Marchibroda began his coaching career in 1961 as an assistant for
the Washington Redskins under
Bill McPeak before joining
the Los Angeles Rams in 1966 under first-year head coach
George Allen. He went with Allen to the Redskins in
1971 and was the
offensive coordinator. Marchibroda's first head coaching appointment was with
the Baltimore Colts beginning on January 15, 1975. Inheriting a 2–12 ballclub that was one of the two worst in the NFL in
1974, he led one of the two biggest turnarounds in pro football history when the Colts ended the
1975 regular season at 10–4 and qualified for
the playoffs by winning the
AFC East title for the first of three consecutive years. All three postseason appearances ended in divisional round losses, first to the Steelers in both
1975 and
1976, and then to
the Oakland Raiders in
1977. His time with the Baltimore Colts nearly lasted only a season when he resigned on September 5, 1976, in response to team owner
Robert Irsay verbally abusing his players after a loss in the final preseason match to the
Detroit Lions at the
Pontiac Silverdome three nights earlier on September 2. Marchibroda was also at odds with general manager
Joe Thomas over player personnel decisions. He was rehired two days later on September 7 after offensive and defensive coordinators Whitey Dovell and
Maxie Baughan threatened to quit and the players considered boycotting practice, all in support of Marchibroda. His five years as Colts head coach concluded with a pair of 5–11 last-place finishes in
1978 and
1979. The team was crippled by Irsay's acrimonious contract disputes with
Lydell Mitchell and
John Dutton which resulted in the players being traded to
the San Diego Chargers and
Dallas Cowboys respectively,
Bert Jones' shoulder injuries that limited him to only seven games within those last two seasons, and three years of questionable
drafts. Marchibroda was relieved of his duties on December 27, 1979, and succeeded by
Mike McCormack on January 17, 1980. After a one-year hiatus, he served as quarterbacks coach for the Chicago Bears in
1981, offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions in
1982 and
1983, and the same role with the Philadelphia Eagles in
1984 and
1985. Marchibroda served as the quarterbacks coach and later offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills under head coach
Marv Levy from
1987 to
1991. As offensive coordinator for the Bills, he was influential in the evolution of the
hurry-up offense. Levy, Marchibroda, and quarterback
Jim Kelly used their version of the
hurry-up offense, the "K-Gun" offense, more than any previous NFL team. Kelly would hurry to the
line of scrimmage, preventing the defense from making substitutions, and called audibles at the line. The NFL later imposed a rule that allowed time for defense substitutions if the offense made substitutions, except after the two-minute warning of either half. Marchibroda returned to
the Colts, now based in
Indianapolis, for a second stint as head coach on January 28, 1992. Similar to his first time with the franchise, the Colts had ended the
previous campaign at 1–15, fired
Ron Meyer after five winless games and replaced him with
Rick Venturi on an interim basis. Marchibroda led the Colts to a 9–7 record in 1992. Three seasons later, the Colts made the playoffs for only the second time since moving to Indianapolis, and the first time in a non-strike year since 1977, when the team was still in Baltimore. A Cinderella run to the playoffs ended a big play short of
Super Bowl XXX when the Colts lost the
1995 AFC Championship Game to the Steelers. Despite this, Marchibroda parted ways with the Colts on February 9, 1996, after his demand for a contract extension of two years rather than one was rejected. Offensive coordinator
Lindy Infante was promoted to succeed him on February 15. Marchibroda's unemployment lasted only six days when he returned to Baltimore on February 15, 1996, as the first-ever head coach of a yet-to-be-named professional football team in Baltimore, which subsequently became
the Baltimore Ravens. After three losing seasons in which the Ravens went 16–31–1, Marchibroda was notified that he was not going to be retained on December 28, 1998.
Brian Billick was named to succeed him just over three weeks later on January 20, 1999. ==Broadcasting career==