I'm sure plenty of you noted that ESPN.com planned to announce the greatest coach in NFL history on the same day that marks the 100th anniversary of Green Bay Packers legend Vince Lombardi. No, that was not a coincidence.
Lombardi finished atop the ballot compiled by a cross-platform of 22 ESPN journalists. His quick turnaround of a moribund franchise, his five NFL championships -- including the first two Super Bowls -- and his motivational skills cemented this title.
An excerpt of what former Packers quarterback Bart Star told Greg Garber about Lombardi:
His charisma, his manner was very, very impressive. One of the first things he said was we're going to relentlessly pursue perfection -- even though we know full well that we won't catch it, because nothing is perfect. Put the relentlessly in capital letters, because that's how he said it. There was just a magnetism in that session that was overwhelming. He was a tough and demanding individual and, because I came from a military family, I was loving that. We were so well prepared in how we approached everything that when it came down to the game, it was going to work -- or you got down to time where it needed to work.
Earlier: Minnesota Vikings Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant checked in at No. 15 on this list. Curly Lambeau of the Green Bay Packers checked in at No. 10. George Halas of the Chicago Bears ranked No. 4.