Former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and head coach Sam Wyche shared on his Facebook page recently that he will need a heart transplant as a result of congestive heart failure that he’s lived with for 16 years.
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“I am in Carolinas Medical Center’s Dickson Heart Unit in Charlotte, NC awaiting donor heart transplant”.
Wyche was an assistant coach for the University of SC while he earned his MBA.
Before coaching, Wyche also played for the Bengals, the Washington Redskins, the Detroit Lions and the St. Louis Cardinals. The innovative offense, which is now used by teams at all levels, helped the 1988 Bengals reach the Super Bowl. He’s considered one of the first National Football League coaches to employ the no-huddle offense, and with Boomer Esaison running the Bengals’ attack, Cincinnati went 12-4 in 1988 and almost defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl, losing on a last-minute touchdown pass from Joe Montana to John Taylor. Over the past 20 years since his retirement from NFL coaching, Wyche can often be found in the stands at Furman football games. An emotional coach, Wyche collided with other coaches, most notably Houston Oilers coach Jerry Glanville, who he had a feud with for years. Fans angry with a late game call by the refs began throwing snowballs onto the field. “You don’t live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati!” he yelled, spawning a motto destined to be reprinted on T-shirts in the Queen City for years to come.
Wyche said staying active keeps him positive.
He then went on to coach at San Francisco, Cincinnati, Buffalo and Tampa Bay. He spent time as a color commentator and studio analyst and was quarterbacks coach with the Buffalo Bills in 2004-05.
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He volunteered as an offensive coordinator for a local high school team, was a substitute teacher and also ran for Ccounty Council in SC in 2008.
