Coaching career
Lambeau coached three NFL teams over his 33-year career: the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Cardinals, and the Washington Redskins. He completed his coaching career with an official overall record of 229–134–22 (.624).
Ryan left the Packers after only one season, and Lambeau became player-coach. However, during the team's first season, Lambeau, as team captain, handled many of the duties associated with a head coach in modern times. In the early days of pro football, the head coach was not allowed to talk to the players during the game. Thus, Lambeau was the team's on-field leader during games, including play calling. He was also responsible for signing players and running practices. For these reasons, the Packers recognize Lambeau as the team's first head coach.
In 1921, he led the team into the one-year-old American Professional Football Association, which became the NFL in 1922. After retiring as a player in 1929, he remained as head coach and general manager until 1949, later adding the title of vice president as well. For the better part of that time, he had near-complete control over the team's day-to-day operations and represented the Packers at owners' meetings.
Before joining the NFL, the Packers achieved an overall 19–2–1 record in 1919 and 1920. Under Lambeau in the NFL, the Packers won six championships (1929, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1939, 1944). He compiled an NFL regular-season record of 209–104–21 (.657) with a playoff record of 3–2, 212–106–21 (.656) overall. Lambeau has both the most wins and losses for a Packers head coach.
The Packers' most successful period came in the 1930s, thanks to the additions of quarterback Arnie Herber and receiver Don Hutson. Herber and Hutson pioneered the passing game, which allowed the Packers to dominate their competitors throughout the 1930s.
In 1946, Lambeau purchased Rockwood Lodge, a former Norbertine retreat, creating the first self-contained training facility in professional football. The purchase was controversial among the Packers' board of directors, many of whom balked at the $32,000 purchase price and $8,000 Lambeau spent on renovations, and some members of the financial committee almost resigned in protest.
Lambeau's players also grew to hate the facility, partly because they were severely battered by the brick-hard limestone under the fields. On some days, Lambeau had to move practices to fields near City Stadium due to the severe beating his players took at the Lodge.
At the same time, the Packers began noticeably slipping on the field after Hutson's retirement in 1945. Still, the Packers remained competitive until 1948, when they suffered their first losing season since 1933, and only the second losing season in franchise history. The bottom fell out in 1949, when the Packers won only two games, at the time, their worst season ever. This was at least in part due to Lambeau's refusal to abandon the Notre Dame Box that he had learned during his brief time in South Bend; the Packers continued to run this variation of the single wing long after most teams began running the T formation.
The Packers were also suffering financially, mainly due to the Rockwood Lodge purchase. Early in the 1949 season, Lambeau largely turned over control of the team to his assistants to devote his attention to the team's financial situation, but even reducing the payroll and his own salary were not enough to stanch the bleeding: by the end of the season, the Packers were on what seemed to be an irreversible slide toward bankruptcy. Desperate for cash, Lambeau found investors willing to invest funds into the team on the condition that it abolished its then-unique public ownership structure. This proposal was considered rank heresy in Green Bay, and led to rumors that the NFL was using the pending merger with the All-America Football Conference as leverage to force Lambeau to relocate the Packers to the West Coast or shut down the team.
In response to these events, team officials offered him a revised contract that stripped him of nearly all control over non-football matters. Lambeau rejected this offer almost out of hand, effectively ending his 31-year tenure at the helm of the team he founded; however, he did not formally resign until February 1, 1950, seven days after his beloved Rockwood Lodge burned down in a fire that was presumed to be intentional, but had been caused by faulty electrical wiring. The insurance money relieved the Packers' financial woes at one stroke, and ensured they would stay in Green Bay.
After resigning from the Packers, Lambeau was hired as head coach of the Chicago Cardinals. In addition, Lambeau also was named vice president with full authority over player personnel–effectively giving him the same control over football matters that he'd had for the previous three decades in Green Bay. He traded Paul Christman, part of the "Million Dollar Backfield" that had won the 1947 title, to the Packers in favor of trying to push Jim Hardy for a greater passing attack. He proceeded to throw eight interceptions in his first game versus Philadelphia, a record. In 1950 season, the Cardinals ended the season 5–7, failing to improve upon its record in the previous season and missing out on the postseason. The 1951 season went even worse for Lambeau and the Cardinals; the team ended the season 3–9 and again failed to reach the postseason. He resigned after the tenth game while stating that "No man can do a satisfactory job if he constantly is harassed by front office second-guessing", while the Cardinals management publicly accused Lambeau of losing the trust of his coaches and players.
Lambeau was appointed the head coach of the Washington Redskins in August 1952, replacing Dick Todd who resigned during the preseason. Lambeau coached the Redskins for two seasons in 1952 and 1953. Combined, he only achieved a record of 10–13–1 with the Redskins, including a loss against the Packers in 1952. In August 1954, Lambeau got into a heated argument with Redskins owner George Preston Marshall in the lobby of Sacramento's Senator Hotel, after which Marshall abruptly fired Lambeau. The argument began after two players entered the bar at the Senator Hotel and instead of fining them, Lambeau just told the players to leave. At the time, NFL players were not allowed inside a bar and could face a fine. Marshall was informed of what happened and confronted Lambeau immediately, firing him shortly after the argument; line coach Joe Kuharich was named head coach. After his firing, Lambeau retired from the NFL.
