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The average age of retirement for NFL players is approximately 27 years old. This means that most players have their whole lives in front of them when their playing careers come to an end.
One option that many retired NFL players go with is coaching. Most of them are capable of doing an excellent job coaching the position they used to play, but head coaching is a whole different ball game. There are a lot of additional responsibilities that head coaches have to handle.
Here are three former NFL players who failed as head coaches:
#1 Mike Singletary
Mike Singletary had a legendary career as a linebacker with the Chicago Bears. He was named the Defensive Player of the Year twice while also helping the Bears win a Super Bowl ring. He made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Following his playing career, he found some success as a linebackers coach.
His success as an assistant led to Singletary being named the interim head coach of the San Francisco 49ers after they fired Mike Nolan. He posted a 5-4 record and was named the official head coach for the following season.
After recording a 13-18 record over the next two years, he was fired and never received another NFL head coaching opportunity.
#2 Herm Edwards
Herm Edwards put together a solid career as a defensive back, mostly with the Philadelphia Eagles. He spent 12 seasons with the team and recorded 38 interceptions. Following his retirement, Edwards spent nine seasons as a defensive backs coach with three different teams.
After a solid run as an assistant coach, the New York Jets hired Herm Edwards as their head coach. His run with the team was mediocre and he posted a 39-41 record before being let go.
The Kansas City Chiefs hired him for the same position, but he was fired after accumulating a 15-33 record in three seasons. This ended his head coaching career in the NFL.
#3 Bart Starr
Bart Starr is considered one of the very first legends of the modern NFL. He spent the majority of his career as the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers and won an MVP award. He also helped the team win the first two Super Bowls, and was named the MVP in each of them.
Starr's incredible success as a player never quite translated into his head coaching career. He became the head coach of the Packers a few years after his retirement, but managed a disappointing 52-76-3 record. He also posted just two winning seasons in his nine years as their head coach.
