Wayne Howard Joseph Fontes is an American former professional football player and coach.
27 Facts About Wayne Fontes
1.
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Wayne Fontes is the longest tenured head coach in team history.
3.
Wayne Fontes was born in the fishing community of New Bedford, Massachusetts.
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Wayne Fontes's father, Caetano Fontes, was Portuguese, born in Cape Verde, a Portuguese colony at the time.
5.
Wayne Fontes grew up in Canton, Ohio where he played football, basketball, and baseball at McKinley High School.
6.
Wayne Fontes attended Michigan State University where he was an All-Big Ten defensive back.
7.
Wayne Fontes played nine games for the Titans in the 1962 season as a defensive back, recording four interceptions.
8.
Wayne Fontes returned one interception 83 yards for a touchdown, a franchise record that would stand for 27 years.
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Wayne Fontes became an assistant coach at Michigan State in 1963.
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Wayne Fontes then coached high school football and basketball at Bay City, Michigan's Visitation High School for two years losing only two games in his first year in 1964, and his team was undefeated in his second year in 1965, winning their league championship.
11.
Wayne Fontes later left for the University of Dayton to serve under head coach John McVay.
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Wayne Fontes served as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa and for John McKay at Southern California.
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Wayne Fontes ultimately developed a close relationship with McKay after working under his wing at USC, and went on to work as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1982 to 1984.
14.
Wayne Fontes coached the 1991 and 1993 teams to the NFC Central Division title, with the latter being the franchise's last division championship until they won the NFC North in 2023.
15.
Wayne Fontes earned NFL Coach of the Year honors through the Associated Press and United Press International.
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Wayne Fontes has been referred to as "Mr Snuffleupagus", due to his resemblance to the "Sesame Street" character of the same name.
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Jokes like "Mr Wayne Fontes is an expert in primary colors and beige" reflect the lack of respect that haunted his tenure.
18.
Wayne Fontes was regarded as very personable, often joking with the media about his precarious job situation.
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Wayne Fontes drew the line for this comedy though after the Detroit Free Press ridiculed him for sporting Mickey Mouse ears at a Disney charity.
20.
An irate Wayne Fontes slammed the media for making such a personal attack against him in such bad taste.
21.
Wayne Fontes' popularity waned in the later years of his career with the Lions.
22.
Many local media outlets and fans were openly critical of Wayne Fontes, correctly noting he amassed the most losses of any coach in Lions' history and that his overall record was under.
23.
The desolate years of mediocrity prior to Wayne Fontes seemed to be an afterthought, as was Wayne Fontes' role as a long time assistant in that mediocrity.
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Wayne Fontes led them to the playoffs in four out of eight seasons while he was head coach, including three consecutive playoff berths.
25.
Wayne Fontes left the Lions compiling the most wins in franchise history, most playoff appearances, and is 9th in total win percentage.
26.
Toward the end of his time in Detroit, an anti-Wayne Fontes sentiment grew among some Lions team members, but Sanders remained a staunch supporter of the coach.
27.
Wayne Fontes is frequently spotted at Tampa Bay Buccaneers games where he maintains a strong friendship with Jim Gruden, father of former Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden.