Ross was also the head coach of the National Football League's San Diego Chargers from 1992 to 1996 and the Detroit Lions from 1997 to 2000, tallying a career NFL mark of 77–68.

He guided his 1990 Georgia Tech squad to the UPI national championship and coached the 1994 San Diego Chargers to an appearance in Super Bowl XXIX.

After graduating from Benedictine High School in 1955, Ross enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute, where he started at quarterback and defensive back for two seasons and served as captain of the football team as a senior.

Following a tour of duty in the United States Army as a first lieutenant (1960–1962), Ross found work coaching high school football.

[3][4][5] On December 31, 1991 (less than a week after the season ended for Georgia Tech), Ross announced his decision to take the head coaching position of the San Diego Chargers.

Facing Seattle, they prevailed 17–6 and proceeded to go on a tear the rest of the regular season, which saw them win all but one remaining game to go 11–5, which was bolstered by Humphries at quarterback to go with a defense led by Junior Seau and Leslie O'Neal.

The 1994 season saw an overhaul with a usage of Natrone Means to carry the ball while Tony Martin, Shawn Jefferson and Mark Seay were expected to deliver receiving potential.

Trailing by six, Seay caught the go-ahead touchdown pass with 35 seconds remaining before Miami's last-ditch field goal attempt fell short.

The Steelers were heavy favorites, particularly since they were hosting the Championship Game, with Myron Cope even calling the Charger squad "San Diego beach boys" while one player made discussion of producing and promoting a Super Bowl rap video.

[13] With eight minutes remaining in the quarter, the team went for the big play, and Alfred Pupunu caught a pass from Humphries to go for 43 yards and a touchdown to narrow the score.

In the fourth quarter, Martin caught a pass from Humphries and went 43 yards for the touchdown to give San Diego their first lead with 5:13 remaining.

Disagreements with Beathard involved the latter's displeasure with the coordinators of Ross (Ralph Friedgen on offense and Dave Adolph on defense) and the way that the coaching staff used young players.

[14] In his press conference, Ross stated, "I did not want this to come about, but it was apparent at the onset of our end-of-the-season discussions that Bobby Beathard felt that our philosophical differences could not be overcome.

[2] Following the 1996 season, Ross left the Chargers to take a more lucrative, and perhaps more rewarding position as the head coach of the Detroit Lions, where he would have control of all player personnel decisions and be able to hire his own staff.

Detroit had long been considered underachievers under Wayne Fontes (winning one playoff game in his tenure), and Ross was brought in to provide the team a more structured atmosphere.

It was a challenging endeavor, as Detroit had developed somewhat of a "country club" atmosphere under Fontes' leadership, and veteran players on the roster ultimately came to resent Ross for running tougher practices, instilling weight requirements, curfews, etc.

Ross sought to change the identity of the Detroit Lions, having them become a more traditional, physical, football team, less dependent on Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders for success.

[17] Although his frustration with the Lions organization was evident, Ross later claimed that his primary reason for leaving when he did was due to blood clots in his legs.

[2] It is also noteworthy to mention that the 1999 Detroit team achieved the playoffs—albeit with an 8–8 record after losses in the final four regular season games, plus a first-round exit against the Washington Redskins—despite the unexpected retirement of Barry Sanders prior to training camp.

Kevin served for a time as Army's offensive coordinator and running backs coach under his father, but was not kept in that post under Ross's replacement, Stan Brock.