, 2015, during the team'sMonday Night Football game against theNew York Giants.[37]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornell Big Red(Ivy League)(1983–1988) | |||||||||
| 1983 | Cornell | 3–6–1 | 3–3–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1984 | Cornell | 2–7 | 2–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 1985 | Cornell | 3–7 | 2–5 | 7th | |||||
| 1986 | Cornell | 8–2 | 6–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1987 | Cornell | 5–5 | 4–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1988 | Cornell | 7–2–1 | 6–1 | T–1st | |||||
| Cornell: | 28–29–2 | 23–18–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 28–29–2 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
