Vince Tobin, a former Mizzou football player, assistant coach and defensive coordinator before embarking on a long professional coaching career, died on Monday at his home in Goodyear, Arizona, the Arizona Cardinals confirmed. Tobin, defensive back at Mizzou in 1963-64 and once the frontrunner for the school's head-coaching job, served as the Cardinals head coach from 1996-2000.
Tobin, who was 79, came to Mizzou from his family's farm in Burlington Junction, Missouri, and became a two-year starter in the secondary while also playing halfback. In 1965, he joined Dan Devine's coaching staff and stayed in the program through 1976, serving his final six years as defensive coordinator under head coach Al Onofrio. He later coached as an NFL assistant for the Bears and Colts before taking over as the Cardinals' head coach in 1996. Under his watch, in 1998 the Cardinals beat the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs for the franchise's first postseason victory since 1947, when they were the Chicago Cardinals.
Before then, not long after he was fired from the Bears' staff, Tobin was a finalist for the head-coaching job at his alma mater following the 1993 season when Bob Stull stepped down.
At the time, Tobin hoped his connections to Mizzou and around the state made him a strong candidate for Devine, the school's athletics director. He initially was considered the leader for the job.
"Dan is obviously a big part of the winning tradition at the University of Missouri," Tobin told the Post-Dispatch during the coaching search. "But it goes deeper than just Dan. I grew up in Missouri, I recruited the state of Missouri, and I know the people there and how much they want to win.
"I feel like sometimes it's your destiny to be in a certain place at a certain time."
Instead, the job went to former Southern California coach Larry Smith, who guided the Tigers to bowl games in 1997 and '98. Tobin was the only other candidate granted a formal interview. He'd later return to the NFL and serve as an assistant with the Lions and Packers before retiring following the 2004 season.
Tobin played at Mizzou with his older brother Bill, who later served as the general manager for the Bears and Colts. Vince was inducted into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008 and a year later into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, along with his brother.
"Our deepest condolences go out to everyone who knew and loved Vince Tobin, and in particular his wife Kathy and their family," Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement released Monday. "As head coach of the Cardinals, his steady leadership was a constant and a big part of the success the team enjoyed during his tenure. His football legacy with us is highlighted by the thrilling 1998 season, return to the postseason, and upset playoff win at Dallas. He will also be remembered for his instrumental role in key decisions like drafting Jake Plummer and Pat Tillman. More than that, he was a consummate family man and always a class act who positively impacted everyone he encountered."
