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COACHES CLASH: The most famous fight at the Houston Astrodome wasn't Muhammad Ali's bout against Cleveland Williams in November 1966 but Ryan's bout with Kevin Gilbride on Jan. 2, 1994. It was late in the first half of Houston's 24-0 victory over the New York Jets when Ryan, the Oilers' defensive coordinator, took a swing at Gilbride, the Oilers' offensive coordinator. Ryan was 59 at the time, Gilbride was 42. Ryan threw a right-handed punch at his head. Players had to jump in and pull the two apart. Two days later, Ryan said that Gilbride would be "selling insurance in two years."
KEVIN VS. KEVIN: Standing out among all football fights is this one: In '99, Carolina linebacker Kevin Greene attacked his position coach, Kevin Steele, after the Panthers had allowed 21 points on the Redskins' first three drives. Teammate Mike Minter, who was sitting beside Greene, said the linebacker was upset because someone gave him the wrong call on Washington's third score. Greene and Steele exchanged words. Minter said neither man used profanities before Greene jumped off the bench, lunged at Steele, grabbed him by the jacket just below the neck with both hands and began shoving him. "Kevin just lost it," said Minter. And then he lost a week's pay along with some respect he'd banked over his 14 seasons in the NFL. |
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