How the Eagles' worst coach ever quickly became a pariah among fans

Philadelphia Eagles fans have been spoiled over the last two decades with a team that has been successful in making the postseason, with four coaches who have made playoff appearances. That wasn't always the case in franchise history.

After the Eagles won the NFL Championship in 1960, the team took a turn downward. From 1961 through 1968, the Eagles had just two winning seasons and endured a period of misery.

It wouldn't be until 1968 that it all came together in the worst way possible for what is considered one of the worst seasons in NFL history. That team was led by one of the franchise's worst head coaches, Joe Kuharich.

Kuharich's run as Eagles head coach that led to the debacle 1968 season

After Buck Shaw left the Eagles at the conclusion of the 1960 NFL Championship run, Nick Skorich took over as head coach and only was able to last three years. A 2-10-2 season in 1963 would lead to a much-needed change in Philadelphia.

Kuharich started his new job as Eagles head coach in 1964, following a five-year run in Washington. In his five years, only 1966 featured a winning record for the Philadelphia team.

Then came the dreaded 1968 season. The Eagles lost their first 11 games, with seven of those losses being by double digits. They would win two of their last three games, but finished with a 2-12 record and missed the postseason. In 1968, the Eagles had the second-worst offense in the NFL, scoring just 14.4 points per game and averaging 254.3 yards per game.

Kuharich would not coach the Eagles again after 1968, as he finished with a 28-41-1 overall record. 1968 would be the last time Kuharich would ever coach in the NFL/AFL.

It was bad enough that the Eagles had one of the worst seasons ever, but they weren't even bad enough to earn the number one draft pick in the 1969 NFL/AFL Draft. That first pick went to the Buffalo Bills, who ended up picking Heisman Trophy-winning running back O.J. Simpson. Philadelphia selected running back Leroy Keyes and he lasted just four years with the Eagles and his NFL career ended one year later.

It's a part of Eagles history that most fans would like to forget about after the horrendous performance of 1968. It would take about 12 years before the franchise finally reached its first Super Bowl, only to lose to the Raiders.

Eagles fans can be happy that the present time has been good to them because it wasn't always rainbows and butterflies in Philadelphia.