What happened to Dick Jauron? Tributes pour in as former Bears head coach passes away

Dick Jauron, the former head coach of the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills, passed away aged 74. Kacy Elizabeth, Dick’s daughter, penned a Facebook post on Saturday, February 8, 2025, announcing the news of his passing.

Kacy, who also founded The Jauron Family Foundation, revealed that her father was battling with cancer at the time of his demise. In the post, Dick Jauron’s daughter said that the former NFL coach and player had a tumor in the brain, while subsequent scans of his body had also uncovered cancer in his lungs, liver, and bones. Kacy wrote,

“What we thought was some early signs of memory issues turned quickly into cancer in his brain, specifically a tumor that was causing some very out of character behavior. They quickly did a scan of his body and unfortunately they found cancer in his lungs, liver, and bones.”

She further added,

“The silver lining in all of this is that the situation escalated so quickly he never had any idea what was going on nor was he in any pain. The pain that I, and I know everyone else who loved him, is feeling right now is completely immeasurable. The very best son, brother, friend, teammate, husband, father, coach, HUMAN that we were all so lucky to love.”

Kacy also said in the post that the Jauron family will be “taking some time to grieve and come to terms with this loss.” She also mentioned that a “celebration of life” for Jauron will also be planned later.

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Many pay tributes to the late NFL coach and player, Dick Jauron

Jauron was the 2001 Coach of the Year after leading the Chicago Bears to a 13-3 record. He served as the head coach for the Bears from 1999 to 2003 and later coached the Bills between 2006 and 2009. He also briefly served as the Detroit Lions’ interim head coach in 2005. Besides his coaching career, Jauron spent eight years in the NFL as a player for the Lions and the Bengals.

After his demise, many on social media sent their condolences. The official Chicago Bears handle posted,

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Bears head coach Dick Jauron. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family. 💙”

The Buffalo Bills account paid tributes by writing,

“We’re saddened to learn about the passing of former Head Coach Dick Jauron. ❤️💙 We are thinking of his friends, family, and loved ones during this difficult time.”

“Prayers up for the Jauron family. I was lucky to have come into the league under such an incredible person 🙏,” Former Bills Center Eric Wood wrote.

“Dick Jauron was a Hall of Fame human being who possessed integrity, intelligence, humility and a great dry sense of humor. One of the best people I’ve ever known,” The Chicago Bears senior writer Larry Mayer posted.

“I'm shocked & saddened to learn of the death of Dick Jauron. Growing up in Swampscott, a kid my age had one hero. Dick. He excelled at football & studies. Breaking high school records, starring @Yale, then playing & coaching in @NFL w/ @Lions, @BuffaloBills @ChicagoBears. RIP,” photographer and PictureBoston owner Mark Garfinkel penned.

In addition to the above-mentioned X posts, Other NFL teams such as Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and more also paid tributes to Jauron. The former Bears coach is survived by his wife, Gail, and daughter, Kacy. His other daughter, Amy, died in 2014, when she was 28.