Franklin resident and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Bobby Beathard died on Monday of complications from Alzheimer's disease.
The 86-year-old was born in Zanesville, Ohio, but moved to Middle Tennessee in the early 1990s when his son Casey, a Spring Hill resident, made the move to Nashville to become a songwriter.
After spending two seasons on practice squads following his college football career at Cal Poly, Beathard began working his way up the NFL front office ladder.
He began his 33-year career as a scout with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Atlanta Falcons before becoming the director of player personnel for the Miami Dolphins. He spent five seasons in Miami.
Beathard was hired as the GM of the then-Washington Redskins in 1978 and spent 10 seasons with the franchise, building a roster that would win two Super Bowls in the 1980s.
After spending a year a studio analyst with NBC, Beathard was hired as the GM of the San Diego Chargers. He would spend 10 seasons with the Chargers, leading the franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance in 1994.
In all, Beathard, who was called the "Smartest Man in the NFL" by Sports Illustrated in 1988, was a part of seven conference championships and four Super Bowl wins. He was just the third GM to be voted to the Hall of Fame as of his induction in 2018.
Beathard was also the head of a football family. His son Casey played college football at Elon. His son Kurt was a college football coach. His younger brother Pete was an NFL quarterback. His grandson Bobo played at Appalachian State.
Meanwhile, his grandson C.J. was a star quarterback at Battle Ground Academy and currently plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars and his other grandson Tucker is a country music singer. Casey and Tucker's brother Clayton was killed in a bar fight in 2019 in Nashville.