Cincinnati Bengals

Former Buccaneers' Coach Sam Wyche Waiting for a New Heart

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Former Buccaneers’ coach Sam Wyche is not in good health, waiting for a heart transplant.

It’s time to put our thoughts and our prayers towards a member of the Buccaneers’ family. Anyone who has followed football for a long time knows the name Sam Wyche. He coached the Bengals to an appearance in Super Bowl XXIII and made the now-popular “No Huddle” offense into a powerful weapon to keep defenses on their toes.

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Well many of you probably remember that he was the coach of the Bucs from 1992-1995. Well the later years have not been kind to coach Wyche. According to a statement on his personal website, Wyche is sitting in a North Carolina hospital waiting for a heart transplant. If one is not available in the next few days, he will be implanted with a device to keep him going until a heart becomes available.

Understandably, his condition has not been made public, though clearly it is serious if it involves the need for a heart transplant.

As I mentioned earlier, though his best work came during his tenure in Cincinnati, Sam spent four years as the head coach of the Bucs. Yes, his record was only 23-41, but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t leave an impact. Remember Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp and John Lynch? Well Wyche was the head coach when they were drafted. Wyche might not have been the beneficiary, but he certainly set the team up for success moving forward.

We all send our best wishes to Sam Wyche for success with the procedure and a speedy recovery from whatever this is that is ailing him. He made his mark on the NFL both with us in Tampa Bay and up in Cincinnati with the Bengals. Readers, send your thoughts and prayer his way.

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