A soft-spoken, analytical Minnesota native, Bengston had just been passed over by the 49ers, who had hired another assistant, Red Hickey, to replace fired coach Frankie Albert. Disappointed, Bengston had called the Packers about their head-coaching vacancy, and also called several other teams. When the Packers hired Lombardi, Bengston called him about a job. They related well. Both were forty-five, Catholic, and longtime assistants. Bengston liked the 4–3 defense that Lombardi wanted to use. Plus, despite his low-key personality, Bengston coached an attacking defense featuring unpredictable
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