KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Longtime NFL coach Gunther Cunningham, who emigrated
from postwar Germany as a child and then dedicated his life to football, has
died after a brief illness. He was 72.
Cunningham’s wife, Rene, said in a statement that he died Saturday.
Cunningham spoke no English when his family arrived in the U.S., and he was
ridiculed for both his accent and ancestry as a child. But he developed into a
standout prep football player in California and earned a scholarship to play
linebacker at Oregon.
He eventually coached the Ducks along with Arkansas, Stanford and California
before spending time in the CFL. He arrived in the NFL as an assistant with the
Colts in 1982, then worked with the Chargers and Raiders before making a name
for himself with the Kansas City Chiefs.
He went 16-16 during two years as their head coach.
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