With the season winding down, former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Sam Wyche spoke at the Orangeburg Touchdown Club meeting earlier this week. Afterwards, he took part in our "Five Questions" segment with T&D Sports Writer Emery Glover.

What got you into coaching?

"I actually got into coaching as a result of playing football. I was a college player at Furman University. I played high school [football] in Atlanta. Then, I played in the NFL for a number of years with Cincinnati, Washington, Detroit, St. Louis, Buffalo. Obviously, I wasn't very good because I kept bouncing around. Bill Walsh was my coach in Cincinnati and when he got the job as the head coach of the 49ers in 1979, he just asked me to come out and work with the quarterbacks. Basically, I'd be his understudy and he kind of trained me to become a coach."

You came up with the "No Huddle" offense that is used consistently in today's game. How did you come up with that concept?

"It started in 1984. I was the new head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. We were in training camp in Wilmington, Ohio. I blew the whistle in the middle of practice and I said, 'Okay, it's nickel period.' Nickel meaning third-and-eight, long passing down period. Immediately, my defensive coordinator, Dick LeBeau, who is now the defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers--Dick said, 'Alright, get that fat, old nose tackle out of there and that slow linebacker and put in another quick defensive back and a good upfield rusher on the defensive line.' I'm thinking, 'Man, are we stupid? Here, it's third-and-eight and everybody knows we're going to pass. We're going to go back there and stand in a huddle for 20 seconds and let them bring in their best cover people and rush people. Why don't we just go right to the line?' From there, it went 'Why don't we do it on second down? Why don't we do it on first down? Why don't we just do it?' We had the personnel. We had a tight end that could be a wide receiver. We had a running back that could be a wide receiver. So we didn't have to substitute ourselves."

You've been coaching for some time and you mentioned that you coached Joe Montana. What was that like?

"Joe was the perfect student. He was a young guy. I was a young guy. I was learning my ropes. I was learning teaching techniques. I was learning to observe, which is what a good coach is--an observer and a teacher. I just think Joe was the perfect guy for me along with a guy named Steve DeBerg, who was our other quarterback and our starter at the time. Both of those guys were patient with me and they listened to what I had to say."

You coached in the Super Bowl with the Cincinnati Bengals against the San Francisco 49ers. What would you have done differently in that last quarter in order to help your team win?

"I'm not sure we could've done anything different. I would like to have tried one other play. We had a third down and, oh, about four or something like that and we were a yard and a half short and we ended up kicking the field goal to go ahead. Knowing what I know now, that Joe Montana was going to come back down and march down the field, I guess I would've gone for it on fourth down or on third and five, I would've tried another play--a better one that would pick up six or more yards."

A lot of players are known for nicknames, celebrations, and that sort of thing. "Ickey" Woods is one of those guys that have come up and have been a classic. How many times have you done the "Ickey Dhuffle"?

"I have never successfully done the 'Ickey Shuffle'. I have tried many, many times. He's tried to teach me and, then in disgust at some point, he walks away. I can't dance worth a darn and "Ickey" really isn't that good a dancer either to tell the truth."

You must be logged in to comment.