Former Bengals head coach dies at 74
Former Cincinnati Bengals coach Sam Wyche died last week in Pickens, South Carolina. He was 74 years old.
Wyche died from complications from cancer.
Wyche was drafted by the Bengals in 1968 out of Furman University. He started nine games at quarterback with a 2-7 record.
Following his playing days, Wyche would come back to Cincinnati to coach the Bengals for eight years (1984-91), leading the team to Super Bowl XXIII. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Bengals 20-16 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami after Joe Montana led a game-winning drive. The Bengals have not been back to the Super Bowl since.
“Sam was a wonderful guy. We got to know him as both a player and a coach,” Bengals owner Mike Brown said in a team statement. “As our coach, he had great success and took us to the Super Bowl. He was friends with everyone here, both during his tenure as head coach and afterwards.
“We not only liked him, we admired him as a man. He had a great generosity of spirit and lived his life trying to help others.”
Wyche is survived by his wife, Jane, and his two children, Zak and Kerry, plus his six grandchildren.
Wyche had a 61-66 record as
Bengals head coach.
Former Bengals remember Wyche for being a great offensive mind who was ahead of his time, in addition to a player’s coach.
“Sam was one of the greatest offensive minds at that time,” former Bengals running back Stanford Jennings said to The Enquirer. “He was a gamechanging coach.”
Wyche was one of the pioneers of the no-huddle offense.
Wyche helped bring players together when he was at the helm in Cincinnati and that also contributed to the team’s success on the field.
“He was the type of guy you could sit down and talk to and just a good man all around,” former Bengals running back Ickey Woods told The Enquirer.
For Cincinnati sports fans, Wyche is also remembered for being the face of one of the most memorable moments in franchise history on Dec. 10, 1989, at Riverfront Stadium.
Some Bengals fans were furious by the way the December game against the Seattle Seahawks was transpiring, so they started to throw snowballs on the field. It escalated to a point that referees had to put a halt to the game.
Wyche got on an on-field mic and passionately said:
“Will the next person that sees anybody throw anything on this field point them out and get them out of here. You don’t live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati!”
It’s one of the memorable moments in franchise history.
Wyche went on to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1992 until 1995. He went 23-41. Wyche’s overall head coaching record was 84-107.