Tom Flores

Tom Flores is one of only two people in NFL history, along with former Chicago Bear player/head coach Mike Ditka, to have a Super Bowl ring as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

Cut by the Calgary Stampede of the CFL in 1958 and then by the Washington Redskins of the NFL in 1959, Flores was unable to find a job in professional football. When the AFL was established in 1960 he finally landed a position as a quarterback in American professional football. Early in the 1960 season Flores became the first starting QB in Raider franchise history and led the league by completing 54.0 percent of his passes, throwing for 1,738 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Flores had his most productive season with Raiders in 1966. Although he completed only 49.3 percent of his attempts, he passed for 2,638 yards and 24 touchdowns in 14 games. In 1967 he was traded to the Buffalo Bills where he served primarily as a backup. Released by the Bills, he then signed with Kansas City Chiefs in 1969, where he played behind Len Dawson on the Chiefs' World Championship team. The fifth-leading passer all-time in the AFL, Flores retired as a player after the 1970 season, one of only twenty players who were with the AFL for its entire ten-year existence.

Flores began his coaching career as an assistant with the Buffalo Bills in 1971, moving to the Oakland Raiders as a receiver/QB coach in 1972. In 1979 he was promoted to head coach, replacing John Madden. In nine seasons, he directed the Raiders to three first-place division finishes and Super Bowl victories after the 1980 and 1983 seasons.

In 1988, Flores moved into the Raiders front office but, after a year, left to become the president and general manager of the Seattle Seahawks. He returned to coaching as the Seahawks head coach in 1992 only to resign in 1994 following Paul Allen's purchase of the team.

Overall, Flores spent 35 years in the National Football League: 10 seasons as a player with the Oakland Raiders (1960-61, 1963-66). Buffalo Bills (1967-68) and the Kansas City Chiefs (1969-70), as an assistant with the Bills (1971) and Raiders

(1972-78), Head Coach of the Oakland/LA Raiders (1979-87), Special Projects with the Raiders (1988), and President/GM/Head Coach of the Seattle Seahawks (1992-94).

Flores left the NFL with a lifetime coaching record of 97-87, as well as an 8-3 playoff record and two Super Bowl victories. He is the only eligible coach with two such victories who has been selected to the pro football Hall of Fame.

Currently, Flores can be heard with Greg Papa on KSFO (560 AM) during the radio broadcasts of Raiders games.